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Just couldn’t resist when I saw this







“1932 Washington Bicentennial Commission Presentation Medal. Baker-901. This very scarce medal was presented to official guests at a Commission function.”

 

1983 Vietnam MIA POW Medal
Bronze 35mm



The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia.
591 American prisoners of war (POWs) were returned during Operation Homecoming. The U.S. listed about 2,500 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action but only 1,200 Americans were reported killed in action and body not recovered.

 

1991 Diamond Lady Riverboat - Buffalo Bill
25 Cent Casino Token





This little casino chip was only worth a quarter on the "Diamond Lady". I found it looking for Buffalo Bill stuff but it was a double win for me because I love the rivers and am a fan of Wm F. Cody.
I spent many a night on the river catfishing.
It must have been used for the slot machines on board?

On April 1, 1991, the "Diamond Lady", built by Bernie Goldstein, set sail from Bettendorf, Iowa, on the first legal riverboat gaming cruise since the 19th century.
Those new casino boats then were rather small in comparison to some of the riverboat gaming properties today. Casinos on the water were immediately popular, and encouraged the growth of the riverboat industry in Iowa and later across the Midwest.
After a couple decades of sailing, the "Diamond Lady" was in rough shape and all the gambling tables, machines and even the gift shop souvenirs were taken ashore thrown in dumpsters and hauled to shredders and then to a landfill.

Grand Majestic Riverboat Co. overhauled the 201 foot long 50 foot wide former Iowa casino boat "Diamond Lady" to take 70 passengers on 7 to 21 night cruises.
Newly named "Grand Majestic" sails not only the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, but also the Cumberland, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois and the Missouri rivers as well as the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The multi-million dollar project included a complete re-powering of the vessel that now has three Caterpillar 3412 engines, one of which drives the paddlewheel, and an interior gutted and refurbished with cabins, a dining area and a lounge.
Work was done in the New Orleans area, and the boat is home ported in Covington, Ky.

 

1960's First Steam Coinage
Restrike
US Mint - Gobrecht




This restrike medal is Bronze, about 13 grams, 28 mm
Originals were 100% copper weighed 10.89 grams and were 28-29 mm

First Steam Coinage U.S. Mint Medal. This is medal is a restrike of the elusive 1836 medal engraved by Christian Gobrecht. The originals were struck on Large Cent planchets.
These were struck by the U.S. Mint in the 1960s. It is still sealed in its original plastic.

1836 First Steam Coinage
The centuries old hammer method of coinage was modernized in the middle 16th century with the first working screw press employed in Augsburg, Germany. An advance on the screw press was the lever press, also known as a knuckle-joint press, invented in 1812, and perfected by a Paris machinist named M. Thonnelier two decades later in 1833.
Rather than build these presses himself, he sold his drawings and plans to various mints. One of the buyers was U.S. chief coiner Franklin Peale, who was on a two-year tour of Europe, visiting various mints on that continent. The first knuckle-joint coining press in America was built by Merrick, Agnew, and Tyler.



Unlike the original mint building, the second facility at the corner of Chestnut and Juniper Streets in Philadelphia was designed to utilize steam power. The first steam-powered coining press was expected to debut on February 22, 1836, but a mechanical problem delayed the initial operation until March 23. Sample dies were prepared with the February date, with a few impressions struck on screw presses in anticipation of the event. However, the delayed initial operation meant that those dies were overdated, with MAR 23 engraved over FEB 22. Once all was set, the First Steam Coinage medals were struck on large cent planchets.

 

1970 Hudson Bay Company Medal



Medal commemorating
The Hudson Bay Company Tercentenary

Obverse: The arms of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Reverse: The vessel 'Nonsuch' starboard bow view.
COMPAGNIE DE LA BAIE D'HUDSON translates from French to English as Hudson's Bay Company.

This medal designed by Mrs Dora de Pedery Hunt of Toronto and engraved by Canadian Artistic Dies Inc. Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Approx. 48,000 examples like this one were struck for presentation to proprietors and staff on the occasion of the 300th anniversary, 2 May 1970.

