Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar

Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar
This nomination predates the introduction in April 2014 of article-specific subpages for nominations and has been created from the edit history of Today's featured article/requests.


 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page unless you are renominating the article at TFAR. For renominations, please add   to the top of the discussion and   at the bottom, then complete a new nomination underneath, starting with  .

The result was: not scheduled (withdrawn by nominator) 08:31, 8 July 2013‎



The Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar was an American fifty-cent piece struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1923. Sculptor Chester Beach is credited with the design, although the reverse closely resembles an earlier work by Raphael Beck. The coin was issued because in 1922, the motion picture industry was faced with a number of scandals, including manslaughter charges against star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Film moguls sought ways of getting good publicity for Hollywood. One means was an exposition, to be held in Los Angeles in mid-1923. So as to induce Congress to issue a commemorative coin as a fundraiser for the fair, organizers associated the exposition with the 100th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. The exposition was a financial failure. The coins did not sell well, and the bulk of the mintage of over 270,000 was released into circulation. Many of the pieces that had been sold at a premium and saved were spent during the Depression; most surviving coins show evidence of wear.

No points, really, though the 90th anniversary of the American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Industry Exposition, for which the coin was issued, is ongoing. I won't be available on closing date, August 4, though.--Wehwalt (talk) 13:24, 3 July 2013 (UTC)