Hello everyone! New thread here. I'm calling this one "Wild West Wednesday!" To qualify, coins must be from 1865-1895, just after the American Civil War. Summary and Definition of Wild West Definition and Summary: The Wild West was so named for the lawlessness of the untamed territories west of the Mississippi River - the western United States during its frontier period. The period of the Wild West was from 1865 - 1895, a period of thirty years. The 'Old West' was famous for cowboys, native Indians, the lawmen, gunslingers, the pioneers, the prospectors, the gamblers, the scouts, the outlaws, the gangs and the gunfighters. Famous people of the Wild West included Wyatt Earp, "Wild Bill" Hickok, "Billy the Kid", Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Frank and Jesse James and the Clanton gang. The most notorious event was the Gunfight at the O.K. Coral Here is the write up/ webpage... The Wild West: US History for Kids *** Here are a couple coins from that time period.
Here's an 1898 gold rush token and a girlie token! Sorry I cheated a bit, I don't think I have coins except gold but these tokens look wild west to me!
A recent pickup of mine. I've always liked the designs with rays. I can imagine this one in a poker game in Dodge City (5¢ was good money back then)
The U.S. Mint System only struck cents at the Philadelphia Mint. The first one that was made "out West" was the 1908-S Indian Cent. It makes you wonder how many cents made to the "wild west." This 1874 was made during the middle of the period. Silver Dollars were the big favorites in the West. The rest of the country didn't care much for them. Here is an 1878-CC. Gold coins were popular too. This 1876-S twenty dollar gold piece was made a the peak of the period. By 1886, the West was become civilized. I just finished a book about the Dulton Gang whom the author called "The Last Outlaws." Most of them were killed on October 5, 1892 when they came up with the crazy idea of robbing two banks at the same time in Coffeyville, Kansas. The towns people saw what was happening and had a shoot out with them. Here is an 1886-S $5 gold coin. I don't have anything great that is dated 1892 in "celebration" of Dulton Gang demise. Here is an 1892 Indian Cent.
