Preparation and Design
Meeker wanted the new half dollars struck as quickly as possible; he was planning another journey west on the Trail, and wanted to be able to sell the coins along the way. The Association initially contacted Chester Beach, designer of the 1923 Monroe Centennial half dollar, to sculpt the new coin, but he was unavailable, though he prepared sketches. Instead, the Association turned to the husband-and-wife team of James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser. James Fraser had designed the Buffalo nickel; his wife had created several commemorative coins, including the Grant Centennial dollar and half dollar.
James Fraser designed one side (the wagon side), while his wife designed the other (the Indian side) and converted both into relief models. Meeker pestered Laura Fraser to complete the modeling, as he wanted the half dollars available for sale at an upcoming event. She completed the work by July 30, 1926, when she wrote to enquire where she should send the designs for endorsement by the Commission of Fine Arts. This body since 1921 had been tasked with advising the Secretary of the Treasury on coinage design. She sent photographs of her models to the commission's offices. On August 5, 1926, commission chairman Charles Moore responded enthusiastically, informing her that not only had the commission endorsed the designs, but they were having the prints framed for their meeting room. To save time, the hubs from which coinage dies could be prepared were made by the Medallic Art Company of New York, which had made reductions from plaster models to hubs for several commemorative issues. The resulting hubs were sent to the Philadelphia Mint, where working dies for the issue were made. A compass rose on the Indian side, included in Laura Fraser's models, does not appear on the issued coin, though the reason for the change is not known.
One side of the half dollar depicts a Conestoga wagon drawn by two oxen, heading into an extremely large setting sun, with resplendent rays. The designers’ initials appear behind the wagon; five stars appear below the vehicle, though what they represent is uncertain. Swiatek and Breen suggested that they represent five states and territories through which pioneers would have passed. The Indian side features a dramatically rendered Native American, standing erect with outstretched arm in an intended gesture of peace. Swiatek and Breen noted that the Indian's "position has been irreverently compared to that of a traffic policeman demanding 'Halt!' " Such comparisons are to be found even in Meeker's 1928 obituary in The New York Times, which averred that the Indian was "standing with hands upraised to stop the white man's progress westward". The Native American wears a headdress, has a blanket and bow, and is superimposed on a map of the United States, with a line of Conestoga wagons heading West. The design is carried to the rim of the coin; Hudson Bay is visible in the upper right.
The Frasers' design for the half dollar has been widely admired. Swiatek and Breen deemed the issue "one of the greatest artistic triumphs ever to be released by the Mint". Numismatic historian Don Taxay called the coin "the most beautiful as well as the most truly 'American' U.S. coin. It testifies to the fact that authentic genius, even when trammeled by the necessities of a modern, mechanical mint, can transform our coinage into a work of art."
Read more about this topic: Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar
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