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1935 Pony Express Diamond Jubilee
Gilt So-called Half Dollar



This is possibly a gilt original 1935 minted medal as 6 of the 8 Smith medals are actually restrikes using the same dies from medals used earlier. This is my fourth different brass or gilt medal that matches those found in the 1947 c.smith set of 8 so-called half dollars

1947 c.smith Pony Express Jubilee
So-called Half Dollar



Charles E. Smith was a Boston coin dealer. At the time Smith's medals were issued, the US Congress was putting the brakes on US commemorative half dollar coins. Smith may have believed he could fill a void in the marketplace by creating commemorative medals that were roughly the same size; Smith's medals were slightly larger at 32 mm in diameter to avoid running afoul of the US Government.

 

1966 Pony Express
National Commemorative Society
Sterling Silver Medal





One earlier medal of what would be a collection of 150 different issues in a set that spanned from 1964 through 1976.

Many medals like this were refined during the Silver Boom of the late 70's - early 80's.
5,292 is the mintage for each issue, how many survived the melting pot over the years is unknown.

It is no mistake that the year this was minted in 1966 is directly connected to the theme of the Pony Express covering 1966 miles in 10 days.
10 days! Pretty darn impressive, especially when you consider the time it takes to get some priority mail delivered in 2022!

1972 Burtons Wagon Wheels
The West - Pony Express Card

 

Looped St. Joseph Museum and Stables
Pony Express Souvenir Fob





Most likely minted around or post 1970, as that is when the museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With loop this measures 33 mm in height and 28 mm across. Perhaps someone knows a bit more about this fob. I would think it could be bought at sometime in the museum as a souvenir.


A website for the museum
https://www.stjosephmo.gov/371/The-Pony-Express

 

I'll give them ponies a rest but that's all for now but since I put them in the stalls and I'm in St Joseph Missouri . . .

1926 St Joseph Missouri
First Airmail Medal
Aluminum 31mm





Here's a news snippet from St. Joseph News-Press on 5/17/2019 and I found that actually mentions this token!

Wardell Schoff retains a bit of memorabilia from that day, May 12, 1926.
His aunt, Gladys Schoff, had been local royalty of a sort, an attendant to the Air Mail Queen. Marie Hogan, crowned the previous night at a City Auditorium dance, reigned for this occasion.

Gladys saved from that day a couple of tokens struck in commemoration of the inaugural flight.

On one side, the coin-like casting read, "Air Mail," with the date and the city name.
On the other, a relief showed the "Carrier Pigeon" bi-plane, made by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co., and the workhorse vehicle of aerial mailings.

Schoff, with his own interest in aviation, got the tokens from his late aunt and said the young women had sold them.
"I don't know what they collected the money for, but every organization, you know, has to have money," he said, noting the top-seller got to be queen.

"Aunt Gladys did not sell the most. ... She was a country girl from Stewartsville, so she wouldn't be exposed to selling these as much as some of them in St. Joe."

News clippings and photographs from the day also have been kept by Schoff. "We started digging in what we call the office and finally found them," laughs Shirley Schoff, his wife since 1955.

Air mail service had been sought by the business community in St. Joseph, including the Boosters Club of the local Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the arrival eve dance.
One route for postal flights went from Chicago to Dallas, and National Air Transport, the contracted delivery service, chose St. Joseph as an intermediate stop.

The pilot, Paul E. Johnson, began the flight about 20 minutes late from Chicago, headed to Moline, Illinois, but he managed to get to what was then known as Rosecrans Municipal Air Field about 12 minutes early.
(Mechanics at the airport in French Bottoms told the News-Press that the plane had no fuel left in the tank.)

Queen Marie Hogan mounted a platform and christened the airplane by breaking a bottle of Missouri River water on the plane's propeller. Postmaster Elliot Marshall and various clerks and carriers brought 6,000 letters to be loaded into the plane.

The oldest living Pony Express rider, a whiskered octogenarian named Charles “Cyclone” Thompson, stood among 6,000 others to greet the first air mail flight to the community.



Either a recut lettering or doubled die appears especially on M.



Info found: The maker's name appears to the left on the obverse: POLLOCK AND CREVISTON. This firm of jewelers was only in business during 1916-1929, so the medals were probably made in 1926.

