Elvis Presley "Toronto Concert with Lame Suit" US Half Dollar Commemorative Coin

Elvis Presley is rightly called the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  He is credited with 54 certified gold singles – more than any other recording artist ever!  This coin highlights one of those songs that sold at least 500,000 copies. 

Mystic has permanently bonded a vibrant image of Elvis to this uncirculated US Half Dollar.  The coin features an original photograph of Presley from his estate’s official archives and is officially licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Toronto Concert with Lamé Suit

This coin also commemorates Elvis wearing his famed gold lamé suit at an April 2, 1957, concert.   Elvis had hired tailor Nudie Cohn to design him a $10,000 suit.  The result was the flashy gold lamé suit that became a part of Elvis history and catapulted its designer into fashion stardom.  (Cohn was later credited as the first designer to put rhinestones on country singers’ outfits, which led to the term “Rhinestone Cowboy.”) 

Elvis wore his gold lamé suit for the first time on March 28, 1957, for a performance at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.  He only wore the complete five-piece suit (jacket, pants, belt, ties, and shoes) two more times.  The second time was in St. Louis the following night and the last time was a week later at the Toronto concert pictured on this coin.  This concert was held at the maple Leaf Gardens. 

Elvis soon found that he didn’t like the gold pants as much as the jacket.  The pants were heavy and didn’t fit quite right.  Plus, as we all know, Elvis often dropped to his knees during performances, which quickly began to wear off the gold.  His Toronto concert was the last time he wore the whole suit.  He began wearing the gold jacket and shoes with black pants, still a sharp look for the King.  Reportedly, the last time he wore the gold jacket was at the March 25, 1961, USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert.

Today the famous gold suit is on display at Graceland.