Lot 1845
1936 Albany Half Dollar. NGC graded MS-68. Vivid reddish-golden toning on both sides. A beauty! Only 17,671 struck. For years there was a dispute as to which side of this coin was intended for obverse. Fortunately, we have the testimony of Gertrude K. Lathrop, the designer, in The Numismatist 11/1936:909, who referred to the side with the beaver as obverse. This is an American beaver (Castor canadensis), common enough in the Albany area in the 17th century that trapping them for their pelts was the main occupation of the settlers; a fact indicated by the beaver's appearance on the city seal. Use of maple keys for punctuation, and a maple branch in the beaver's mouth and paws, alludes to the maple being the New York state tree. Lathrop intended a symbolic reference to the growth and fertility of the community.
On the reverse, Governor Thomas Dongan bids farewell to Robert Livingston and Peter Schuyler (later Albany's first mayor), the latter holding the newly acquired Albany city charter of July 22, 1686. (This charter is in the Manuscript Room of the New York State Library in Albany.) All are dressed in garments of the period and near Governor Dongan's foot are the designer's minute initials, GKL. Behind Dongan is a pine tree, echoed in the twin pine cones used for punctuation. These also were intended as symbolic of growth and fertility. They also commemorate the plentiful pine trees in the Albany area. Airborne above the three gentlemen is an eagle, with the minute letters LIBERTY, balancing the plaque underfoot with 1936. Pop 5; 2 finer in 68 Star. (PCGS # 9227) Estimated Value $9,000-UP
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| Realized $5,175 |
