Finally catching up with my favorite thread and WOW! Someone at Wikipedia sure loves their commemorative coins!
February 13, 2019 - Hawaii Sesquicentennial Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Sesquicentennial_half_dollar
A famous commemorative coin. Only 10,000 were minted and few exist in high grades. Moreover, only 50 proofs were minted. The last one sold by Heritage was in 2004 for $25,000. Imagine what they'd go for today!
April 22, 2019 - Lynchburg Sesquicentennial Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg_Sesquicentennial_half_dollar
John Lynch, the founder of Lynchburg, was supposed to be on the obverse but no portrait of him was known. So they depicted then Senator Carter Glass - only the third living person to be depicted on a U.S. coin. He also has the distinction of being the first person to have their signature on U.S. currency when he was Treasury Secretary.
May 9, 2019 - Maine Centennial Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Centennial_half_dollar
This coin is very hard to find in good condition because it wasn't distributed into the collecting community. Therefore, many of the folks who purchased it didn't handle it as well.
August 9, 2019 - Gadsden Purchase Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase_half_dollar
Interestingly, as I looked for a picture of this coin on the wikipedia page, I realized that the coin never existed! It was nominated but never approved by Congress. So fascinating that it still became a Featured Article.
August 26, 2019 - Alabama Centennial Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Centennial_half_dollar
The coin features Alabama's first and then-current governors making it the U.S. first coin to feature a living person.
September 26, 2019 - Louisiana Purchase Sesquicentennial Half Dollar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase_Sesquicentennial_half_dollar
Similar to the Gadsden Purchase half, I realized that the coin never existed! It was nominated but never approved by Congress.