PCGS Nos: 9376

Mintage:
Circulation strikes: net 10,00 (10,008 struck, of which 8 were reserved for assay)
Proofs: 2 reported

Designer: L.W. Hoffecker

Diameter: ±30 millimeters

Metal content:
Silver - 90%
Copper - 10%

Weight: ±193 grains (±12.5 grams)

Edge: Reeded

Mintmark: All Old Spanish Trail half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint

Images courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc.

Recent appearances:
PCGS MS-66.  Ex – American Numismatic Rarities, LLC’s “The Classics Sale,” July 25, 2003 , Lot 857, illustrated, sold for $1,265.00  From the Luther A. Breck Collection

Notes:
Obverse: Longhorn cow's head (in Spanish: "cabeza de vaca"), a play on the name of Alvar Nuñez de Vaca, whose exploration of the southern United States is the reason for this coin.

Reverse: tall yucca plant in front of a whimsical map of the Old Spanish Trail (the origin of the trip is known, but the actual route and ending point are not).

The 1935 Old Spanish Trail Commemorative Half Dollar is common in Uncirculated condition and is seen most often in MS-64 and MS-65.  The Old Spanish Trail is common even in MS-66, but becomes scarce in MS-67 and exceedingly rare in MS-68.

The finest Uncirculated examples graded by PCGS is a single MS-68.

Breen reports two possible matte proofs: "...one seen by Wayte Raymond, the other from the J.R. Sinnock estate."  PCGS has not yet certified any proofs of this type.

Sources and/or recommended reading:
The PCGS Population Report, October 2003" by The Professional Coin Grading Service

"Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins" by Walter Breen