1947 Booker T. Washington Commemorative

The 1947 Booker T. Washington halves mark the second year of issue for this long-running commemorative type that continued until 1951. The issuance of the Booker T Washington half dollar came at an important time for the civil rights scene, when the battle to end segregation was building steam just after the end of the World War II. The Booker T. Washington half dollar was designed by Isaac Scott Hathaway, a noted African-American artist and the first black person to design a US commemorative coin.