I bought this one a few years back and it is a discus of a medal. Huge and heavy at about 46mm. It has a matte surface in bronze and a strong bright contrasting copper edge and rim.

A couple very expensive and hard to find tokens are the Hudson's Bay Co and North West Co. Trade Tokens.

Since I wanted at least something connected to this, I found this one at a very good price and think it is a neat medal as well.
I doubt I'll ever get a real beaver fur token.

Mine is a bit nicer than the usual encountered.
They did come on a cardboard display, which I do not have.

 

St. Maurice Three Rivers
City Transport Quebec
One Fare Passage Token



A bus token from a transportation company that went out of business in 1975.
This is the small leaf copper nickel variety. I bought it to accompany my various Canadian Tokens collection as an odd transportation token from Canada.

Both sides are the same.
Trois Rivieres CANADA Cie de Transport St-Maurice 1 Passage Fare

 

I’m not a paper guy but there are a handful of reasons why I wanted this one. There are plenty of examples of Childrey the Druggist stamps but most are just the name and address while this one has a comprehensive list of things he would buy and sell.









“Childrey the Druggist, Dealer in Old Coins Stamps and Relics”

By Frank Van Valen, Numismatist & Cataloger, U.S. Coins

Author: Frank Van Valen / Wednesday, August 13, 2014 / Categories: Exonumia Corner

Welcome to the first-ever installment of The Exonumia Corner, a bi-weekly look at another side of numismatics. Exonumia means “outside numismatics,” and is a catch-all term for items related to coin collecting, though sometimes in an off-beat way. Medals, tokens, trench art, paper ephemera, and other unusual numismatic items will be featured. This week we bring you an early coin and antiquities dealer named J.H. Childrey, an elusive figure from the numismatic past.


I first became aware of Childrey after a purchase on an internet auction site. I bought an old leather billfold marked CSA with “three Confederate notes included.” The first two notes were uneventful, both “blue back” 1864 CSA $5 notes in ratty condition, but the third note intrigued me. On the back of a tattered uniface obsolete $10 note on the Bank of Howardsville, Virginia, was an advertisement on five lines: “RELICS OF THE WAR / CHILDREY, THE DRUGGIST / DEALER IN / Old Coins Stamps and Relics / 1722 Main St, Richmond, Va.” Was Childrey a well-known coin dealer in his time? If the distribution of his advertising notes is any indication, he probably enjoyed some success in his numismatic sideline. His overprints occur on numerous CSA notes of varying denominations and types, as well as on obsolete notes from across the south. Childrey’s overprints are also found with varying style and address changes in the advertising.


Was Childrey old enough to be a Civil War veteran? If so, did he wear the Federal blue or the Confederate gray? In Richmond, Her Past and Present by William Asbury Christian (L.H. Jenkins, 1912) a J.H. Childrey is listed as a rifleman in Company B, First Regiment of Riflemen under the appendix titled Official Rosters of the Richmond Companies Mustered in the Service of the Confederacy 1861-1865. If this is our J.H. Childrey, his sympathies were plainly with the South. As a resident of Richmond he may have witnessed the destruction of the city by Union troops in 1865, and as a businessman in the city during Reconstruction, he probably took much pride in the city’s renaissance in the years that followed the war.


Other than the note I own and the numerous notes I have seen illustrated on the Internet, I have not been able to find any other numismatic footprint left behind by J.H. Childrey. It wasn’t uncommon during the 1870s and later to advertise for old coins, Indian artifacts, relics of the CSA, and other collectables, and Childrey the druggist must surely have had some success. Though Childrey’s advertising medium of obsolete notes and CSA currency was inexpensive, the time and effort he put into the advertising hopefully paid off. I can only wonder what rare coins he may have handled in his day!


