Featured The 1876 United States Centennial Exposition Medals

This essay is bit long, but I decided to post it any way. These medals have been an interest of mine for a while, but it was hard to find out what the official set really looked like. I ended up over paying for this set which is in the original box of issue. I think these sets cost $11, which was a lot of money in 1876. The medals are hairlined because they have been stored in this velvet lined box for 144 years.




In 1876 The United States sponsored its first official world's fair in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the nation. State, local and national governments, combined with the private sector, to sponsor the event which was held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The official name of the fair was the "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine," but more often it is called "The Philadelphia Centennial Celebration."

The inspiration for the 1876 fair came from The Great Central Fair which was held in June 1864 for the benefit of the National Sanitary Commission. That organization raised funds during the Civil War to provide medical and cleaning supplies for the Union soldiers in the field. Many lives were saved as a result of the Sanitary Commission's efforts, and the Philadelphia fair was one of the organization's most successful fund-raising events.

In 1866 John L. Campbell, who was a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, suggested to the mayor of Philadelphia that there should be a celebration of the country's 100th birthday in that city. At first there is little enthusiasm for the project because previous fairs had not done well financially, but then the Franklin Institute got involved. Through the Institute's urging the Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution that a fair would be held at Fairmount Park in 1876. From there the City Council combined forces with the Pennsylvania General Assembly to create a committee to study the project and seek support from the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. Congress passed a law that created a United States Centennial Commission in March 1871. The commission, which had one representative from each state and territory, was headed by Joseph R. Hawley who was a former Governor of Connecticut and future member of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Moneys were raised from the City of Philadelphia ($1.5 million), the State of Pennsylvania ($1 million), the Federal Government (a $1.5 million loan) and from private investors who bought $1.8 million in $10 par value shares.

The Fairmount Park Commission set aside 450 acres for the fair. The site was formally dedicated on July 4, 1873. In the coming months construction began on the buildings and support services began to take shape. The Pennsylvania Railroad added special centennial trains to its schedule. The Philadelphia Streetcar Company added new lines, and additional hotel and boarding house space was added to accommodate the fair visitors. There was even a special financial institution. The Centennial National Bank, was chartered to handle the fair's daily receipts and to provide foreign exchange services for visitors from abroad.

There had been plans to open the fair on April 19, 1876, which coincided with the 101st anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, but the construction had not been completed by that time. The opening was pushed back to May 10. President Ulysses S. Grant attended the opening day ceremony with his wife Nellie along with the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II with his spouse. Over 186 thousand people attended on the opening day, but that included 110 thousand who had free passes. Grant and Pedro II officially started the fair by activating the Corliss Steam Engine which provided power to most of the other machines that were on display.

Attendance was generally disappointing during the early months of the fair. The average number of patrons was in the range of 36 to 39 thousand people a day in May and June and dropped off considerably in July when the temperatures soared to over 100 degrees 10 times during the month. The crowds grew larger in August an over of 42 thousand per day. By the fall positive news reports plus favorable word of mouth advertising resulted in a surge of business to the point where over 100 thousand people per day were coming through the gates. When the fair closed on November 10, a total of 10,164,489 people had attended the exposition. Despite that, the private sector shareholders did not recoup their investment.

Here are two views of the fair. The first is an official fair map. The second is a bird's eye view of the fair, which leaves off some of the smaller attractions.







The Major Fair Attractions

More than 200 buildings were constructed on the fairgrounds. Nearly all of these buildings were temporary structures that were dismantled after the fair closed. Despite their temporary nature, these buildings presented a very impressive appearance and were structural and technological marvels for their time.

The Main Building

The Main Exhibit Building was the largest structure at the fair and, at the time, the largest building in the world. It covered 21.5 acres and was 464 feet wide and 1,880 feet long. It was made from prefabricated parts of wood attached to an iron frame resting on stone piers. Red and black bricks were used for structural and decorative uses, along with stained glass. There were extensive skylights in the ceilings to let in natural light because the electric light bulb would not be invented until 1879. The building was constructed on an east - west configuration to maximize the amount of sunlight interior received. The total construction cost was $1,580,000.

The building's exterior walls enclosed corridors that were accessible from the center of the building. The United States exhibits were in the center, and the foreign exhibits were arranged around the center based upon the distance a given country was from The United States. The topics included mining, metallurgy, manufacturing, education and science. Fountains were placed at the end of the corridors for decorative and cooling purposes in those days before air conditioning. Before the fair, there had been concerns that foreign participation would be limited because of America's restrictive trade (protective tariff) policies, but the number of exhibits from other parts of the world far exceeded expectations.

Efforts were made to turn the main building into a permanent attraction. After the fair closed the building was auctioned to a private concern on December 1, 1876 for $250,000. The attraction remained open until it went bankrupt in 1879. The building was demolished in 1881.





