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What does this engraved half dollar say ?

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  • ifthevamzarockinifthevamzarockin Posts: 8,902 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 27, 2019 5:20PM

    The only thing I have come up with.

    ( _____ ) a fowl barrel of whiskey

    Edited to add @DBSTrader2 Might be on to it! Ewer = you are :)

    You are a fowl barrel of whiskey. ???? :)

  • panexpoguypanexpoguy Posts: 1,239 ✭✭✭✭✭

    ‘Pour a Pecker a Barrel of Whiskey’

  • IntueorIntueor Posts: 310 ✭✭✭✭

    Borrowing from others, how about?

    "Drink a Cask of Whiskey Apiece."

    unus multorum
  • ms70ms70 Posts: 13,954 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Isn't there something about pouring salt on a bird's tail and then it can't fly?

    Maybe that's a salt shaker?

    Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

  • panexpoguypanexpoguy Posts: 1,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 27, 2019 5:40PM

    @panexpoguy said:
    ‘Pour a Pecker a Barrel of Whiskey’

    And since an engraved coin about booze was certainly meant to be dirty, a barrel is also known as a butt so I suggest ‘pour a pecker a butt of whiskey’ or even the actual term ‘ a buttload of whiskey’

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,230 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DBSTrader2 said:
    I think the "pitcher" is also known as a "Ewer".

    If so, I would read it to say something like "Ewer (you are) A (Dove over a barrell?) of Whiskey"?

    I'm stumped.

    That is not an ewer. More like a stein.

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • kevinstangkevinstang Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭

    Pitch A Tern for a barrel of whiskey?

    Maybe something sports or card related?

    Tern=Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands.

  • jedmjedm Posts: 3,036 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I wonder if it could be sort of a way of expressing the OPPOSITE of "Whiskey in a teacup"? Which translates to me as a gal who comes off as proper and dainty and then find out she's got a spirit that's a little wild and earthy when you get to know her. It's an old expression and we may just not have gotten the words right yet,

  • bobsrbobsr Posts: 392 ✭✭✭✭

    Ale a bird a barrel of whiskey
    Alberta Barrel of Whiskey
    Bob Sr CEO Fieldtechs

  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    An anagram?

    A A OF W. Now to figure out the pitcher/mug; bird/dove/pigeon; ??

    Mababofw
    Papacofw
    Mabacofw
    Etc...

  • gripgrip Posts: 9,962 ✭✭✭✭✭

    What about the key showing?

  • jedmjedm Posts: 3,036 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @grip said:
    What about the key showing?

    WHIS KEY

  • COCollectorCOCollector Posts: 1,314 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 28, 2019 12:44PM

    I think I've got it.

    See the leafy "vines"? Maybe they're the last piece of the puzzle.

    "A flagon, a pretty wench (bird), and a barrel of whiskey... is da-vine."

    Successful BST transactions with forum members thebigeng, SPalladino, Zoidmeister, coin22lover, coinsarefun, jwitten, CommemKing.

  • Bigbuck1975Bigbuck1975 Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A cup of whiskey

  • IntueorIntueor Posts: 310 ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 28, 2019 6:25PM

    The coin is Half Dollar from the New Orleans Mint. According to the “Red Book”, in 1861, 300,000 were struck from the US Mint in New Orleans and 1,240,000 were struck after Louisiana seceded from the Union and 962,633 after Louisiana join the Confederacy. That is 1,262,633 struck before Louisiana became a Confederate State and 1,240,000 after it joined the Confederacy. That is about an even split. There is no way to distinguish the coins. It would have been the perfect coin to encourage Peace. A half dollar was a tidy sum during the Civil War. It was a magnanimous sacrifice to carve that encrypted legend into a coin to create a peace token. Maybe a Union soldier sitting by a campfire waiting to face Rebel cannon grapeshot at dawn. On the other hand, it may have been a wounded Confederate soldier lying on a blanket in a field hospital waiting to die. The person who carved the coin was weary of the death and destruction and just longed for the Generals to work it out as civilized men have always done for centuries.

