I saw this and had to have it. At least the price was right. I thought it was a very interesting piece. It's 120 years old so there's nothing political about it. This is a 1900 Indian Head Cent that's encased. The reverse has a ferrotype photo of McKinley and Roosevelt. This was a political souvenir of the times in 1900. It was used as a key ring or a necklace. There is no way to remove the coin without destroying the bezel but I have no thoughts about doing so as it's neater and more interesting like this. A wonderful piece of history. Due to the coloring of the coin and the political photo, the color is very close to it's actual and true color.
I would bet that @johnmilton could help on this one. He has a spectacular collection of political memorabilia and is extremely well versed in them..
I see references to them as "1900 Indian Cent Political Charms." This post by "The Penny Lady" shows examples that look identical except for the picture --> go here I only see examples showing McKinley and TR, or WJB alone. Apparently some of them have value, so you may want to check into them more if you're thinking about unencapsulating it.
Being from Canton, OH originally, where McKinley lived much of his life, ran his POTUS campaign from, and is buried there, I LOVE THIS!!! McKinley memorabilia is VERY popular among us native Cantonians. May I ask where you got it? BTW, McKinley was a huge proponent of maintaining the gold standard and was against bi-metallism, unlike his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, who was in the hip pocket of the silver barons.
Glad you like it. It was one of those items that when you see it, you feel it's calling to you. I saw it and all I could think of was "I gotta have that".
Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I have been spending a lot of time on ancient Roman coins of late. I have seen pictures of this piece before, but have never owned or seen one in person. It is probably quite scarce. Generally the unusual Bryon pieces are scarcer than the McKinly/Roosevelt varieties because the McKinley campaign had far more money to spend. Beyond that I can’t add anymore
Thanks for your comments. The person I bought it from said was very scarce and as a collector of political items it nice to have you confirm that. I appreciate your taking the time to look it over.
Here is a similar view of William McKinley and Theordore Roosevelt on a pinback jugate. Note the gold background which was a subtle way to say they supported the gold standard. The OP piece on the reverse of a 1900 cent probably had a gold background also. And Bryan and Adlai Stevenson, who was the grandfather of the man who ran for president in 1952 and '56, were presented with a silver background.
