top of page
Washington/Carver Commemorative Silver Half Dollar Coin Ring with a Red Garnet

Washington/Carver Commemorative Silver Half Dollar Coin Ring with a Red Garnet

SKU: 217537123517253
$130.00Price

Black Friday Sale!!

This beautiful hand-crafted ring is made from a Silver 1952 Booker T. Washington  and George Washington Carver Commemorative Half Dollar (1951-1954).  It has been antiqued to show off its detail, and a  2 mm Wine Garnet has been handset into the band.  It has the words, "Americanism, Freedom, and Opportunity for All," all the way around the outside of the ring.  

 

History of the Booker T. Washington & George Washington Carver Commemorative Silver Half Dollar

 

In 1965 silver coins were no longer legal tender, and people began to horde them, and other silver items.   One of the most interesting is the silver half dollar from the 1950s known as the Washington/Carver half-dollar. This coin was struck between 1951 and 1954.  

 

The designer of the Washington/Carver half dollar was Isaac Scott Hathaway. This sculptor and artist was the first African American to design a U.S. coin. He created two designs for the US Mint. The first, in 1946, was a half dollar with the face of Booker T. Washington, the most prominent African-American of the early 20th century. The Mint’s remaining stock of these coins was ordered to be melted down, and the silver re-struck into the Washington /Carver half-dollar, in 1951.  The coins are 90% silver and 10% copper. They weight 12.50 grams, and have a diameter of 30.60 mm.

There were several changes to the original design, but the final model features overlapping profile portraits on the obverse of Booker T. Washington and George Carver. They are surrounded by the words, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; N GOD WE TRUST; E PLURIBUS UNUM; GEORGE W. CARVER; LIBERTY; BOOKER T. WASHINGTON; HALF DOLLAR, and the relevant strike date. The reverse is a simplified map of America, overlaid with the words, U. S. A. The map is surrounded with the words, FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL and, AMERICANISM.

 

Booker T. Washington founded, in 1881, the Tuskegee Institute, a black college in Alabama. He tried to fight discrimination through education and the creation of black businesses, to build a black middle-class. This approach was later over-turned by the NAACP, which worked for change at a political level.

 

George Carver was born into slavery, but became a botanist and agricultural scientist, as well as a professor at the Tuskegee Institute. He developed alternative crops to cotton, as the repeated growing of this crop was depleting the soil. He introduced peanuts and sweet potatoes, to enrich the soil and provide direct food for poor Southern farmers. Like Booker T. Washington he believed in advancement through personal improvement and increased wealth, rather than through political action.

 

The Washington/Carver half dollar was the last commemorative coin struck by the US Mint for several decades, which also makes it a significant collector’s piece. In all the four years it was produced, coins were minted at three facilities – Philadelphia (with no mint mark), San Francisco (S) and Denver (D).

 

This item is custom-made.  It is handmade when the order is placed.  Please allow 15 to 20 days before this item will be available for local delivery, or shipping.  Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about your order.  

  • LOCAL DELIVERY

    If you live in the local area, we can deliver this ring to you.  Please contact us for more information,  or choose local delivery at the checkout.

  • SHIPPING INFO

    All items will be shipped USPS First Class Mail.  

bottom of page