I was born and raised in Delaware, and for part of my collecting life I have tried to find tokens, medals and paper money that have a relationship with the state. Beyond the obvious pieces, which include the 1938 Delaware commemorative half dollar, 1999 Delaware State Quarter and the 2015 Bombay Hook (located in the middle of the state, near Smyrna, Delaware) National Wildlife Preserve, America the Beautiful Quarter, there are surprising few Delaware items available. One of the earliest Delaware tokens was issued by John Randel, Jr. who was a consultant and engineer for the construction of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (a.k.a. the C&D Canal). That canal, which is still of economic importance, connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. It reduces the required distance for ships traveling between Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by 300 miles. John Randel was born on December 3, 1787 in Albany, New York to a well to do family. Although his family was well off, his formal education was limited to primary school. At an early age Randel was apprenticed to a surveyor where he learned the principles of his life's work. He became adept at surveying and map drafting and was involved in the development of turnpikes between Albany and Schenectady, and Albany and Cooperstown, New York. Randel's most significant project involved the surveying and planning for the Island of Manhattan. Using surveying instruments that were often of his own invention, Randel surveyed the island and laid out the grids that would ultimately be the markers for the streets that exist today. Randel and his staff placed marble monuments with street numbers to mark each intersection. At the end of the project, Randel and his wife, Matilda, who was also skilled map maker, drew maps that were 50 feet long of the Manhattan area. This project alone required two years of their time. Initial work on the D&D Canal began in 1804, but quickly ended because of a lack of funding, technical problems, politics and labor issues. The project was revived in 1823 with a new board of directors. The board hired architect William Strickland, who also designed the Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans Mints, to examine the proposed route for the canal project. Benjamin Wright was hired as the chief engineer, and Randel was engaged an assistant. After examining the possible routes Randel proposed one that was south of the original site. The advantage to Randel's proposal was that the canal would open to the Atlantic Ocean, which would insure that it would always have an adequate water level. This had been a concern since the canal had been proposed. The problem was that an 80 foot ridge which have to be breached to complete the canal. After some discussion Randel's proposal was accepted. Randel was assigned the responsibility for digging the eastern end of the Canal. As was the custom of the time, Randel was paid a salary from which he was expected to hire the workers and pay their salaries. For reasons that are unclear, Randel ran afoul of chief engineer, Benjamin Wright. Wright cut Randel's salary to the point where he had to use his own funds to continue the project. Randel went into debt, and others who were connected with projected noted that Wright was treating Randel unfairly. Nonetheless Wright continued his vendetta against Randel until he was able to fire the engineer. Randel filed suit for breach of contract against the canal company and Wright individually. The suit dragged on for nine years, until a jury awarded Randel $226,885.84 which is almost $5.4 million in today's dollars. The canal company appealed the decision all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled in Randel's favor. The judgment almost bankrupted the canal company, but Randel ultimately received his money. Randel used his canal settlement to build an estate, "Randelia," which was located in Cecil County, Maryland, not far from the western end of the canal. The estate included 1,415 acres of land when it was at its largest. Despite this success, Randel's fertile mind was never at rest. One of his most inventive projects was an elevated railroad for Manhattan Island years before the idea would come to fruition. Randel built a one-tenth scale cast iron model of this project, which bore a resemblance to the San Francisco cable car system. The cars were moved by a cable system, not by steam engines or horses. The model cost Randel $4 to $5 thousand, which was one of many expensive projects that Randel advocated at his own expense. Randel's railroad project as well as some of his other schemes were not accepted and cost him considerable amounts of money. At the end of his life Randel was almost bankrupt and quite bitter. He described himself as "a ruined man" as he approached death in the mid 1860s. The Numismatic Connection John Randel issued two varieties of advertising tokens in 1825. The more common of the two tokens, has the words, "J. Randel, Jr. C. & C. Canal" around the edge with the date "1825" in the center surrounded by a wreath. The reverse is blank. This piece is rated as an Rarity 6 on the Hard Times Token with an estimate of 13 to 30 examples known. The token is about the size of a U.S. half cent and slightly larger than the modern quarter. I have owned two examples of this piece during my time as a collector. The rarer token reads, "J. Randel, Jr. C. & C. Canal," with three concentric circles in the center. This piece also has a blank reverse. This piece is rated a Rarity 8 with estimated 2 or 3 examples known. I have never seen an example of this piece, nor I have I seen one offered for sale.
I grew up a Delawarean as well. Spent the first 30+ years of my life there and still consider it "home". I, as well, am always on the hunt for stuff with a Delaware connection. At one point in my life I made daily trips across the C&D Canal. As I'm sure you know, paper money is the easy way to go. I have been working on a type set of Delaware colonial paper for a number of years. Just pick them up when I find them at reasonable prices. I don't believe I have ever come across any tokens.
Wow! You have a piece of Milton, Delaware Civil War script! That's a rare item. That was my home town, and I was trilled when I found one.
