Complete 1947 Charles Smith "So-Called" Half Dollar Collection // Set of 8 // NGC Certified

Charles E. Smith was a Boston coin dealer in the 1940s—the same time that the US Congress was putting the brakes on the US commemorative half dollar coin program. Smith may have believed he could fill a void in the marketplace by creating commemorative medals that were roughly the same size as the classic silver commemoratives issued by the US Mint. The medals that Smith created were slightly larger at 32 mm in diameter in an effort to avoid running afoul of the US Government and are a fun and interesting piece of US history. These “so-called” half-dollars can easily be confused for official US commemorative issue but were privately struck by Charles Smith.

The 1947 issues can sometimes be found in Mehgrig album pages. At the time of issue, Smith contracted with Wayte Raymond, the originator of such boards, to create a page for the eight-piece set and to use "So-Called Half Dollars" as the title for it. Mehgrig may have reprinted the board after the original Wayte Raymond supply was sold out; as they did so with many of the other Wayte Raymond pages. In the 1960s, Capital Plastics also produced three-piece plastic holders for these medals.

Offered here is an exceptional one of a kind set with each piece certified by NGC at high mint state grades with some pieces being the finest examples know.