As you may know, today is Columbus Day! I don't have any pics with me now, but can post some from home. _____Columbian half dollars were the first commemorative coin released by the U.S. Mint., made in 1892 and 1893 to celebrate 400 years since Columbus' first expedition to the New World. IIRC,they were originally available at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. They were the same size and 90% silver composition of the standard circulating half dollars made for circulation, and therefore caused no problems as legal tender. Charles Barber designed this coin, along with many other coins of that time. The mintage for 1892 coins was lower than 1893 coins. About 100 Proof strikes were made for collectors in both years. Today, low grade examples can be had for around melt, although MS coins are quite uncommon. EDIT: I was able to figure out how to use white underscores to make indentations
Idk why we honor CC, if you do your research, he was a horrible person. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he immediately seized their land for Spain and enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. Within only two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original natives on the island were dead. If I were a Native American, I would mark October 12, 1492, as a black day on my calendar. Shockingly, Columbus supervised the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. Young girls of the ages 9 to 10 were the most desired by his men. In 1500, Columbus casually wrote about it in his log. He said: "A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand." On his second trip to the New World, Columbus brought cannons and attack dogs. If a native resisted slavery, he would cut off a nose or an ear. If slaves tried to escape, Columbus had them burned alive. Other times, he sent attack dogs to hunt them down, and the dogs would tear off the arms and legs of the screaming natives while they were still alive. If the Spaniards ran short of meat to feed the dogs, Arawak babies were killed for dog food. Columbus' acts of cruelty were so unspeakable and so legendary - even in his own day - that Governor Francisco De Bobadilla arrested Columbus and his two brothers, slapped them into chains, and shipped them off to Spain to answer for their crimes against the Arawaks. But the King and Queen of Spain, their treasury filling up with gold, pardoned Columbus and let him go free. Ya....not gonna celebrate that guy. Historically, CC did not even discover america.
It amazes me why celebrate CC. I don't and wished our country wouldn't either. But back to the thread, I found an 1893 at a local antique store a few months ago for only $12! It was in better condition than the one I bought previously ($15) at a coin shop. Also have a Columbus 1992 (I think that's the year) half I got at a local auction for $4, already in a PCGS slab, PF69.
This is so full of misinformation I don't know where to start. Here goes: ".....the Santa Maria was wrecked on a reef off the coast of Hispaniola. With the help of some islanders, Columbus' men salvaged what they could and built the settlement Villa de la Navidad ("Christmas Town") with lumber from the ship. Thirty-nine men stayed behind to occupy the settlement. Convinced his exploration had reached Asia, he set sail for home with the two remaining ships. Subsequent Voyages Returning to Spain in 1493, Columbus gave a glowing, somewhat exaggerated report and was warmly received by the royal court. That same year he took to the seas on his second expedition and explored more islands in the Caribbean Ocean. Upon arrival at Hispaniola, Columbus and his crew discovered the Navidad settlement had been destroyed with all the sailors massacred. Spurning the wishes of the queen, who found slavery offensive, Columbus established a forced labor policy over the native population to rebuild the settlement and explore for gold, believing it would prove to be profitable. His efforts produced small amounts of gold and great hatred among the native population. Before returning to Spain, Columbus left his brothers Bartholomew and Diego to govern the settlement on Hispaniola and sailed briefly around the larger Caribbean islands further convincing himself he had discovered the outer islands of China." "Unfortunately, conditions at the Hispaniola settlement had deteriorated to the point of near-mutiny with settlers claiming they had been misled by Columbus' claims of riches and complaining about the poor management of his brothers. The Spanish Crown sent a royal official who arrested Columbus and stripped him of his authority. He returned to Spain in chains to face the royal court. The charges were later dropped but Columbus lost his titles as governor of the Indies and for a time, much of the riches made during his voyages." "Convincing King Ferdinand that one more voyage would bring the abundant riches promised, Columbus went on what would be his last voyage in 1502, traveling along the eastern coast of Central America in an unsuccessful search for a route to the Indian Ocean. A storm wrecked one of his ships stranding the captain and his sailors on the island of Cuba. During this time, local islanders, tired of the Spaniards poor treatment and obsession with gold, refused to give them food. In a spark of inspiration, Columbus consulted an almanac and devised a plan "punish" the islanders by taking away the moon. On February 29, 1504, a lunar eclipse alarmed the natives enough to re-established trade with the Spaniards. A rescue party finally arrived, sent by the royal governor of Hispaniola in July and Columbus and his men were taken back to Spain in November of 1504" And the death count? "The Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, thought the effects were greatest in the Americas. Small pox from the Old World decimated millions of the Native American population to mere fractions of their original numbers. This more than any other factor made for European domination of the Americas" Above info from: http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209?page=3 Also, about his arrest: "In 1500 he was sent to Santo Domingo by Ferdinand and Isabella with the full powers of a royal commissioner and chief justice. When Bobadilla landed and discovered that Columbus had hanged five Spaniards, he became so furious that he immediately ordered the arrest of Columbus’ brother, Diego (in charge of the Spanish settlement in Columbus’ absence), impounded Columbus’ papers, and took possession of the town of Santo Domingo. Shortly thereafter, Columbus voluntarily gave himself up and was immediately placed in irons and sent back to Spain by Bobadilla. Failing to restore order in Santo Domingo, Bobadilla was ordered back to Spain by the monarchs, while Columbus was given back all the honours and titles taken from him after his arrest. On the return voyage to Spain, a hurricane destroyed Bobadilla’s fleet off the coast of Hispaniola, and all were lost." From: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70747/Francisco-de-Bobadilla So you see. The natives and the Europeans got along well at first. Columbus left 39 men to settle the colony, and came back to find them all slaughtered. 39 men that he completed a harrowing journey across an uncharted and unexplored ocean, defying the advisors of kings and queens across Europe. So he took control. Then, Mr. Authority (Bobadilla) thought he could do a better job. That's why he was arrested. Here's the shocker... Since Bobadilla failed miserably, he was ordered back. Perhaps "research" entails more than one newspaper reporter's slanted view. BTW, you left out the part about "filling people with boiling soap" which I find highly unlikely that they even had any soap, let alone would use what little they may have had as a weapon rather than, uh, SOAP! :rollling:
Here's some info on the Arawaks: "The Arawaks lived in small scattered villages, sometimes near the sea, sometimes on a hill a few miles from the sea. Here they were ruled by their cacique, or chief, who was their law-maker, their judge, and their chief priest. The cacique inherited his position and was greatly respected by his tribe, whom he ruled with gentleness, courtesy, and firmness, for all villagers had to obey his commands. If he left no heir, the eldest son of his eldest sister would become cacique. The Arawaks had few laws, however. They owned most things in common except personal possessions like stone tools, clay pots and canoes. The greatest crime among them was theft, for which the penalty was death by impalement (being pierced with a sharpened stick and left to die). The cacique's main duties were to organise the work of the village. This was done on a cooperative basis, with everyone sharing in the work to provide the tribe's needs. The cacique decided when the fields should be planted, and when new ones should be cleared. The mitaymos, or nobles, supervised the work, while the commoners cleared the bush, or cut down the trees for the all important canoes. The cacique also decided whether or not to attack a neighbouring tribe, for the Arawaks were not always peaceful" Read more: http://members.tripod.com/livi_d/history/history.htm
