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Green River Whiskey, One of the More Iconic Advertising Image in the World. Update for a new pickup

coinsarefuncoinsarefun Posts: 21,664 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited April 1, 2021 9:15PM in U.S. Coin Forum

Well, that's what some say :)
I have always been fascinated by this particular advertising token. Some say there are as many as 20 different dies.
Each slightly different. Also, there are some that say "Whiskey" and others say "Whiskeys"

"The Whiskey Without a Headache." As the original owner, J.W. McCulloch claimed it to be "the standard by which all other whiskies are judged." He issued many advertising items, the most famous of which was a lithograph with the inscription, "She Was Bred in Old Kentucky." It featured a snaggle-tooth old Black man and horse with a five-gallon demijohn of Green River Whiskey strapped to its saddle, both standing outside the Green River Inn.

"It is said by experts that this is the best known advertising picture in the world. Its owners do not claim this, but there is no doubt of its worldwide popularity," McCulloch said. He alleged that his whiskey had received the highest awards at eight world expositions and claimed in 1915 that it "has been used by the U.S. Public Health and Marine Hospital services continuously and exclusively for eighteen years and is now so used by all departments of the government."

In fact he did win a few:
1893 - Green River wins a Medal for Excellence at the Worlds Fair (U D Archives, Uncatalogued Document).
"Gold Medal Won By J.W.McCulloch's Green River Whisky in Paris: Owensboro Messenger, Aug. 29, 1900,

But, like most things the lithographs, jugs and other advertising items have been faked and copied.
Below is an original lithograph. If you want to read the link It will give you more information

This is supposedly the real one. On the link above will show you others.
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Another link to more memorabilia
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And for a price his Whiskey is still available today!
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.Below are the 5 tokens I have collected so far. the first 2 are Whiskies
The remaining is Whiskey. All have minor differences.
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