Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar

Columbia, South Carolina Sesquicentennial half dollar

United States
Value	50 cents (0.50 US dollars)
Mass	12.5[1] g
Diameter	30.61[1] mm (1.20 in)
Thickness	2.15 mm (0.08[2][3] in)
Edge	Reeded[1][a]
Composition	90.0% silver[1] 10.0% copper
Silver	0.36169[1] troy oz
Years of minting	1936
Mintage	25,023 (25,000 authorized) including 23 pieces for the Assay Commission Philadelphia Mint: 9,007 Denver Mint: 8,009 San Francisco Mint: 8,007[4]
Mint marks	D, S. Located beneath the figure of Justice on the obverse. Coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint have no mint mark.
Obverse
Design	Lady Justice holding a sword and scales; Columbia's old and new State Houses
Designer	Abraham Wolfe Davidson
Design date	1936
Reverse
Design	Palmetto tree surrounded by 13 stars, with arrows bound to it; below a broken oaken branch
Designer	Abraham Wolfe Davidson
Design date	1936

The Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint. Designed by Abraham Wolfe Davidson and minted in 1936, it marks the 150th anniversary of the designation of Columbia as South Carolina's state capital.

The obverse design depicts Lady Justice holding a sword and scales, standing between South Carolina's Old State House, built in 1790, and the New State House, completed in 1903. The reverse shows the palmetto tree, South Carolina's state symbol, surrounded by 13 stars representing the original Thirteen Colonies, though they may also be intended to represent the Confederate States.

Despite growing opposition to commemorative coins, legislation for the Columbia half dollars passed Congress unopposed in 1936. The Commission of Fine Arts did not like Davidson's designs, and unsuccessfully sought his replacement. The coins were struck in September 1936, but they were slow to be distributed. Once they were, they were sold in small quantities, frustrating coin dealers who hoped to accumulate more to resell to their customers. The mintage of 25,000 was distributed; no coins were returned to the Mint for redemption and melting. They generally sell in the hundreds of dollars range today, depending on condition.

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