Texas 150th Anniversary Collection (1985–1986) Overview
The Texas 150th Anniversary Collection is an eight-design set of 1 oz .999 fine silver rounds issued to mark the 150th anniversary of Texas independence (1836–1986): Alamo, Come and Take It, Goliad, San Jacinto, State Flag, Lady Liberty, Liberty Flag, and Texas Navy. The set was sold complete in a leatherette-covered presentation album titled “Texas 150th Anniversary 1836–1986, Commemorative One Ounce Silver Rounds,” accompanied by a matching period sales brochure, priced at $12.50 per round or $100 for the complete set of eight. The brochure notes the coins were dated 1985 on the reverse for the original issue, with a 1986-dated, higher-mintage run to follow.
All eight designs share a common reverse — a Texas-outline device within a “.999 FINE SILVER · ONE TROY OUNCE” legend — attributed to World Wide Mint (Bloomington, MN) on the basis of die and design linkage to that mint’s confirmed WWM-marked work (see the mint page for the attribution reasoning). Neither the brochure nor the album packaging names a mint, manufacturer, or issuer.
Texas 150th Anniversary Collection Distributor
The set was sold by mail order by John William Grayson Jr. (1941–2013), a South Texas coin dealer based first in San Benito, TX (P.O. Box 1921) and later Harlingen, TX (P.O. Box 1986). Grayson advertised pieces from this set in Coin World (1985) and Texas Monthly (January 1986); a period Texas Monthly ad for the Alamo round priced it at $13.50 including postage and tax. Grayson’s obituary describes him as “nationally known as a rare coin collector and rare coin dealer,” with a career spanning Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Lawrence, Kansas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and South Texas. He operated as an individual dealer under his own name; no assumed-name (DBA) filing for him exists in Cameron County records.
Whether Grayson held an exclusive distributorship for the set, or simply retailed stock supplied to him, is unresolved — no second dealer offering the identical set has been found, nor has a wholesale invoice or commissioning record surfaced.
Texas 150th Anniversary Collection Specifications
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Metal & Weight | 1 oz .999 fine silver – 8 Designs |
| Finish | Brilliant Proof (per brochure) |
| Reverse | Common Texas-outline device, “.999 FINE SILVER · ONE TROY OUNCE” |
| Years Documented | 1985 (original issue); 1986 (higher-mintage reissue per brochure, not yet confirmed against a physical 1986-dated example) |
| Packaging | Leatherette-covered 8-coin presentation album |
| Original Pricing | $12.50 each / $100 for complete set of 8; $2 postage & handling, 4⅛% Texas sales tax added on multi-coin orders per brochure |
Texas 150th Anniversary Collection Attribution
Mint is attributed to World Wide Mint (Bloomington, MN), based on the shared Texas-outline reverse matching that mint’s confirmed die/reverse-template pattern established via the Valentine’s Day series (see mint page). No struck mark on any piece in this set identifies World Wide Mint directly — attribution rests entirely on reverse-die and design linkage, not a mint mark.
Distributor is recorded as John Grayson based on period Coin World and Texas Monthly advertisements and a WorthPoint reseller’s firsthand account of ordering directly from him in 1985. Whether Grayson’s role extended beyond distribution — to commissioning or holding exclusive rights to the program — is noted as an open question, not a settled attribution.
Texas 150th Anniversary Collection Notes
- A WorthPoint dealer listing for this set names “Washington Mint” as issuer; this claim is unsourced dealer text with no support from the item’s own packaging and is not treated as reliable (see mint page attribution reasoning)
- Two related pieces, Rio Grande Valley and Port Isabel Lighthouse, share the same World Wide Mint reverse style but are not part of this 8-coin set; working theory is that these are Grayson’s own regional custom orders from World Wide Mint, sold to his South Texas customer base independent of this program
- A ¼ oz fractional companion line exists for at least three designs (Lone Star State [not part of this 8-coin set], Rio Grande Valley, and Alamo); the Alamo fractional shares the exact obverse die as its 1 oz counterpart but carries a distinct “Cradle of Texas Liberty” reverse rather than the shared Texas-outline reverse
- Cameron County assumed-name records (1929–2026) show no filing under “Alamo,” “Rio Grande Valley,” “150th Anniversary,” “Sesquicentennial,” “coin,” “silver,” or “Grayson” — consistent with Grayson operating under his own name without a DBA
Texas 150th Anniversary Collection References
- Texas 150th Anniversary Commemorative Binder – a physical 8-coin album provided courtesy of Silver Round the World
- WorthPoint, “1986 Texas Sesquicentennial 1oz .999 Pure Fine Silver Coins. 8 Coin Set” (sold $354, Mar 21, 2023)
- WorthPoint, “8-1 OUNCE SILVER OF TEXAS…” listing (#1874686197), confirming the same 8 designs as a matched set
- eBay sold listing, “1985 TEXAS .999 SILVER Round Come Take It…” — buyer’s account of ordering “from John Grayson of San Benito back in 1985 from a Coin World advert”
- Newman Numismatic Portal, Coin World, September 14, 1983 — John Grayson, P.O. Box 1921, San Benito, TX 78586, advertising 1 oz .999 silver “Onzas” rounds
- Newman Numismatic Portal, Coin World, July 16, 1980 and other undated pages — John Grayson, Box 1921, San Benito, TX, ongoing coin dealer classifieds (1980s)
- Texas Monthly, January 1986 — advertisement for “The Alamo” commemorative one ounce silver round, “Sesquicentennial, P.O. Box 1986, Harlingen, TX 78551”
- John William Grayson Jr. obituary, Valley Morning Star (Trinity at Harrison Funeral Home, Harlingen, TX)
- Cameron County, Texas, Assumed Name records (cameron.tx.publicsearch.us)
- World Wide Mint (Bloomington, MN), The Texas Stacker
- Texas Stacker Archives
Coins in this Collection
(Individual entries to be published — Alamo, Come and Take It, Goliad, San Jacinto, State Flag, Lady Liberty, Liberty Flag, Texas Navy)
Coins in this Collection (8)