Online I found a photo of another variety of the aluminum piece which has a slightly different obverse -- differences in the trees, tail of the plane and clouds. This variety also has the maker's name at the top on the obverse, and at the bottom the initials: WGP for William G. Pollock, who engraved the die. The maker partnership was dissolved in 1929 or 1930, becoming two firms, Pollock & Company and Creviston & Sons.

The latter is still in business today (2015). -- Bruce W. Smith is credited for providing information.

 

Here's a new one for me (seller's pics) "Vampire De La France" satirical jeton dated 1870 from France in a PCGS details slab. Does anyone know anything about these? It was inexpensive, I love the design and I'm curious. My preliminary research leads me to believe it relates to the Battle of Sedan which was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French government.

 

This is thinner then a dime

 

Sometimes you go down a rabbit hole and end up buying something you didn’t know existed until you see it.

 

1961 Kansas Statehood
Heraldic Art Medal
So-Called Half Dollar





Obverse - Pioneer mother and her son. She holds a wheat sheaf and he a stalk of sunflower. In the background, the original territorial capital at Pawnee.
Reverse - Elements of the state seal of the plowing scene. The pioneer father tills the soil with a team of workhorses. In the sky, 34 stars for the 34th state.

Below, Dorothy is happy to be back in Kansas after a trip to OZ.

1974 Great Seal of Kansas
Sterling Medal
Franklin Mint
33.5 gr 39mm



This is an uncirculated sterling Kansas medal with an ox drawn covered wagon on the obverse and a couple bison in the background. The reverse has the state seal, which is what this medal is about when Kansas became a state in 1861.
74 assuming for 1974, hallmarks, and STERLING in open space on reeded edge.

The design for the Great Seal of Kansas was submitted by John J. Ingalls, a state senator from Atchison. Ingalls also proposed the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera."
The Great Seal of the State of Kansas was established by a joint resolution adopted by the Kansas Legislature May 25, 1861.
The resolution states:
"The east is represented by a rising sun, in the right-hand corner of the seal; to the left of it, commerce is represented by a river and a steamboat; in the foreground, agriculture is represented as the basis of the future prosperity of the state, by a settler’s cabin and a man plowing with a pair of horses; beyond this is a train of ox-wagons, going west; in the background is seen a herd of buffalo, retreating, pursued by two Indians, on horseback; around the top is the motto,
'Ad astra per aspera,' which translates "To the Stars through Difficulties"
and beneath a cluster of thirty-four stars. The circle is surrounded by the words, "Great seal of the state of Kansas. January 29, 1861."

Artwork is an illustrated 1876 historical coat of arms I thought was neat.



1961 Kansas Statehood Centennial HK586
ANACS MS65






Info from the so-calleddollars.com website

Medal issued by Kansas Centennial Commission, Topeka and is "combination of designs of Topeka artist and experts in Treasury Department"; authorized by 86th Congress; struck at Philadelphia Mint.
Controversy and criticism developed both because many considered medal unattractive and because of method of distribution.
"Special procedures" were established "to make sure none of medals would leave Kansas."
Application forms were supplied "only to bona fide residents...by 596 banks and trust companies...on a population basis Issue limited to 20,000 Silver pieces; sold for $2.50.
Almost immediately, however, medals became available elsewhere but at substantially increased prices.

Early settlers celebrated this ubiquitous plains flower and in 1903, the Kansas Legislature designated the Sunflower, Helianthus annuus, as the state flower.

 

Another one of my Big 3 inch Lucky Nickels
Not terribly hard to find but in pretty nice shape

1930's Kansas City
The Heart of America
Liberty Memorial
Union Station
Kansas City, Missouri







Liberty Memorial
Dedicated in 1921, The Liberty Memorial Tower rises 217 feet above the main courtyard and 268 feet above the North Lawn. The cylindrical tower is 36 feet in diameter at its base, tapering to 28 feet at the top.
The Liberty Memorial was dedicated “in honor of those who served in World War One in defense of liberty and our country.”


Union Station
Kansas City Union Station opened in 1914 after eight years of construction. At the time it was the second largest railroad station in the country. It closed in 1985.

