1920 Pilgrim Commemorative Silver Half Dollar - CACG MS63 - Gorgeous Coin! PQ Original, Light Toning!
Classic U.S. Commemorative Silver Half Dollar struck by the Philadelphia Mint in 1920 (with a follow-up issue in 1921) to mark the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in North America aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Profits from sales helped fund the tercentenary celebrations organized by the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission, primarily in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The 1920 Tercentenary and Coin Issuance:
By the early 20th century, the Pilgrims symbolized religious freedom, perseverance, and the roots of American self-governance. The 300th anniversary (tercentenary) in 1920–1921 was widely celebrated across the U.S. and even in Britain, with parades, pageants, floats depicting the voyage and landing, historical reenactments, and an “Indian Village” exhibit in Plymouth. Events drew huge crowds, including a visit by President Warren G. Harding, and focused on beautifying Plymouth Rock and the surrounding area.
The Commission selected Boston sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin (1861–1944), renowned for works like The Appeal to the Great Spirit and other Native American-themed sculptures (ironically fitting, given the Pilgrims’ interactions with Indigenous peoples). Dallin worked quickly from Commission sketches, producing plaster models by August 1920. The Commission of Fine Arts reviewed them; sculptor James Earle Fraser critiqued the crude lettering, but changes were minimal, and the Treasury approved the designs.
Historical Context of the Pilgrims and the 1620 Landing:
The coin commemorates a pivotal event in early American colonial history. The Pilgrims were English Separatists (a stricter subset of Puritans, sometimes called Brownists) who rejected the Church of England’s hierarchy, rituals, and practices like bishops or Christmas observances. Facing persecution under King James I, they fled to the Netherlands around 1608 for religious freedom. Many settled in Leiden, but economic pressures (guild restrictions), cultural concerns for their children, and the desire for a new life prompted them to seek a colony in North America.
Financed partly by London investors (including Thomas Weston of the Merchant Adventurers), they arranged passage. Two ships were planned: the smaller Speedwell (to pick up passengers from the Netherlands) and the Mayflower. Mechanical issues with the Speedwell forced many passengers onto the Mayflower alone. On September 6, 1620 (Julian calendar), the Mayflower departed Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers (including children and some non-Separatists known as “Strangers”) and about 47 crew. The 66-day voyage was stormy and perilous; one passenger died, and one was born at sea.
They sighted land (Cape Cod) on November 9, 1620, but it was outside their intended Virginia Company patent. Before disembarking at Provincetown Harbor, 41 male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11—a groundbreaking agreement for self-government by majority rule, loyalty to the king, and just laws. It is often cited as a foundational document of American democracy and representative government.
Short on supplies and unprepared for a New England winter, they explored and settled at Plymouth (named after their English departure port) rather than risk sailing farther south. Harsh conditions killed roughly half the colonists that first winter (including Governor John Carver). William Bradford, a key Separatist leader and passenger, was elected governor after Carver’s death and served for most of the next 30+ years (about 15 two-year terms, often non-consecutively). Bradford’s detailed history, Of Plymouth Plantation, remains the primary eyewitness source on the colony.
In spring 1621, Native Americans (including Samoset and Tisquantum, or Squanto, who had learned English after earlier capture by English explorers) helped the survivors. Squanto taught them corn cultivation and mediated with the Wampanoag/Pokanoket people under Massasoit, leading to a peace treaty and the first Thanksgiving feast in autumn 1621. The colony grew slowly; the Pilgrims eventually became a minority among later settlers, and Plymouth Colony merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691.
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