1925 Stone Mountain Memorial Commemorative Half Dollar
Base
About This Coin
The 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial Commemorative Half Dollar was authorized by Congress to raise funds for the massive Confederate memorial carving on Stone Mountain, Georgia. The coin was designed by Gutzon Borglum, who was then the lead sculptor on the Stone Mountain project and would later go on to create Mount Rushmore. The obverse depicts Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson mounted on horseback, making it the only U.S. coin to portray two individuals on the same side. The reverse features an eagle perched on a crag with the inscriptions "STONE MOUNTAIN" and "MEMORIAL" alongside "E PLURIBUS UNUM." Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 90% silver and 10% copper, the coin weighs 12.5 grams, measures 30.6 mm in diameter, and has a reeded edge. Part of the Classic Silver Commemoratives series (1892–1954), the Stone Mountain issue had an authorized mintage of 5,000,000, of which 2,314,709 were struck and 1,314,709 ultimately distributed — the second-highest distribution of any classic-era commemorative, behind only the 1893 Columbian half dollar. The original issue price was $1 per coin, and the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association promoted sales through an extensive network of state-level distribution units and special award coins. Borglum's involvement with the Stone Mountain project was contentious. He was dismissed from the carving in 1925 amid disputes with the memorial association, and the work was eventually completed by Augustus Lukeman and others decades later. The memorial itself was not finished until 1972. Despite this turbulent history, Borglum's half dollar design remains one of the most artistically acclaimed of the classic commemorative era.