1946 Booker T. Washington Half Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$31,200 MS68 01-15-2023 Heritage Auctions

Description

The 1946 Booker T. Washington Half Dollar is a commemorative half dollar struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Total mintage reached 1.0 million. Authorized in 1946 to honor Booker T. The obverse features a bust of Booker T. Washington facing right, the renowned African American educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute, while the reverse displays the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University, with a log cabin below representing Washington's birth as a slave in 1856. Designed by Isaac Scott Hathaway. The first year of issue, produced at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco with relatively high mintages. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 12.5 grams, 30.6 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Cataloged as PCGS #9404. The Booker T. Washington Half Dollar is historically significant as the first U.S. coin to honor an African American. It was designed by Isaac Scott Hathaway, who was himself African American — a first for a U.S. Mint coin designer.