Commems Collection Classic: "Did You Know?" Gadsden Purchase Veto #03

Herbert Hoover was the first President to veto a commemorative coin bill passed by Congress. It was on 21 April 1930 that Hoover vetoed HR 2029, "an act to authorize the coinage of silver 50-cent pieces in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Gadsden Purchase."

In 1854, the US signed a treaty with Mexico regarding the purchase of nearly 30,000 square miles of border land between the two countries. The purchased land makes up a significant portion of present-day southern Arizona and a small portion of southwestern New Mexico. (See public domain image below.) The impetus for the treaty/purchase was the US' desire to build a transcontinental railroad through the southwestern states. The treaty/purchase is so named because of the integral role James Gadsden, US Ambassador to Mexico at the time, played in developing and negotiating it.

In his message to Congress regarding the coin, Hoover expressed his concern for the growing number of commemorative coin bills then being considered by Congress (5, not including the GP bill), the potential for commemorative coins to divert our monetary system to uses other than its intended purpose (commerce) and the increased potential for counterfeit coins to be successfully passed due to the "multiplicity of designs" created by commemorative coins.

Hoover may have temporarily slowed the commemorative coin train, but he certainly didn't stop it as approvals really ramped up as the 1930s continued.

I'll discuss some of the other classic era vetoes in future posts.


Map of Gadsden Purchase (Yellow Areas)