The Alabama half dollars were authorized in 1920 for the statehood centennial, which was celebrated in 1919, but they were not struck until 1921. The coins, designed by Laura Gardin Fraser, were first offered during President Warren Harding's visit to Birmingham, October 26, 1921.
The St. Andrew's cross, an emblem on the state flag, appears on a part of the issue between the numbers in "2x2" indicating it was the 22nd state of the Union. The obverse has busts of William Wyatt Bibb, first governor of Alabama, and T.E. Kilby, governor at the time of the centennial.This is the first instance of the use of a living person's portrait on a United States coin.
This coin was originally meant to be in quarter dollar denomination. However on April 21, 1920 an amendment was passed which changed the coin to read HALF DOLLAR. After the authorizing act became law on May 10, 1920, the Alabama Centennial Committee solicited and judged proposed designs, rejected them all, and came up with its own impossibly bad concept represented by Frank Spangler's sketch. On one side were portrayed jugate busts of James Monroe (president at Alabama's admission) and Woodrow Wilson (president at the time of the Centennial), with their name below, date 1920, statutory inscriptions and mottoes around.
The other side - which they considered the obverse - was to display the State Capitol on Capitol Hill, complete with flag on dome and with steps leading up from Dexter Avenue in right foreground; *STATE OF ALABAMA* (the word of atop the dome), CENTENNIAL 1819 - 1919 below. Mint Director Banker sent these recommendations to Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine Arts Commission, who sent them to James Earle Fraser. Fraser, understandably, objected on the perfectly good grounds that buildings do not make good coins designs (our current cent and 5c pieces are dismal testimony to the fact!).
From the Commission this objection went successively to Rep. Rainey, Governor Kilby, and Mrs. Owen, who on June 24, 1920, proposed that he building be replace by the Alabama State Seal design, more or less as it finally was to appear on the coins. For unknown reasons, no action followed; everyone was apparently waiting for the presidential election, because that might make a difference as to the notion of portraying Woodrow Wilson.
| Coin auctions on eBay |
 1921 Alabama Commemorative Half Dollar...XF Original ! US $36.00 |
 1921 ALABAMA 2 X 2 COMMEMORATIVE HALF DOLLAR STRONG AU US $225.00 |
 1921 Alabama Commemorative XF-AU US $65.00 |
 1921 Alabama Half Dollar EF US $51.54 |
 1921 Alabama NGC MS-65 US $1,700.00 |
 1921 ALABAMA COMMEMORATIVE HALF DOLLAR NICE XF/AU LOOK US $150.00 |
 1921 Alabama Commemorative Half.High Grade US $149.00 |
 1921 Alabama Silver Commemorative Half PCGS MS 64 US $535.00 |
 1921 Alabama *** Bright *** Lustrous *** PCGS AU-50 US $249.99 |
 1921 Alabama ********Better Date******** PCGS AU-50 US $229.99 |
