The half dollars were not issued until October 1921, apparently because the initial decision to depict President Wilson, a Democrat, on the coin might be reversed depending on the results of the 1920 presidential election. After Republican Warren G. Harding won the presidency, the sponsors of the issue chose to depict William Bibb, the State of Alabama's first governor, and Thomas Kilby, its governor at the time of the centennial, thus making Governor Kilby the first living person to appear on a U.S. coin. To boost sales, a symbol, 2X2 (recognizing Alabama as the 22nd state) was included in the design for a minority of the coins; these are generally more expensive today.