    "Draft a peace over a keg of whiskey."

    unus multorum
  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,661 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @COCollector said:
    I think I've got it.

    See the leafy "vines"? Maybe they're the last piece of the puzzle.

    "A flagon, a pretty wench (bird), and a barrel of whiskey... is da-vine."

    I like this interpretation best so far.

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,668 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @kevinstang said:
    Pitch A Tern for a barrel of whiskey?

    Maybe something sports or card related?

    Tern=Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands.

    I think you're on the right track.

    You need to know the species.

    Tempus fugit.
  • jedmjedm Posts: 3,036 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Moxie15 said:
    After almost six years of reading this forum daily I think I have something intelligent to add.
    The word 'pige' or 'pidge', I have found it spelled both ways, is an older term for a pigeon chick.
    The word was used in the nineteenth century as a slang for ' a slightly built' woman, a small woman with a big attitude much like the character Pidge in the Voltron graphic novel, and a pretty woman. I must admit i had no clue of the Voltron reference until I was looking for confirmation of the usage.

    So I think the coin says "
    "Picture a Pidge on a keg of whiskey " something akin to the Jim Beam add posted earlier.

    I believe nothing. I know little. I think a lot.

    As I mentioned earlier another expression back then was "Whiskey in a teacup"
    so I believe it to be the OPPOSITE sentiment being expressed here as @Moxie15 is getting onto, except to be what I think may be:
    {Ewer A Pidgeon A barrel OF whiskey} or
    YOU'RE A PIDGE IN A BARREL OF WHISKEY.

  • mannie graymannie gray Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @cladking said:

    @kevinstang said:
    Pitch A Tern for a barrel of whiskey?

    Maybe something sports or card related?

    Tern=Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands.

    I think you're on the right track.

    You need to know the species.

    Except the bird doesn't resembles tern at all.
    It's a pigeon or dove.

  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Do not know why I’m TTTing this... more self-induced punishment.

    But not knowing is driving me crazy.

  • TommyTypeTommyType Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Intueor said:
    After giving the piece some thought, here is one more opinion. Based purely on the symbolism, this is an attempt to enter the mind of 160-year-old artisan. I am using the pronoun “he” but I mean no gender bias, it just reads easier.
    ….
    Either way, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! :)

    >

    I like it!

    The only stretch, maybe, is the "Lasting" part, but that isn't critical to the overall message.

    I think we have a winner.... ;)

    Easily distracted Type Collector
  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Intueor

    Very comprehensive reasoning and I like it a lot. Thanks!

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,678 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Maybe it was just a ploy to make us crazy a century and a half later. ;)

  • sellitstoresellitstore Posts: 2,906 ✭✭✭✭✭

    OK, allow me to offer a couple of facts that may lead in a different direction.

    First, the dove is among the most commonly taught and drawn object in 19th century penmanship and calligraphy classes, which were very common at the time.

    Second, temperance tokens, including many hand engraved and personalized pieces, were popular throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Perhaps the message is an "anti-whiskey" one.

    I haven't figured it out but perhaps someone else can if you consider that it could have been carried by someone as a reminder NOT to drink.

    Collector and dealer in obsolete currency. Always buying all obsolete bank notes and scrip.
  • ARCOARCO Posts: 4,396 ✭✭✭✭✭

    What does this engraved half dollar say ?

    Sell me to Arco. Very cool.

  • BJandTundraBJandTundra Posts: 387 ✭✭✭✭

    A Toast to Peace over A Vin(e)tage Barrel of Whiskey?

    Or Not.

  • IntueorIntueor Posts: 310 ✭✭✭✭

    @BJandTundra said:
    A Toast to Peace over A Vin(e)tage Barrel of Whiskey?

    Or Not.

