Sam Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee in 1882. He moved with his family to Texas in 1887, and lived in the "Lone Star State" for the rest of his life; he died in November 1961. Rayburn served for a time in the Texas State Legislature/House of Representatives (1907-13) - including two years (1911-1913) as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He was the longest-serving US Congressman in history, with his first term in the US House of Representatives coming as part of the 63rd Congress in 1913, and his last as part of the 87th Congress in 1961. He served in 25 consecutive Congresses.
Sam Rayburn - Circa 1937
(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)During his nearly 50 years in Congress, Rayburn served three stretches as the Speaker of the House (of Representatives) between September 1940 and November 1961 (whenever the Democrats were in control of the House). Overall, his three runs as Speaker totaled more than 17 years in the position - more years than any other Speaker.
Shortly after his death in November 1961, in January 1962 - at the opening of the Second Session of the 87th Congress - Albert McKinley Rains (D-AL) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that called for the striking of "special 50-cent pieces to commemorate the life and perpetuate the ideals and principles of the Honorable Sam Rayburn." The bill referred to Rayburn's time in Congress as an "illustrious career as one of the most distinguished and able statesmen in American history...marked by his unchallenged fairness and integrity and his unswerving devotion to his country." The coins were to be circulating half dollars alongside, presumably, the then-current Benjamin
Franklin half dollar coins.
As would be expected, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency upon its introduction. It was not, however, reported out by the Committee or further acted upon by Congress. When the 87th Congress adjourned in October 1962, the bill formally died for lack of action.
Not to be deterred, Representative Rains re-introduced his circulating commemorative bill during the opening days of the 88th Congress (January 1963). As with the previous bill, the design and quantity to be minted were to be left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. The bill was referred to but never reported out of Committee - it also died for lack of action.
Sam Rayburn was a very popular member of Congress for decades, and his skills as a leader and negotiator were well-recognized. For these reasons, it is a little surprising to find Mr. Rains' bills garnering so little support. However, additional proposals for memorials with a numismatic bent were to come in the years that followed - I plan to cover them in a follow-up post.
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 03/21/2023 6:47 pm
