½ Dollar (Boone Bicentennial)

The Daniel Boone Bicentennial Half Dollar (1934–1938)

In 1935, the man in charge of selling the Boone half dollar engineered two tiny "rarities," took collectors' orders for them, then mailed back refunds saying they'd sold out — and quietly kept the coins to resell. The Boone is a handsome coin with an ugly story, and that story helped end the entire commemorative program.