Union Station was restored and re-opened in 1999, showcasing the original grandeur and beauty of the building.
Union Station is now home to many businesses and educational organizations, and currently serves as Kansas City’s civic center for major events and festivals year-round.

 

Picked up another Masonic token recently. Chicago, IL Chapter 245


Here are my other 2 Masonic tokens:
San Mateo, CA


M. W. Grand Lodge, CO 1961 100th anniversary commemorative

 

I took this and dipped in some sterling silver cleaner that I've had for at least 12 years.
Here are the before and after photos.

 

I also dipped these two

 

1974 Sinking of the Lusitania
.925 Silver 39mm
Danbury Mint Medal




Sinking of The HMS Lusitania

By early 1915, a new threat, submarines, began to materialize. At first, they were used by the Germans only to attack naval vessels, and they achieved only occasional – but sometimes spectacular – successes.
Then the U-boats as they were called, began to attack merchant vessels at times.
Desperate to gain an advantage on the Atlantic, the German government decided to step up their submarine campaign. On 4 February 1915 Germany declared the seas around the British Isles a war zone and from 18 February allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. Efforts would be taken to avoid sinking neutral ships.
The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, 7 May 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and Lusitania sank in 18 minutes.



On board the Lusitania, Leslie Morton, an eighteen-year-old lookout at the bow, had spotted thin lines of foam racing toward the ship. He shouted, "Torpedoes coming on the starboard side!" through a megaphone, thinking the bubbles came from two projectiles. The torpedo struck Lusitania under the bridge, sending a plume of debris, steel plating and water upward and knocking lifeboat number five off its davits.
"It sounded like a million-ton hammer hitting a steam boiler a hundred feet high." one passenger said.
A second, more powerful explosion followed, sending a geyser of water, coal, dust and debris high above the deck.

The vessel went down 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors.
The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought.

1954 Topps Scoop No 5

 

Woman with Flowing Hair
Art Nouveau Bronze Medal
Possibly French - circa turn of the century 1900's





I have seen only one other, and in worse condition.
This is unidentified but looks to be a quality medal. The red blotches are exaggerated in the images, see the larger gallery image.

It looks much nicer in hand but appears darker than images. 7/8 inches in diameter and has incuse design of woman for striking detail on the obverse.

Can anyone help us out with further info on this one?

 

1971 Santa Fe Trail
Sterling Silver 39mm Medal
National Commemorative Society
Franklin Mint





The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.



Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.
Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which carried trade from Mexico City.
The route skirted the northern edge and crossed the north-western corner of Comancheria, the territory of the Comanches, who demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail, and represented another market for American traders.
Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade, and provided the Comanches with a steady supply of horses for sale.


By the 1840s, trail traffic along the Arkansas Valley was so heavy that bison herds could not reach important seasonal grazing land, contributing to their collapse, which in turn hastened the decline of Comanche power in the region.

The American army used the trail route in 1846 for the invasion of New Mexico during the Mexican-American War.
After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest ending the war, the trail helped open the region to U.S. economic development and settlement, playing a vital role in the expansion of the U.S. into the lands it had acquired.



Of course there is the 1940 film "Santa Fe Trail" starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey,
Ronald Reagan, Van Heflin, Alan Hale and other regular stars of the time.

 

1976 Two Centuries
of Liberty Peace Progress
Longines Symphonette




"Two Centuries of Liberty Peace Progress" - July 4th, Bicentennial - Solid Sterling Silver Art Round

This Collectors Art Round is Sterling Silver With Two Small Diamonds Inset. It Was Struck By Wittnauer Precious Metals Guild As A Part Of A Limited Edition Set For The Longines Symphonette Society. It Is A Very High Relief Strike, With An Antique Finish & Very Attractive.

The Edge Is Stamped “Sterling" "Longines Symphonette"
It Measures Approx 44mm Across (It is larger than a silver dollar, which is 38mm)
It Weighs 1.6 Ounces (or 1.5 Troy Ounces)
Precious Metal Is Solid Sterling Silver

There are numerous variations for this medal. Although unique in size, being considerably larger, and having diamond chips, it is considered part of the Great American Triumphs set by Longines Symphonette, Whittnauer Mint.