Though I couldn’t pin down the date of birth for our Mr. Childrey, I did find an obituary. As noted in The Pharmaceutical Era for January 5, 1899: “J.H. Childrey, one of the oldest druggists in Richmond, Virginia, died December 25 [1898] after a long illness. Mr. Childrey was one of the pioneers in Richmond pharmaceutical circles, though he was not at the time of his death engaged in the drug business. He leaves three sons, two of whom are engaged in the drug business in Richmond.”

 

Halifax Steam Boat Company Token
19.5 mm
Copper






According to my Colonial Canadian Tokens Book -

This token was very rare until a large hoard wrapped in paper of uncirculated specimens was found during a demolition of the old ferry house company offices.
The wrapping papers had a written date of 1846.
I would bet I have one of those here.

There are no records of when or if these were used for transportation on the ferry between Halifax and Dartmouth Nova Scotia. When they were struck is not known.

 

@TheNickelGuy ,

I need to find a decent example of your avatar.

PM me if you run across one.

Z

 

1970 Sitting Bull
Medallic Art Co
South Dakota Statehood
Bronze Medal





Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, "as thick as grasshoppers," falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which a large number of soldiers would be killed.

About three weeks later, the confederated Lakota tribes with the Northern Cheyenne defeated the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876, annihilating Custer's battalion and seeming to bear out Sitting Bull's prophetic vision.

Annie Oakley was Sitting Bull's symbolically "adopted" daughter. Sitting Bull felt that she was "gifted" by supernatural means in order to shoot so accurately with both hands. He named her "Little Sure Shot" - a name that Oakley used throughout her career.

After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by Standing Rock policemen.

 

Knowing your taste, I don't think this duplicate I have is up to your standards.
I haven't seen any others but will keep an eye out for ya.
This one, I believe, does present itself better in hand than these pictures.


EDIT: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174938420689?hash=item28bb2475d1:g:KD8AAOSwTUlh4QRn

1895 Wannamaker Ohi-Yesa Lucky Charm
No 2

 

I like the "Bryan Money" pieces - which are campaign exonumia from the 1896 and 1900 William Jennings Bryan presidential campaigns - they are affordabe, often satirical, pieces made by his political opponents, especially supporters of President McKinley. Bryan Money is a term used by numismatists to refer to tokens and medals associated with William Jennings Bryan's platform during the United States presidential elections of 1896 and 1900.Bryan's platform advocated for the reinstatement of silver currency in the United States economy as part of the short-lived Silver Republican Party. Bryan ran on the issue of the standard by which the government backed its currency - either with just gold or his choice of both silver and gold. Supported by both the National Silver Party and the Populist Party, Bryan, a Democrat from Nebraska, ran unsuccessfully against William McKinley of Ohio in both those races. The makers of Bryan Money were printers, blacksmiths, tool and die makers, hardware people, foundry workers, dentists and any handy person with strong political opinions. There also were thousands produced and sold for profit by the manufacturers of novelties. Affluent jewelers in the east, such as Tiffany & Co., made several different coin silver comparative pieces. This is my third acquisition, it was a great deal and it's "mechanical" which is a first for my exonumia collection, you can rotate an inner circle with the little loop to get alternating messages, as you can see it has attractive gilt surfaces. My first two pieces are also below - they are really large heavy lead alloy pieces (bigger than a silver dollar). I think they are historically interesting and kind of funny, given that some people even now still have strong opinions on the gold standard.

 

Neat!
We need to see a United Snakes of America token.
( Not a typo )

 

1876 United States
Centennial Exposition
Silver Official Medal HK20
38mm Mintage 10,133





Neatly but unfortunately holed. I couldn't have afforded it otherwise.

Here is some other collectibles and ephemera in my collection.

1876 United States International Centennial Exhibition Wooden Plaque
MEMORIAL HALL



This was made available from ADAMS & CO and possibly manufactured at Howell's Marble Building on the corner of 9th & Chestnut Sts. in Philadelphia.
They were boxed, although mine is not, and I do believe it is one of a series of five as there were five main buildings on the Exhibition grounds.
This is pressed or stamped walnut wood and measures 2 ⅝” x 3 ⅞” and these plaques when found are often seen chipped or cracked.
I believe I see some small stable hairline cracks on mine but they don't appear to go through to the other side. I would think this is simply from the aging of the wood. Hopefully at almost 145 years of age, the warping, and shrinking and stressing has run it's course.

