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United States of America
American Legion 100th Anniversary
2019 S Proof Silver Half Dollar 30.6mm (12.41 grams) 0.900 Silver (0.3617 oz. ASW) San Francisco Mint
Reference: KM# 688a | Engraver: Phebe Hemphill, Joseph Menna Designer: Richard Masters
LIBERTY 2019 IN GOD WE TRUST I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE T,O THE FLAG…, Two children standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the little girl proudly wearing her grandfather’s old American Legion hat.
E PLURIBUS UNUM HALF DOLLAR . . .OF THE UNITED STATE,S OF AMERICAั, The reverse design completes the phrase from the obverse “I pledge allegiance to the flag… of the United States of America.” The design depicts an American Flag waving atop a high flagpole as seen from the children’s point-of-view from the ground below. The American Legion’s emblem is featured just above the flag.
Coin Notes:
The American Legion was founded March 15, 1919,
in Paris, France, out of concern for the welfare
of soldiers and the communities they returned to
in the United States after World War I. The
non-partisan organization is the nation’s
largest veterans group, with nearly two million
members in more than 12,000 posts throughout the
United States. Membership is open to men and
women alike, regardless of ethnic background or
religious affiliation. The Legion focuses its
efforts in four areas: Veterans Affairs and
Rehabilitation, Children and Youth, National
Security, and Americanism. These areas are known
as “the Four Pillars” of American Legion
service. Throughout its years of service to the
nation, it has been a catalyst for social change
and it has recorded myriad accomplishments. The
Legion’s advocacy on behalf of veterans has been
instrumental in the passage of numerous
legislation including the Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI
Bill, and multiple legislation to advance
government recognition and promote effective
treatment of service-connected conditions. The
Legion has awarded millions of dollars in Child
Welfare Foundation grants and college
scholarships, and has implemented numerous
programs and services to assist veterans, their
families, and the community. The American Legion
100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (Public
Law 115–65) authorizes the United States Mint to
strike and issue the coins.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used at present, was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools. In 1892, Francis Bellamy revised Balch’s verse as part of a magazine promotion surrounding the World’s Columbian Exposition, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. Bellamy, the circulation manager for The Youth’s Companion magazine, helped persuade President Benjamin Harrison to institute Columbus Day as national holiday and lobbied Congress for a national school celebration of the day. The magazine sent leaflets containing part of Bellamy’s Pledge of Allegiance to schools across the country and on October 21, 1892, over 10,000 children recited the verse together.
Bellamy’s version of the pledge is largely the same as the one formally adopted by Congress 50 years later, in 1942. The official name of The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1945. The most recent alteration of its wording came on Flag Day (June 14) in 1954, when the words “under God” were added.
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