One side of the coin depicts a grizzly bear, a symbol of California, and the other shows the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, with the Ferry Building in the foreground.

After some discussion involving the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews coinage designs, Schnier's models were approved and the coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint.

Politics, engineering and financing had blocked earlier proposals dating back to the 1870s; the winds and currents of the bay, and the lack of bedrock to build upon, were believed by some to make such a bridge impossible, especially since it would have to extend 8 miles (13 km).

It was not until the 1930s, when with the support of President Herbert Hoover, a Californian, that the Reconstruction Finance Corporation agreed to purchase construction bonds backed by future tolls for what would be the largest and most expensive bridge of its time.

Until 1954, the entire mintage of such issues was sold by the government at face value to a group authorized by Congress, who then tried to sell the coins at a profit to the public.

[4] In addition, at the request of the groups authorized to purchase them, several coins minted in prior years were produced again, dated 1936, senior among them the Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar, first struck in 1926.

[8] A bill for a commemorative half dollar honoring the opening of the Bay Bridge was introduced in the United States Senate by Hiram Johnson of California on April 10, 1936.

[10] The Banking Committee reported back on the bill with a favorable recommendation, suggesting that the minimum number of coins to be drawn at any one time be increased from 5,000 to 25,000.

[16] The Senate bill for 200,000 commemorative half dollars in honor of the Bay Bridge opening became law with the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 26, 1936.

These were sent to the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA),[19] responsible under a 1921 executive order by President Warren G. Harding for rendering advisory opinions on public artworks, including coins.

On the original designs, the mottoes E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST flanked the bear to left and right: one member of the CFA, John M. Howells did not like the positioning of the latter.

The Ferry Building on the Embarcadero is in the foreground, with Yerba Buena Island in mid-bay, with the Berkeley Hills of the East Bay seen in the distance.

[30] Vermeule stated "the temptation to show comprehensive views of harbors on coins has existed ever since Nero adorned a sestertius with Rome's basin at Ostia [...].

"[31] A total of 100,055 Bay Bridge half dollars were struck at the San Francisco Mint in November 1936, with 55 pieces set aside for transmission to Philadelphia for examination and testing at the following year's meeting of the Assay Commission.

Distribution of the coins was handled by a group of banks known as the San Francisco Clearing House Association, or they could be purchased by mail from celebration organizers' offices on Market Street at $1.65 each, with a discount for ten or more.

Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coins, published in 2018, lists the Bay Bridge piece for between $145 and $340, depending on condition.

[38] In 1986, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the bridge coin issue, 1,000 of the half dollars were placed into holders which were autographed by Schnier, numbered, and sealed in plastic.