The Memorial Hall housed beautiful art. Paintings and sculptures. President Grant cut the ribbon for the opening of Philadelphia's Memorial Hall on May 10th 1876 to begin the Centennial Exhibition to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of US independence.
On November 10, 1876, President Grant formally closed the Centennial Exhibition. Admissions totaled nearly 10,000,000 over the six months it was open (159 days), although some portion of the number represents repeat visitors.

An impressive number of admissions, even though there were repeat visitors. The back of this plaque does mention the population of the US to be just 4 times that. Of course it was International, but in 1876 travel was not as convenient as it is today.

1876 Philadelphia International Exhibition
Visitors Guide




1876 Philadelphia International Exhibition
Ticket Set



I believe there are 5 different varieties of these tickets. The top left green front is a counterfeit ticket and I have seen one other in all black ink with the same serial number.

 

1967 Admiral Chester Nimitz
Battle Of Midway
Medallic Art Co
45mm Bronze

Shown on the reverse is what looks to be the Japanese Flag Ship Akagi under attack.

A nice example of this high relief medal which commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Battle Of Midway.






Chester William Nimitz, Sr. February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966
He served in the US Navy in both WWI and WWII.



Nimitz, a German Texan, was born in Fredericksburg, Texas.
He was significantly influenced by his German-born paternal grandfather, Charles Henry Nimitz, a former seaman in the German Merchant Marine, who taught him ...
"the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry – especially about things over which you have no control."

His grandfather became a Texas Ranger in the Texas Mounted Volunteers in 1851. He then served as captain of the Gillespie Rifles Company in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.

Nimitz was a fleet admiral of the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.
Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, he was promoted by FDR to commander-in-chief, United States Pacific Fleet with the rank of admiral, effective December 31.

A glimpse into "The Battle of Midway"



Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position.

Scouts found the Japanese early in the morning of June 4. Although initial strikes by Midway-based planes were not successful, American carrier-based planes turned the tide. Torpedo bombers became separated from the American dive-bombers and were slaughtered (36 of 42 shot down), but they diverted Japanese defenses just in time for the dive-bombers to arrive; some of them had become lost, and now by luck they found the Japanese.

The Japanese carriers were caught while refueling and rearming their planes, making them especially vulnerable. The Americans sank four fleet carriers–the entire strength of the task force–Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu, with 322 aircraft and over five thousand sailors.
The Japanese also lost the heavy cruiser Mikuma. American losses included 147 aircraft and more than three hundred seamen.

 

1994 USS Saratoga CV-60
34mm Bronze




I have looked for a medal of the ship I served on while I was in the US Navy from 1974-1976. I collected a lot of small items including coins and paper money from most the ports of liberty I went to, and small souvenirs from the ships store.
When I left the ship in Italy for the last time, my uniforms and civilian clothing and all my personal items were lost in transport somewhere, never to be found again.

There were two nicknames for our ship. One was "The Fighting Cock" and the other, by most of us as Ship's Company, "The Sinking Sara".
It was a ship that had a long history and was in rough shape. It went on to sail another unbelievable 18 years after I got off.

The image shown is from 1975 and it is possible I am one of the specs on the flight deck in "Fly 2" which is the middle third of the flight deck and it was my assigned workplace.



Shown on the reverse is the Carrier Air Wing Seventeen Squadron inverted triangular insignia. When our "Sister Ship" The USS Forrestal CV-59 entered a three-year Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) in November 1982, CVW-17 crossdecked to USS Saratoga and made six deployments aboard her until 1994.