The Centennial Award Medal Each participant in the fair, which sponsored an exhibit, was awarded a bronze medal. The original plan was for the medals to be four inches in diameter, but U.S. Mint Chief Coiner, O.C. Bosby, advised mint director, James Pollock, that the facility could not mass produce a medal of that size. He suggested that a three inch medal would be appropriate. Designer, Henry Mitchell, modified his work and forwarded the hubs to William Barber at the Philadelphia Mint who made the working dies. The first medals were struck in March of 1877.

The obverse features a seated figure of Lady Columbia holding out in her right hand a laurel wreath to crown science, commerce and learning. Her left hand rests on an American shield. The design is surrounded by 38 stars that are divided into four segments, representing the four corners of the globe, America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Mitchell signed his work in very small letters on the base of the platform where Lady Columbia is seated.

The reverse reads, “International Exposition, Philadelphia MDCCCLXXVI (1876) around the edge. Within a wreath, is the phrase, “Awarded by the United States Centennial Commission.” The bronze medal weighs about 9 and a half ounces and is 10 millimeters thick.

The Philadelphia Mint struck 3,000 of these medals, and a private firm, Peter Krider, struck about 9,000 more for a total of 12,000 pieces which were awarded to the fair’s exhibitors. Today this medal should be fairly common although you don’t see as many of them as you might expect, given the mintage, at the shows and in auctions.

Machinery Hall

The Machinery Hall located directly behind the Main Building. It was the second largest building at the exposition with a square footage of 558,440. It housed the mechanical marvels of the day. The United States exhibit took up two-thirds of the space. The power to run the tools was provided by the Corliss Centennial Steam Engine. The steam engine was 70 feet tall, generated 1,400 horsepower and weighted 650 tons. The power was conveyed to the tools by a rotating shaft that ran along the ceiling. Tools were attached to it by a belt that was engaged when they were in operation. A large assortment of hand tools, machine tools and material handling equipment were on display.

One of the most innovative attractions was Alexander Graham Bell's telephone which he had invented that same year. Bell's device was connected at opposite ends of the 1,400-foot-long building. Visitors could place calls over that distance connected by a copper wire. It was quite a remarkable innovation.


Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall, which was made of brick, glass, iron and granite, was the largest art museum in The United States. It covers a 1.5-acre space, and it is the largest building from the fair that still exists today. On display were artworks from around the world. Later it would become the prototype for other art museums in The United States including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum and the Detroit Institute. Its design would also inspire the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia.


Horticultural Hall

The Horticultural Hall provided a space for nurseryman to grow tropical plants, work with innovative designs of gardening equipment and diverse gardening and landscape designs. It was designed as a tribute to the Crystal Palace that was in London.

This building, with its extensive glass enclosures and innovative design, continued to be an active horticultural site until 1954. That year it was badly damaged by Hurricane Hazel, a particularly deadly and destructive storm that ravaged the island of Haiti before it swept up the East Coast of The United States. It caused 95 deaths in the U.S. and resulted $281 million in property damage.


Agricultural Hall

Agricultural hall was third largest building at the exposition. It was constructed of wood and glass, and the roofs of the multipart building were made to resemble barns. The exhibits include products and machines that were related to agriculture and agri-businesses.

The Woman's Pavilion

A space for the ladies was originally planned in the Main Building, but the unexpected influx of international exhibitors forced the ladies to seek a separate location for their presentations. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, who was a great granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, led the effort to raise the funds to build an exhibit building dedicated to women's issues. Gillespie and the Women's Centennial Committee were able to gather 82,000 signatures in only two days to raise money for their pavilion. She also convinced Congress to appropriate money for their cause. It took the ladies only four months to raise the money for their exhibits.

The purpose of the Women's Pavilion was to raise self-esteem among women and to emphasize the fact that women could make significant contributions to society well beyond the limits of the home. New devices included a dish washer, a sewing machine with hand attachments, various innovations in stove design and a frame that could be used for stretching and drying lace curtains.

New Products Introduced at the Fair

In addition to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, the following products made their debut or became popular at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

Hires Root Beer

Heinz Ketchup

Bananas

Remington Typewriter with the modern keyboard

Mechanical calculator with a hand crank

A Monorail Train between the Horticulture and Agriculture Halls.


The Numismatic Connections

The Federal Government and a number of private businesses issued tokens and medals during the fair. The most popular government pieces were 38 millimeter medals that were issued in copper, silver and gilt copper. The mintages ranged from 10,133 stuck in silver to 13,000 in copper. The gilt pieces had a mintage of 10,500.

The obverse featured a kneeling figure of Liberty with a sword in her right hand, raising her left hand toward 13 stars encompassed in rays of glory. This design was encircled by the legend, "These united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states, 1776." The reverse, which is all words, reads, "By authority of the Congress of The United States / In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of American independence / 1776."

