1936 BRIDGEPORT CONNECTICUT CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE SILVER HALF DOLLAR

Description

Bridgeport authorities wanted a commemorative coin to help fund the centennial celebrations. At the time, Congress was authorizing such coins for even local events, and the Bridgeport half dollar legislation passed Congress without opposition. Kreis had designed the Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar (1935), and he produced designs showing a left-facing Barnum and a modernistic eagle similar to the one on the Connecticut piece.
The coins were vended to the public beginning in September 1936 at a price of . Too late for most of the centennial celebrations, the coins nevertheless sold well, though leaving an unsold remainder of several thousand pieces. These were bought up by coin dealers and wholesale quantities were available on the secondary market until the 1970s. The Bridgeport half dollar sells in the low hundreds of dollars, depending on condition.
Mass 12.5 g
Diameter 30.61 mm (1.20 in)
Thickness 2.15 mm (0.08 in)
Edge Reeded
Composition
90.0% silver
10.0% copper
Silver 0.36169 troy oz
Years of minting 1936
Mintage 25,015
Mint marks None, all pieces struck at Philadelphia Mint without mint mark.