The Cleveland Centennial half dollar is a commemorative United States half dollar struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1936 and 1937, though all bear the earlier date. Sometimes known as the Cleveland Centennial Great Lakes Exposition half dollar, it was issued to mark the 100th anniversary of Cleveland, Ohio, as an incorporated city, and in commemoration of the Great Lakes Exposition, held in Cleveland in 1936.
In the mid-1930s, commemorative coins were increasing in value, and Cincinnati businessman Thomas G. Melish, a coin collector, lobbied Congress to authorize several new issues, of which he would be the sole distributor. He was successful with the Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar, from which he profited greatly, and with the Cleveland piece. Brenda Putnam designed the Cleveland coin, which was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts after suggestions by sculptor Lee Lawrie.
Melish distributed the Cleveland coins through the exposition, at local banks, and by mail order from his office in Cincinnati. Sales were good, and the full authorized mintage of 50,000 was struck. Congress had inserted safeguards in the legislation to curb excessive profits, and though some of the coins were minted in 1937, there was no change of date, meaning collectors would have to purchase only one piece to have a complete set. Thousands remained in dealer inventories for years, and the coins remain inexpensive by the standards of commemorative coins of the era.
Background
After the American Revolutionary War, the area known as the Western Reserve, now in eastern Ohio, was the subject of dispute among the states, several of which claimed it as part of their territory. Although political rights to the area were given up to the federal government, Connecticut kept land ownership and used part of its holdings to resettle those whose homes had been destroyed by the British during the war. The remainder was sold to the Connecticut Land Company in 1795. Moses Cleaveland was a surveyor, a lawyer, and one of the company's directors. In 1796, by the shores of Lake Erie, he set out a townsite that came to bear his name. In 1830, a newspaper was founded, to be called the Cleaveland Advertiser. The editor found the name one character too long to fit in the printing form and dropped the first "a" in Cleaveland — a change that was adopted by the public. The town of Cleveland became a city in 1836.
Thomas G. Melish was a prominent Cincinnati businessman, who had inherited the Bromwell Wire Company. Melish was also a coin collector, who came up with an idea for a commemorative coin that he would control. At the time, commemoratives were not sold by the government — Congress, in authorizing legislation, designated an organization that had the exclusive right to purchase the coins at face value and vend them to the public at a premium. The result was the 1936 Cincinnati Music Center half dollar, an issue controlled by Melish and issued to commemorate an anniversary that did not exist. Melish sold only a few coins at the issue price, which was high, keeping back most for later sale once scarcity drove the price higher. By 1936, the market for U.S. commemorative coins had become, according to Q. David Bowers, "as hot as a volcano", and "Congress gave [Melish] permission to have his own commemorative coins minted and to charge the public whatever he liked for them!" Melish, who had friends in Congress, had in early 1936 also tried to get lawmakers to authorize other commemorative issues that he would control. The only one of these that came to fruition was the Cleveland Centennial half dollar.
Legislation
A bill for a Cleveland Centennial half dollar was introduced into the United States Senate by Ohio's Robert J. Bulkley on March 23, 1936, and it was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency. The bill was to honor both the 100th anniversary of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, and the Great Lakes Exposition, to be held there in 1936. The original bill would have provided for 50,000 pieces, which could be purchased from the United States Bureau of the Mint at any time, and could be struck by any or all three of the mints then in operation. The bill was reported back to the House by committee chairman Alva B. Adams of Colorado on March 26, drastically amended.