These pieces are fairly common today, but they are more popular that most medals. They bring good prices relative to their rarity when they are nicely preserved. Pieces that have their accompanying plush boxes are worth more. This variety is listed in R. W. Julian's book, Medals of the United States Mint, The First Century, 1792-1892 as CM (commemorative) -10.



The 38 mm Centennial Fair medal in copper gilt.



The 38 mm Centennial Fair medal in coin silver.



Single examples of the 38 mm silver medal were sold in this box.


Second in popularity are the 57 millimeter medals. The obverse of these pieces features Lady Liberty placing laurel wreaths on the heads of two kneeling figure figures who represent Industry and the Arts. This design is surrounded by the legend, "In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of American independence / Act of Congress June 1874." The reverse of this piece is the same as the obverse of the smaller medal.

A unique example of this medal was stuck in gold. Additional pieces were stuck in silver (11 pieces), copper (about 7,000 pieces), white metal (583 struck at the U.S. Mint, and perhaps others by private contractors) and gilt copper (2,100 struck). There were also pieces, bearing the same design, molded in wood and ceramics. This medal is listed in Julian as CM-11. Sets of four of these medals in gilt copper, white metal for the 57 mm pieces and silver and gilt copper for the 38 mm pieces were issued in a plush box. The issue price was a $11 per set, which was a hefty price at the time. These sets are scarce.



The 57 mm Centennial medal in copper gilt.


There was also an interesting set of wooden medals that were issued at the fair. There were six medals in the set, and they were housed in a cardboard box which featured "a bird's eye view" of the fair under the lid. These sets are scarce, especially when they are available with the box, which is quite fragile. Most collectors are not aware of them.



A set of 1876 Centennial Fair medals in pressed wood.



The pressed wood medal box lid featured a bird's eye view of the fair.

The 1876 Centennial was the first of several official world's fairs that The United States hosted. The practice would continue well into the 20th century, but in later years these celebrations became economically impractical, at least in the United States. The last U.S. world's fair was held in New Orleans in 1984.

 

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I bought this specimen about 15 years ago at the FUN Show. It cost $165. ~ Chris

 

The only downer about these medals is that the designs were not greatest. William Barber was still the Chief Mint Engraver, and he had less talent that his son, Charles.

 

I've never been a big fan of Barber, either, but the size and heft of the award medal is what attracted me to it. ~ Chris

 

I bought this one in the original box at a fall Baltimore show in 2011. The box is nicer than the medal, which is a bit spotted.

 

I've seen those pressed wood medals. I really like them alot Quite a nice souvenir I would think.
1876 is one of those time peroids I would of loved to live in. Yes a very fine write up.
I'm a expo nut on collecting specimens as above.
I've seen individual pressed wood slabs never the set. That's really cool.

 

You do know that you can get paid by the word for this?

 

Great work and very interesting. Thanks!

 

Wow, those are some super cool pieces you have John! And that wooden set is the first one I've ever seen any where! I had the George Washington wooden medal before, but I sold it! Appreciate your write up and display!!

 

Very nice article and information. The Centennial info was nice to read.
I have recently been reading
Maine: Her Place in History
Address given by General Joshua L. Chamberlain at the Centennial Exhibition.

In the back of this book is a list of the people and manufacturers from Maine that took exhibitions to Philadelphia.
I think I may have to acquire a single Centennial Exhibition medal to accompany my book. Thank you for article.

 

It looks nice in the presentation case. Mine didn't have the case. I submitted it to NGC for grading, and it resides in one of the oversized holders, 5-7/8" x 7-5/8".
~ Chris

 

Here's the one wooden medal I still have! General Joseph Hawley, I think he was a Civil War hero!

 

I know this thread is almost a year old but I’m hoping someone will be notified of a new post and point me in the right direction. I found a wooden coin set in a box of miscellaneous things I believe came from my maternal grandparents house. It appears to be one of the boxed sets referenced in the article above but who would I take it to to inspect it and opine on whether it’s real or a reproduction?

 

If you can post a picture, you will probably get an answer. If you have .jpg photos, you can click "uploaded file", hit post all, and post the message.

 

I was metal detecting and I found a medal with the same design of Liberty giving wreaths to arts and industry as the 57mm medals had, but the surrounding text is gone and all the medal says is “American Independence”. It also says 1776 beneath Liberty while the medals metioned in this article say 1876 under liberty. Does anyone know what this is and what it may be valued at?

 

I was metal detecting and I found a medal with the same design of Liberty giving wreaths to arts and industry as the 57mm medals had, but the surrounding text is gone and all the medal says is “American Independence”. It also says 1776 beneath Liberty while the medals metioned in this article say 1876 under liberty. Does anyone know what this is and what it may be valued at?

 

Pictures will be needed....to give you a honest answer

 

Here are some images

 

Pretty amazing medal for having been stamped onsite and nearly 150 years ago.

Z

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