Also shown is the Saratoga CV-60 insignia. It features a fighting gamecock, traditional symbol of U.S. ships named Saratoga, standing on an outline shield, representing the shield of the federal government. The silhouette behind is that of the CVA-60.
Upon the shield itself are a symbolic crown and a trident, reflecting Saratoga's claim as queen of the dreadnaughts. The trident is the symbol of her domain.
The dominant colors are red and yellow. The former stands for the blood of thousands of Americans, spilled to maintain our freedoms.
The latter represents the Saratoga's readiness to thwart aggression. The Latin motto is translated: "Unconquered fighting cock".

 

1974 Battle of the Ironclads
Franklin Mint
National Commemorative Society
Sterling Silver Medal 39mm




The Battle of the Ironclads

The Battle of the USS Monitor and CSS Merrimack ( in fact it had been renamed CSS Virginia long before the famous battle) or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies. It was fought over two days, March 8–9, 1862, in Hampton Roads, a roadstead in Virginia where the Elizabeth and Nansemond rivers meet the James River just before it enters Chesapeake Bay adjacent to the city of Norfolk. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities and major industrial centers, Norfolk and Richmond from international trade.

This event was taught to me in early grade school, probably 4th grade. I remember having to associate The Monitor with the North since both had the letter "N" in the name, and the Merrimac did not.
We were also taught that they had nicknames, the Monitor looked like a "Cheesebox on a Raft" and so it was called, that was definitely a question on the test. I believe that teacher and this study was the first time I learned some association memorization tricks. I can't say I was enthusiastic about the Civil War, I was probably struggling in American History so that I may have just passed that particular year.

The Merrimack originally was a USS frigate but was burned to the waterline. The South salvaged it and rebuilt it as an ironclad. It was then re-named "Virginia". Virginia and Merrimack were used interchangeably by both sides, as attested to by various newspapers and correspondence of the day.
Navy reports and pre-1900 historians frequently misspelled the name as "Merrimac", which was actually an unrelated ship. It sometimes was called "The Rebel Monster".
This is new to me.



I do remember that neither ship sank in the long battle at close range. The noise from both firing and being struck by cannons and heat inside the ships was horrendous.
One gunner on the Merrimac quit firing at one point saying,

"It is quite a waste of ammunition to fire at her. Our powder is precious, sir, and I find I can do the Monitor as much damage by snapping my finger at her every five minutes."

The Merrimac hit the Monitor 23 times in four hours to no avail. The Monitor, hitting the Merrimac 20 times in the same period, was unsuccessful as well. (Both vessels were protected on top by iron plating, but below the water line, each had a wooden hull. Neither vessel hit the other below the water line, where both vessels were vulnerable.)

The Merrimac even tried ramming the Monitor, but because her ram was damaged in her battle with the USS Cumberland the day before, and because Lt. Jones didn't go as fast, fearing getting stuck again as happened with the Cumberland, the Merrimac simply glanced off the sides of the Monitor without inflicting any damage.
Even the Monitor tried ramming the Merrimac.

Lt. Worden ordered her turned around and aimed at the Merrimac's stern. At full speed they were on target when suddenly the Monitor's steering apparatus malfunctioned and she missed the Merrimac by a few feet.
Lt. Jones was convinced that he could not injure the Monitor, so his officers suggested attempting to board the Monitor with wedges and hammers, with the goal of freezing the revolving gun turret in place. It sounded like a good idea, but Jones didn't approve it, which was fortunate, because the Monitor's crew had already anticipated such action.
They were at the ready with hand grenades which could be tossed out onto the deck from the turret. The Monitor crew would be protected by the turret, but the Confederates would have no where to go to escape the explosions except by jumping in the water.
Though the battle was a draw, both sides claimed a victory, charging that the other had withdrawn in defeat.

 

I don't know alot about this one. The holder says it is a piece minted in 1985. From what I did find, it was an ANA backed project.

 

Possibly low mintage / rare?

Lalimli Mills Durbar Commemorative 1911
Size : 38 mm Aluminium

Obv : Head of George V. Around border : George V King & Emperor. Delhi 1911 Durbar
Rev : View of Lalimli Mills. Legend : Lalimli Mills Cawnpore