1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds

MintOsbourne Mint - Osbourne Coinage (Cincinnati, OH)

IssuerWNW Mint Industries, Inc. (Amarillo, TX)

DistributorWNW Mint Industries, Inc. (Amarillo, TX)

Captain L. H. McNelly stands with his rifle lowered before a saddled horse, with two mounted Rangers on a rise behind him, after the painting by Joe Ruiz Grandee. Legend: “TEXAS RANGER SESQUICENTENNIAL / 1823 / 1973.” Osborne Coinage’s O over offset C mark sits in the left field and “WNW” at lower right.

A large five-pointed star within live oak and olive branches, with a small flower at its base, after the Texas state seal. Legends: “STATE OF TEXAS” above and “TEXAS RANGER COMMEMORATIVE · 1823 · 1973” around, separated by small stars.

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds Overview

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds were struck for the 150th anniversary of the Texas Rangers (1823–1973), the oldest state law enforcement body in North America, and were issued in .999 fine silver, bronze, and clad. The Rangers trace their beginning to 1823, when Stephen F. Austin engaged a small company of men to protect the settlers of his colony in Mexican Texas. Over the next century and a half they served as frontier defenders, border lawmen, and eventually the elite investigative arm of the Texas Department of Public Safety. By 1973 the anniversary was being marked across the state in print, in exhibitions, and in the Legislature, where the Texas Senate adopted a resolution congratulating the Rangers on their Sesquicentennial in March 1973.

The round was one piece of a coordinated commemorative program issued by WNW Mint Industries, Inc. of Amarillo. The program was underway before the anniversary year began. A companion sterling silver plate carrying the same artwork was released in a limited edition of 5,000, with a certificate dated November 1, 1972, and signed by W. E. Williamson for W.N.W. Mint Industries, and the plate itself is stamped on the back with the company’s name and Amarillo location. A program booklet titled Texas Ranger Sesquicentennial Commemorative 1823–1973 illustrates both faces of the round alongside a profile of its subject.

The program was tied to a building project. In 1971 the Texas Legislature created the Texas Ranger Commemorative Commission to honor the 150th anniversary with an official Hall of Fame, to be built beside the Homer Garrison Jr. Museum at Fort Fisher Park on the Brazos River in Waco. Ground was broken in August 1973. A period account of the project gives the original building estimate as $300,000 and states that much of the construction revenue came from a cooperative sharing arrangement with the companies and individuals selling commemorative items, several of which the Hall of Fame itself planned to offer for sale. The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame opened in 1976. Numismatically, the 1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative is one of the earliest Texas-themed private silver rounds of the modern bullion era.

Captain L. H. McNelly (1844–1877)

Captain Leander Harvey McNelly (1844–1877) was one of the most formidable and controversial officers in Texas Ranger history. A Confederate veteran of the Civil War, McNelly was given command in 1874 of a special force raised to restore order in the Nueces Strip between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, where cattle theft and cross-border raiding had overwhelmed local authorities. Known as the “Special Force” or “McNelly’s Rangers,” the unit pursued stolen livestock deep into disputed territory, including the 1875 fight on Palo Alto Prairie and the crossing into Mexico at Las Cuevas later that year.

McNelly’s leadership was defined by hard riding, strict discipline, and decisive, often uncompromising action. These methods restored a measure of order to South Texas but also drew criticism for operating beyond strict legal boundaries, contributing to his lasting reputation as both a lawman and a controversial figure. Despite suffering from tuberculosis for much of his service, McNelly kept command and achieved significant results in a short career. He died in 1877 at the age of 33, and is remembered as a key figure in establishing the Rangers’ reputation for toughness during the turbulent post–Civil War frontier period.

About the Artist – Joe Ruiz Grandee

Joe Ruiz Grandee is a distinguished Texas Western artist best known for his historically accurate depictions of frontier life, Texas Rangers, and Southwestern heritage. In 1971, he was formally designated the First Official Texas State Artist, a landmark recognition of his role in preserving Texas history through art.

Grandee’s career brought national attention through major exhibitions and honors. His work was displayed in programs sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the University of Texas, with exhibitions in both the United States and Japan. In 1972, one of his Texas Ranger paintings was presented to Richard Nixon in connection with the Rangers’ 150th anniversary. The Franklin Mint later recognized him with awards for Outstanding Painting of American Western Art and named him among the twelve most outstanding Western artists. He was also the first Western artist invited to exhibit in the U.S. Capitol Building.

Grandee’s long-term legacy was cemented with his induction into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2012, where he was honored for his lifetime contribution to preserving the spirit and history of the American West. His artwork remains closely tied to Texas heritage, making him a fitting choice for the 1973 Texas Ranger Sesquicentennial commemorative program.

The Design

The obverse reproduces Grandee’s McNelly painting. McNelly stands in the foreground with his rifle lowered and his horse at his back, while two mounted Rangers watch from a rise behind him. The reverse is built on the star-and-wreath device of the Texas state seal: a large five-pointed star framed by live oak and olive branches, with a small flower at its base. The legends identify the piece as a state commemorative rather than a bullion round, and neither face carries a weight or fineness statement; on the silver striking the fineness appears only on the edge.

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds Attribution

The round carries two maker’s marks on the obverse: an O over offset C in the left field and WNW at lower right above the ground line. The O over offset C is the mark of Osborne Coinage of Cincinnati, Ohio, a long-established contract mint. WNW identifies WNW Mint Industries, whose name, signature, and hallmark appear on the program’s companion plate and certificate. On that basis WNW Mint Industries is the issuer and distributor of the program, and Osborne Coinage is attributed as the striking mint. No contract, invoice, or period statement has been located that defines the division of work between the two firms, and the Osborne attribution rests on its struck mark pending that documentation.

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Bronze and Clad Issues

The design was also struck in bronze and in a silver-toned clad composition, both from the same obverse and reverse dies as the silver and both carrying the same O over offset C and WNW marks in the same positions. The bronze example examined has an antiqued finish, with darkened fields and highlighted relief. The clad example shows small spots on the surface where the base metal shows through, as is typical of clad stock. Both base-metal issues match the silver in diameter but are struck on thinner planchets, weighing about two-thirds of a troy ounce, with reeded edges.

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds Notes

• Osborne Coinage mint mark = O over offset C; WNW Mint Industries, Amarillo TX mark = WNW.
• A companion sterling silver plate with an etched reproduction of the same Grandee artwork was issued by WNW Mint Industries in a limited edition of 5,000. Its certificate is dated November 1, 1972, and reads “Capt. L. H. McNelly by Joel Ruiz Grandee,” a period misspelling of the artist’s first name.
• Mintage for the silver, bronze, and clad issues has not been documented.

1973 Texas Rangers Commemorative Rounds References

• Documented examples examined (this entry): silver, bronze, and clad
• WNW Mint Industries, Inc., Certificate of Authenticity, Capt. L. H. McNelly by Joel Ruiz Grandee — Sesquicentennial Commemorative Sterling Silver Plate 1823–1973, certified November 1, 1972
• Texas Ranger Sesquicentennial Commemorative 1823–1973 / Captain L. H. McNelly 1844–1877 (program booklet)
• [SOURCE PUBLICATION TITLE], “The Texas Rangers Hall of Fame,” p. 175
• Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, 63rd Legislature, Regular Session (1973), S.R. 420, p. 568
• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum — Our Mission
• City of Waco — From Frontier Outpost to Texas Ranger Historical Center
• Joe Ruiz Grandee
• Texas Stacker Archives

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