1928 Oregon 50C PCGS MS66-CAC. One of the nicest 1928 Oregon in MS-66 that we've seen ! Intense luster with light original toning which lightly covers a blazing lustrous gem ! Nicer than many MS67 coins of this date. This example, a 1928 Oregon Trail half dollar is graded MS-66 by the very stringent PCGS. The MS-66 grade is verified by the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) with only 35 being verified at the grade, with 6 higher. This coin is one of the nicest MS-66 Oregon Trail half dollars out there! The coin exhibits concentrated luster with light toning. This example is nicer than many MS-67 graded coins of this date!

Before the California Gold Rush in 1849, American pioneers had already begun to migrate West to the rich farmland of the Willamette Valley in the Oregon territory and followed a route which stretched over 2,000 miles; from Independence, Missouri to Fort Vancouver, now Vancouver, Washington. The Oregon Trail was a grueling enterprise, made even more perilous by non-existent roads and the constant threat of violent storms, prairie fires, dysentery and cholera, not to mention sporadic Indian attacks. Many travelers on the Oregon Trail would perish, but the promise of a new life compelled the pioneers to push on. By 1846, more than 6,000 people would travel on the Oregon Trail.

The Oregon Trail half dollar was completed by James Earle Fraser and his wife, Laura Gardin Fraser. Mrs. Fraser had designed several commemorative coins, notably the 1922 Grant half dollar and dollar, and her husband, who is credited with the obverse design of the Oregon Trail half, is remembered for creating one of the most memorable of all modern coin designs, the Buffalo nickel.

The Federal Commission of Fine Arts enthusiastically approved the Frasers design and models were quickly sent to the Medallic Art Company of New York to make mechanical reductions. The newly made hubs were then shipped to the Philidelphia Mint, and in September of 1926, 48,000 coins were struck, along with 30 pieces reserved for assay. This issue became known as the "Ezra Meeker issue," as it was struck 75 years after Meeker's initial trek along the trail. Meeker made the journey again in 1907, when he set out from his Oregon home, purportedly to scout for locations for commemorative plaques.

The half dollars were sold $1 each, and became an instant hit with the public. Demand was so high that another issue was prepared to be produced by the San Francisco Mint. The Oregon Trail Memorial Association, Inc.s logic was that people who bought the Philadelphia issue would most definitely desire the San Francisco issue.