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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 quickly increasing in value, and Cincinnati businessman Thomas G. Melish, a coin collector, sought to get 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 coin, which was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts after suggestions by sculptor Lee Lawrie. Melish distributed the Cleveland coins via sales at 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 prevent repetition of past abuses, and though some of the coins were minted in 1937, there was no change of date, meaning collectors would only have to purchase 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 == The area known as the Western Reserve, now in eastern Ohio, was the subject of dispute among the states after the American Revolutionary War, 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, he set out a townsite along Lake Erie, that came to bear his name. In 1830, a newspaper, to be called the ''Cleaveland Advertiser'', was begun. 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 which 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 () permission to have his own commemorative coins minted and to charge the public whatever he liked for them!" Melish, who had friends in Congress, sought to have that body authorize several other commemorative issues that he would control. The only one of these that came to fruition was the Cleveland Centennial half dollar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cleveland Centennial half dollar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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