    Wow, Well Done. I like it better than mine without all the crap.
    Just a slight change
    Toast A Peace Over A Barrel of Whiskey!

    unus multorum
  • sellitstoresellitstore Posts: 2,906 ✭✭✭✭✭

    From a Pennsylvania whiskey distillery established in 1753:

    Collector and dealer in obsolete currency. Always buying all obsolete bank notes and scrip.
  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @sellitstore said:
    From a Pennsylvania whiskey distillery established in 1753:

    Great scott @sellitstore this is a lead to solve the mystery! I hope.

  • DNADaveDNADave Posts: 7,277 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 17, 2019 6:09PM

    Another similar design on eBay.

  • oldUScoinsoldUScoins Posts: 243 ✭✭✭✭

    I think it is the 19th century equivalent of "I want to rock n roll all night, and party every day.."

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,230 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @sellitstore said:
    OK, allow me to offer a couple of facts that may lead in a different direction.

    First, the dove is among the most commonly taught and drawn object in 19th century penmanship and calligraphy classes, which were very common at the time.

    Second, temperance tokens, including many hand engraved and personalized pieces, were popular throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Perhaps the message is an "anti-whiskey" one.

    I haven't figured it out but perhaps someone else can if you consider that it could have been carried by someone as a reminder NOT to drink.

    OK, so "(whatever the tankard means) A dove (over) A barrel (of) WHIS-key."

    Some variation of "Choose?"

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • davewesendavewesen Posts: 6,224 ✭✭✭✭✭

    DNADave, are there die markers on the other side confirming 1861-O half? What about the recent one you posted? I like the edge, what is on the other side of it?

  • DrizztDrizzt Posts: 1,036 ✭✭✭

    ??
    Earn a peace over a keg of whiskey

  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This thread is back... oh joy!

    Well not really joy, but maybe new blood has new insights.

  • BuffaloIronTailBuffaloIronTail Posts: 7,481 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 18, 2019 9:42AM

    Pitcher (picture) a "peace" over a barrel of whiskey.

    Best I can offer.

    Pete

    "I tell them there's no problems.....only solutions" - John Lennon
  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,678 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 18, 2019 11:48AM

    This was probably fairly easy for a clever person of that era to figure out.

    It is sort of a reminder that common knowledge or an understanding of events at the time add a context that makes something meaningful when a hundred years later it will be a total mystery.

  • SmittysSmittys Posts: 9,876 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Have A Swallow
    A Barrel of Whiskey

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 34,560 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A peck is 2 gallons. It would then read:

    A cup (or glass), a peck, a barrel of whiskey.

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,678 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf said:
    A peck is 2 gallons. It would then read:

    A cup (or glass), a peck, a barrel of whiskey.

    I's say "mug" or "stein" based on the image, but small difference.

    It may have been a rhyme or drinking song of the era, along those lines.

  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,661 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Should have drawn a small hand-broom in place of WHIS

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • DrizztDrizzt Posts: 1,036 ✭✭✭

    I see now it was already posted. Draft a peace over a keg of whiskey.

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,678 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Drizzt said:
    I see now it was already posted. Draft a peace over a keg of whiskey.

    A quick Google search of that phrase showed pre-Civil War negotiations with Indians (maybe in Tennessee?) where a barrel of whiskey was the "ransom".

    Or maybe Civil War related? Gen. Grant was a big whiskey drinker.

  • CoinscratchCoinscratch Posts: 8,713 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Maybe the second A is another symbol like Teepee. Otherwise I just see "Drink A Barrel of Whiskey A".

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,678 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CoinscratchFever said:
    Otherwise I just see "Drink A Barrel of Whiskey A".

    Ohhh. Maybe its Canadian. :D

  • CoinscratchCoinscratch Posts: 8,713 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @JBK . A

  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭

    TTT

  • CoinscratchCoinscratch Posts: 8,713 ✭✭✭✭✭

    When you google keysihw you get images of cocktails.
    So when read counterclockwise you get "A drink of Whiskey" then clockwise from the other A you get "A keysihw fo drink"
    Which kinda sounds Injun for "I kiss you for drink". :D

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