Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Texas Centennial half dollar/archive1

The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Gog the Mild via FACBot (talk) 12 August 2024 [1].

Texas Centennial half dollar

Nominator(s): Generalissima (talk (it/she), Wehwalt (talk 19:58, 12 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, the United States commemorative half dollars. By the 1930s, these were getting much less special as every nonprofit in the country seemingly tried to fundraise through one of them. The Texas commemorative half is famed for its absurdly intricate reverse design, which is a great example of the pitfalls of coin design by committee. I initially planned to bring this up to FA by my lonesome, but Wehwalt took an interest to it and added a bunch of contemporary newspaper sources, so now it's a co-nomination! Hope you enjoy the read. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 19:58, 12 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Image review

Some images are missing alt text

I've added for all not having them excluding the infobox where the image is described.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:31, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

File:Pompeo_Coppini_LCCN2014686250_(cropped).tif: when and where was this first published? Nikkimaria (talk) 14:44, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've removed a tag from the image page that implies publication, and left the one that this is part of the Bain collection and freely usable.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:31, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Joeyquism

Throwing in my hat for a prose review. Should get to this in a couple days; personal life has been really wearing me thin recently, so if I somehow don't get to it in that time, feel free to ping me liberally. joeyquism (talk) 23:42, 14 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Love to see the Texan representation here. Below are some things I've noted, some of which are nits; as always, you are free to refuse any suggestions with justification:

Lead

"...while the reverse is a complex scene incorporating the winged goddess Victory, the Alamo Mission, portraits of Texan founding fathers Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, alongside the six flags over Texas." - I was a bit confused by this sentence (I find that I am unable to properly articulate why it was confusing - I will say that it reads as an incomplete list with no "and" to signify the end of the list). Perhaps wording it so that the six flags over Texas goes first (e.g. "incorporating the six flags of Texas alongside the winged goddess") or adding "and" before "portraits" would be better?

Since the flags are not prominent, I've adopted your suggestion to add and, with a couple of other slight modifications.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Authorization

Pretty straightforward, no glaring issues I could spot. The only thing I personally had trouble with was the sentence beginning with "Bertrand H. Snell of New York asked how the coinage dies would be paid for", as I had been thrown off by the use of "dies" as a reference to both the minting term and the last name of the congressman. Just a little unlucky coincidence there; I'm not sure that wikilinking Coining (mint) would be worth it as it seems redundant in the context of this article, though I will suggest it anyways for your consideration.

Instead, I've added "Congressman" before Dies' last name. It may still be a little jarring but it's unavoidable.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Preparation

"Coppini had previously designed various public monuments in Texas, prominently including..." - I am not sure of the inclusion of the word "prominently" here; it feels out of place to me. This is not a pressing issue, however, and will not significantly influence my vote.

Cut.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Charles Moore, the chair of the commission, had become critical of the commemorative half-dollar series, and took an especially dim view of Coppini's initial models, describing them as a conglomeration of 'the whole history of Texas and all its leading personages in a perfect hodgepodge.'" - The quote does not appear to be that critical to me; is there perhaps a more scathing quote that would better convey Moore's disdain for the models? I understand that "hodgepodge" here would be used for its more literal definition ("a confused mixture of different things" according to Cambridge dictionary), but I think today it is more colloquially used to mean just a heterogenous mixture. Plus, the addition of "perfect" sends a mixed signal; perhaps paraphrasing the quote here and using a quote for Lawrie's criticisms could be beneficial. I recognize that this is a silly critique and that you have no control over what a guy who died 80 years ago says, so if there's no such quote and/or you find it to be silly as well, feel free to ignore this comment.

There is a more scathing quote and I've included it.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Design

No glaring issues with the design description. I do wonder if the reception section could be rearranged into paragraphs focusing on positive and negative feedback, but this is mostly coming from my experiences with album reception section organization, and I'm not sure if this is appropriate for numismatic articles.

With over forty commemorative coin FAs all following similar formats, I'm inclined to say, leave it as it is.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Production and distribution

"The first coins to be vended were sold on December 15" - Is "to be vended" necessary here? It feels rather redundant.

Sometimes the first coins struck by the Mint were sold at a premium. This is not such a case. These, so far as can be ascertained from the sources, were simply the first ones sold. I think if we deleted that phrase, there might be ambiguity.--Wehwalt (talk) 01:26, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Makes sense to me. In that case, leave as is. joeyquism (talk) 02:40, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Some of the coins were placed on exhibit at the Austin Chamber of Commerce so the public would know what they looked like" - Could benefit from a more formal wording; something like "for public viewing" would suffice.

I've reworded a bit.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Civic organizations and other groups joined the Legion in selling the coins" - Who are these other groups? If there are no details on them, that is okay.
The source says "various business and civic organizations and schools". That's what we got on that. I saw some references to local chambers of commerce in other sources, if that helps.--Wehwalt (talk) 01:29, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for this information. I think it could be worth it to include these details here for the sake of clarification, but ultimately I will leave this up to you. joeyquism (talk) 02:40, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, the only group I can find specifically named is the Austin Chamber of Commerce and as far as I can tell, they only displayed the coins, and did not sell them.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:48, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Given that information, I would maybe include the businesses and schools and omit the Chamber of Commerce. Regardless, this is still up to you and should not affect my decision going forward. joeyquism (talk) 17:58, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Collecting

No glaring issues.

