1892-1893 Columbian Commemorative Half Dollar? What's it Worth?

I know nothing about coins and have only had time for 20mins of research. I acquired a storage locker in which I found this coin. It seemed slightly important, or "worth something" because of the card that enclosed it claiming "genuine" and "certified." I hope someone can help. I dont trust pawn shops and honestly don't have the time if it's not worth the trouble. It looks in perfect condition, I suppose. I guess it would be called a proof? Because of the heavy contrast in field? Shoot, idk. That's as far as 20mins got me.

 

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I do not believe this coin was minted in a proof.
I can't see the coin well enough to make a good call on the condition.
And it is a fairly common coin. To play it safe I will say about $20 - $30.

 

yes, minted as a proof, but very rare.

This: not a proof, and not clear enough to see if it is an Unc

 

As I recall, this was the piece that began a long run of interesting commemorative half dollars being issued by the mint. It is a historically significant piece. However, there were many of them produced so it isn't rare. I agree with @alurid at maybe $20.00-$30.00 value.

 

If you have an 1892 proof in MS grade of 63 - PF 65 its worth

$5000 - $13000 they are very rare and only a handful of proofs and proof like coins were made
Have it graded if it's a proof coin mate

 

What do you see that leads you to think this may be a proof strike?

 

So these coins were given out exclusively to people whom bought a ticket, it was held in Chicago? Alot of them were being made at the time to celebrate, to note this was the first commemorative. Also if you were trying to sell as a lot im sure you would get something upwards of around 50-70 dollars in the condition

 

Welcome to the site! Good job with the research. You managed to learn a lot in 20 minutes. Unfortunately, your coin is definitely not a proof coin and looks to be in average circulated condition.

It’s likely worth in the range of $20 to $30.

Can you post better pictures please? The ones you posted above are not close enough to the coin and are not helpful for determining the exact condition of the coin.

 

Thes coins were not given out to ticket purchasers, they were sold for much more than face value, which is why so many went unsold. Basically the endeavor was a flop (from a profit standpoint.)

 

So Nathan, why are there tickets to the event? Am I missing something where they were being sold at

 

This coin was one of many souvenirs that would have been sold at this enormous event.

 

They were minted to be sold at the Columbia Exposition, a world fair held in Chicago in 1893. Decent circulated examples sell for under 20 bucks on EBay.

 

In 1892 a giant World Fair called the Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago. I believe the US Mint had the idea of striking these 50 cent “Commemorative” pieces as souvenirs, and sell them at the Expo for 1 Dollar. The hope being that the revenue created could help alleviate some of the soaring costs of holding such a large event. Ticket sales to get into the Expo was another way.

 

To add to @Nathan401 's post, as was stated, they were sold to raise funds to recoup the cost of the fair. What most don't know is that the mint sold them to the Fair Committee at a reduced price to sell at the fair at a profit. Subsequent Commemoratives were also sold to groups at reduced prices and resold at a profit to fund all kinds of things. If they weren't sold, they were supposed to be returned to the mint. There became a problem when Commemoratives like the Arkansas were produced for many years but weren't selling very well and most of the mintages were being returned to the mint for melting.

As was the case a lot of commemoratives not returned were released into circulation at face value. As for the Columbian, I believe over 2 million were dumped into circulation.