what is the backstory behind this particular coin?
An officer was on a Spanish expedition in search of treasure and on his return home he was give the name Cabeza de Vaca by the King of Spain for guiding the army through mountains and defeating the Moors.
Old Spanish Trail half dollar
an officer on a Spanish expedition
what does the term "old spanish trail half dollar" mean? It was a commemorative coin. of which country? The United States who designed it? L.W. Hoffecker who was he? A coin dealer where was it produced? United States Bureau of the Mint could you please elaborate on this institution? UNANSWERABLE can you describe the design on the coin? The obverse depicts the head of a cow, and reverse a yucca in bloom.
wiki:23569329
Old Spanish Trail half dollar [SEP] Background
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was an officer on a Spanish expedition that landed around Tampa Bay in 1528. Their searches for treasure led to hostile reception by the local Native Americans, and de Vaca was eventually marooned there. He and others made their way west by small boats along the coast, and eventually reached Galveston Island, where he lived with the Karankawa tribe as a medicine man before continuing west overland: in 1536 he found a Spanish patrol in northern Mexico. He returned home and wrote of his experiences. Cabeza de Vaca, or "head of a cow", was a name said to have been given by the King of Spain to an ancestor of Álvar Núñez for his help in guiding the army through the mountains, enabling an attack on the Moors from the rear, defeating them.