Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Coin Chat
>
1962 Seattle World's Fair - Million Silver Dollars Exhibit - Slabbed Dollars Query
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="ConfederateHalf, post: 1240789, member: 27946"]One small correction - it appears that the coins were not sold at the fair. Only one person received coins from the pile at the fair - a lady who was the 1,000,000th visitor was given 100 silver dollars from the pile. (Wouldn't y'all like to have that stash!?) Anyway, it looks like the dollars were sold to the public after the World's Fair Closed - which kinda makes sense since it would no longer be a million dollars to look at if they sold them as the fair went along. Here's the text I found:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>"[TABLE="width: 100%"]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[TD="class: color"][TABLE]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[TD]<a href="http://coinspace.org/public/rss/act_blogs/rss_10/userid_324/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coinspace.org/public/rss/act_blogs/rss_10/userid_324/" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.cointalk.com/design/pic/rss.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a> </p><p>[TABLE]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[TD]0diggsdigg[/TD]</p><p>[TD]<b>A Million Silver Dollars</b> Posted On 02/03/2010 10:19:25 by <a href="http://coinspace.org/CollectibleAmerica" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coinspace.org/CollectibleAmerica" rel="nofollow">CollectibleAmerica</a> </p><p>[/TD]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[/TABLE]</p><p>by Steve Wolff</p><p>The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair offered its ten million visitors many exciting sights. Astronaut John Glenn brought his <i>Friendship 7</i> space capsule, Elvis Presley even filmed a movie there, and Seattle’s famous Space Needle was built as the fair’s futuristic symbol. However, if you had purchased your ticket and walked on the fairgrounds in the spring of 1962, you would have been treated to a spectacular display which has never been re-created: a wire corn crib holding 1 MILLION gleaming US Silver Dollars! </p><p><a href="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/truck2.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/truck2.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/truck2.jpg?w=300&h=236" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a></p><p>This incredible display was the result of an unlikely partnership between the Philadelphia Mint and three Washington numismatists. The three convinced a Columbus, Nebraska manufacturing company to build a steel building on the fair site, while two large semi trucks each carried 500,000 silver dollars in mint-sealed bags from Philadelphia all the way across country to Seattle. (Of course, the trucks also carried armed Pinkerton guards, while state troopers and local police provided additional escort.)</p><p>To construct the <b><i>Million Silver Dollars</i></b> exhibit, 800,000 Morgan silver dollars in mint bags dated 1910-1915 were carefully stacked in the center of the aforementioned corn crib. Then, once the mountain of bags was completed, the final 200,000 Peace dollars were poured in to completely cover the bags. Fair visitors were allowed to pass within just a few feet of this amazing display from the Fair’s opening day, April 2 1, 1962, until it closed in October. </p><p><a href="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/million1.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/million1.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/million1.jpg?w=300&h=239" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a></p><p>Anywhere from 25,000 – 40,000 visitors passed through the steel building every day to gaze upon this once-in-a-lifetime sight. While most visitors considered themselves lucky to even be <i>close</i> to this treasure, one unsuspecting lady was the luckiest of them all! In June, as the one millionth fair visitor passed through the gates, she was presented with 100 of the silver dollars from the exhibit.</p><p>In the fall of 1962, just after the World’s Fair has closed, an ad appeared in a national coin magazine offering actual dollars from this exhibit, in commemorative holders, for $1.95 each. Or, you could purchase up to 5 bags per person for $1500 per bag of 1000. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[/TD]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[/TABLE]</p><p>[/TD]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[/TABLE][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="ConfederateHalf, post: 1240789, member: 27946"]One small correction - it appears that the coins were not sold at the fair. Only one person received coins from the pile at the fair - a lady who was the 1,000,000th visitor was given 100 silver dollars from the pile. (Wouldn't y'all like to have that stash!?) Anyway, it looks like the dollars were sold to the public after the World's Fair Closed - which kinda makes sense since it would no longer be a million dollars to look at if they sold them as the fair went along. Here's the text I found: "[TABLE="width: 100%"] [TR] [TD="class: color"][TABLE] [TR] [TD][URL="http://coinspace.org/public/rss/act_blogs/rss_10/userid_324/"][IMG]http://www.cointalk.com/design/pic/rss.gif[/IMG][/URL] [TABLE] [TR] [TD]0diggsdigg[/TD] [TD][B]A Million Silver Dollars[/B] Posted On 02/03/2010 10:19:25 by [URL="http://coinspace.org/CollectibleAmerica"]CollectibleAmerica[/URL] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] by Steve Wolff The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair offered its ten million visitors many exciting sights. Astronaut John Glenn brought his [I]Friendship 7[/I] space capsule, Elvis Presley even filmed a movie there, and Seattle’s famous Space Needle was built as the fair’s futuristic symbol. However, if you had purchased your ticket and walked on the fairgrounds in the spring of 1962, you would have been treated to a spectacular display which has never been re-created: a wire corn crib holding 1 MILLION gleaming US Silver Dollars! [URL="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/truck2.jpg"][IMG]http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/truck2.jpg?w=300&h=236[/IMG][/URL] This incredible display was the result of an unlikely partnership between the Philadelphia Mint and three Washington numismatists. The three convinced a Columbus, Nebraska manufacturing company to build a steel building on the fair site, while two large semi trucks each carried 500,000 silver dollars in mint-sealed bags from Philadelphia all the way across country to Seattle. (Of course, the trucks also carried armed Pinkerton guards, while state troopers and local police provided additional escort.) To construct the [B][I]Million Silver Dollars[/I][/B] exhibit, 800,000 Morgan silver dollars in mint bags dated 1910-1915 were carefully stacked in the center of the aforementioned corn crib. Then, once the mountain of bags was completed, the final 200,000 Peace dollars were poured in to completely cover the bags. Fair visitors were allowed to pass within just a few feet of this amazing display from the Fair’s opening day, April 2 1, 1962, until it closed in October. [URL="http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/million1.jpg"][IMG]http://collectibleamerica.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/million1.jpg?w=300&h=239[/IMG][/URL] Anywhere from 25,000 – 40,000 visitors passed through the steel building every day to gaze upon this once-in-a-lifetime sight. While most visitors considered themselves lucky to even be [I]close[/I] to this treasure, one unsuspecting lady was the luckiest of them all! In June, as the one millionth fair visitor passed through the gates, she was presented with 100 of the silver dollars from the exhibit. In the fall of 1962, just after the World’s Fair has closed, an ad appeared in a national coin magazine offering actual dollars from this exhibit, in commemorative holders, for $1.95 each. Or, you could purchase up to 5 bags per person for $1500 per bag of 1000. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Coin Chat
>
1962 Seattle World's Fair - Million Silver Dollars Exhibit - Slabbed Dollars Query
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...