A wonderful article. Much of this is already in good shape, so I think that many of my criticisms can likely be ignored. Still, I look forward to reading your responses, and I will likely come back to support after they have been addressed. Great job from you both, and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. joeyquism (talk) 22:40, 15 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I've done or responded to all.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Looking good, glad to support here. I also have an FAC open here, if you have the time. Of course, you are not obligated to review, though it would be much appreciated. joeyquism (talk) 18:45, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It sounds interesting. I have one promised review I have to do and then will get to yours, likely by the end of the weekend. Wehwalt (talk) 19:03, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Support from PMC

Putting myself down for a look. Poke me if I don't get to it within a week! ♠PMC♠ (talk) 01:17, 16 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Texas independence from Mexico" shouldn't this be "Texas's"? I know it sounds goofy with Texas, but try subbing another place and see what I mean - "Canada's independence from" vs "Canada independence from". It should be the possessive.
Also suggest linking to some article for "Texas independence from Mexico". Texas Revolution maybe, or Timeline of the Texas Revolution?
"Such a method of funding had been proposed...who proposed" - word repeats in the sentence
Why is the image of Coppini half up into another section? MOS:SECTIONLOC suggests images not be placed too early. Better to move it under the "Preparation" header so it rests where he's first mentioned
"Coppini did not charge for his services" might want to specify that this means in this instance, when I initially read it my first thought was "really, ever?"
Wow Moore was really on a tear here
"design elements, likely requested" and "criticized the design, and wrote" - rm unnecessary commas here (see User:Sammi Brie/Commas in sentences)
"CFA members eventually dropped their broader criticisms of the design, accepting adjustments to the specific design elements of the coin." you have "design" twice in this sentence, and also right at the end of the previous sentence to boot. You could probably also drop "of the coin" since it's clear from context what design elements are being changed
"but ultimately held by the large number of separate design elements" - I cannot understand what this phrase means. Is it missing a word?
"...distributed through Texan banks, available at a price of one dollar per coin,[6] on sale throughout the state beginning on December 20, 1934" - lots of redundancy here, suggest simplifying to "...sold through Texan banks at one dollar per coin, beginning on December 20, 1934"
"and on December 1, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported that all but 30,000 remained unsold." Normally I'm quite fussy about repetition, but here I think the use of "X remaining unsold" is awkward and somewhat confusing. Better to just say "only 30,000 sold".
"continued to be used as a fundraiser for the museum. Low sales continued" - repeat usage of "continued"
can we explain "whizzing" for those who don't know the term? Or just sub it out?

That's it, mostly nitpicking. Sorry to have taken this long to get to it. ♠PMC♠ (talk) 00:41, 25 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Premeditated Chaos: Okay, implemented! Thank you so much for going over this. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 01:21, 25 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Looking good to me! ♠PMC♠ (talk) 02:20, 25 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Mike Christie

"Despite their relative lack of sales, the issue has proven popular with collectors, and have gradually appreciated in value." Since "issue" is singular, "their" sounds odd. "Despite the coins' relative lack of sales, the issue ..." would fix it.
Per WP:NPOL Temple Harris McGregor is probably worth a redlink.
"Opposition to commemorative coinage due to counterfeiting concerns led to various failed commemorative coinage bills": suggest "had led to".
"A more favorable climate was found under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration": suggest "The climate under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration was more favorable".
"While based in Texas, his main studio was located in": if his "main" studio was in New York, in what sense was he "based" in Texas?
"By May 1934, Coppini completed": suggest "had completed".
"accepting adjustments to specific elements": do we know (and is it interesting enough to mention) what these adjustments were?

Lawrie wrote, "minor changes in the figure of Liberty, and in the claws and a wing of the eagle". Judgement call, but I don't think it's worth spelling out especially since Lawrie doesn't get into the specifics of what the changes were (he had met with Coppini personally).--Wehwalt (talk) 15:42, 31 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"dim" and "dimmer" appear; it's a fairly memorable word in this context since it's pejorative and slightly colloquial. Perhaps change one to something like "negative"/"more negative"?
"Adair had suggested that coins with that year's date": I don't think we need "had" here.

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 12:13, 31 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Except as noted, done. Thanks for the review.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:42, 31 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Support. I see you changed both "dim" and "dimmer"; it's fine as you have it but I rather liked the usage -- I only meant that it would be best not to repeat it. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 02:00, 1 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Support from me. Just one comment, which won't affect my support either way: as "in 1936. A. Garland Adair ..." looks rather odd, with the floating 'A.', could we use 'Anthony Garland Adair' instead - or put his description first? Just a suggestion and I'll leave it to your discretion. Cheers – SchroCat (talk) 10:45, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Source review - spotchecks not done

Some of the technical details in the infobox don't appear to be cited anywhere

Why do some Bibliography entries include locations and others not?

Congressional Record citations have all the data entered into |title= - these should be split

Fn15 is missing work title

FN31 doesn't match format of other Newspapers.com refs. Nikkimaria (talk) 20:01, 10 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, all those are fixed now. Wehwalt (talk) 14:08, 11 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Drive-by comments

As Nikkimaria asked, why do some Bibliography entries include locations and others not?
"the six flags over Texas" or "the Six flags over Texas"?
"the issue has proven popular with collectors, and have gradually appreciated in value." If the last clause refers to "the issue", it should read 'has', not "have", but tweaking the wording may be preferable.

Gog the Mild (talk) 13:35, 12 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I missed a couple of locations ... I just don't think the onetime location of a publisher to be useful in an internet age. I've standardized the Six Flags and rephrased the end of the lede. Thanks for the comments.--Wehwalt (talk) 14:36, 12 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Add

Closing note: This candidate has been promoted, but there may be a delay in bot processing of the close. Please see WP:FAC/ar, and leave the {{featured article candidates}} template in place on the talk page until the bot goes through. Gog the Mild (talk) 15:19, 12 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.