1922 Grant Memorial. Star. MS-66+ (PCGS).This is a simply beautiful example of one of the scarcer, more challenging issues in the classic commemorative series. Vibrantly lustrous with an exquisite frosty texture, the surfaces display some pale wisps of pinkish-silver iridescence that find greatest expression in the center of the reverse. Boldly impressed throughout and virtually pristine.<p>The Grant Memorial half dollars and gold dollars of 1922 were issued to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the Civil War hero and former president, Ulysses S. Grant, who was born in Clermont County, Ohio. While the Ulysses S. Grant Centenary Memorial Association planned several community buildings and roads in Grants honor, only the short-lived festivities and these commemorative coins came to fruition.<p>The basic designs of the two denominations are identical and attributed to Laura Gardin Fraser. Small quantities of both the half dollar and gold dollar incorporated a five-pointed star as part of the design in the right obverse field. This feature has no known significance, and may have been included on some of the coins to create a distinct type that would require contemporary collectors to purchase multiple examples. Whatever its original purpose, if any, the star today serves to denote the scarcer half dollar and gold dollar variants of the Grant Memorial commemorative coins. In the case of the half dollar, only 5,000 circulation strikes were produced of the star variant, 750 examples of which were melted as unsold for a net mintage of just 4,250 coins. (Six additional coins were produced for assay purposes, as well as perhaps four Proofs.) Scarce in MS-65 and rare any finer, this exquisite upper end Gem ranks among the highest graded at PCGS, and is certainly among the finest known for the type. A delight to behold, and destined for inclusion in a world-class collection of commemorative coins.PCGS# 9307. NGC ID: BYPP.PCGS Population: 12; 7 finer (MS-67+ finest).
