Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Bridgeport, Connecticut, Centennial half dollar is a fifty-cent piece issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936 as a commemorative coin.Designed by Henry Kreis, the obverse (pictured) depicts the showman P. T. Barnum, who was one of Bridgeport's most famous residents, mayor of the city, helped develop it, and is buried there. .