Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar

Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar
United States
Value	50 cents (0.50 US dollars)
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	Philadelphia: 20,013 including 13 pieces for the Assay Commission Denver: 15,010 including 10 assay coins; San Francisco: 15,011 including 11 assay coins
Mint marks	D, S. Beneath the corn stalk on the left-hand side of the obverse. Philadelphia Mint pieces struck without mint mark
Obverse
Design	Roger Williams meeting a Native American
Designer	John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey
Design date	1936
Reverse
Design	Anchor; adaptation of the Seal of Rhode Island
Designer	John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey
Design date	1936

The Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar (sometimes called the Providence, Rhode Island, Tercentenary half dollar) is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The coin was designed by John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey. Its obverse depicts Roger Williams, founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was intended to honor the 300th anniversary of Providence, Rhode Island, although it bears no mention of the city.

Members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation sought a coin for the 300th anniversary of Providence, and Senator Jesse Metcalf added authorization for one to a bill for another commemorative coin that had already passed the United States House of Representatives. The amended bill was approved by both houses of Congress, and it was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A total of 50,000 coins were struck at the three mints then in operation.

The coins went on sale on March 5, 1936, and the quantity made available to the public sold out in a matter of hours. Rhode Island insiders were holding back quantities for later sale once prices rose. That conduct incensed coin collectors, and the abuses led Congress to move toward banning commemorative coins. The coins are listed for hundreds of dollars today, depending on condition.