The 

Old Spanish Trail half dollar is a commemorative

coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in
1935. It was designed by L. W. Hoffecker, a coin dealer
who had been the moving force behind the effort for
a Gadsden Purchase half dollar, vetoed by
President Herbert Hoover in 1930, and he sought
another commemorative coin that he could control if
authorizing legislation was passed. He chose the travels
of Spanish officer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in the
early 16th century. Though Hoffecker's hometown of El
Paso, Texas, is featured on the coin, Cabeza de Vaca
came nowhere near its site. Hoffecker purchased the
coins from the Mint at face value and sold them to
collectors, ostensibly on behalf of the local museum,
but in fact for his personal profit, something he later
denied before Congress. His design for the coin,
featuring the head of a cow (the English meaning
of cabeza de vaca), has brought mixed reviews from
numismatic commentators.