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How the six figure coins were shipped a century ago...
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
!
9
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
!
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Nowadays Ager's Air Service (CRO-1) is more reliable.
But thenadays (?), there were NO $100,000 coins.
Trick question!
A shame I don't have a picture to post of this not happening.
So what was the highest priced coin in April of 1919 ? And who delivered it ?
There were plenty, collectors were just not smart enough then to realize it.
John Y. Brown and his 13 Lib-nix?
Now we know where those white spots on Peace dollars come from.
And how would you deliver your six-figure coin to the buyer?
$10,000 paid by William Woodin for $50 gold
Actually the picture points out one of the reasons WW I was so bloody. Up until that time generals normally could see the whole battlefield, and either signal with flags or send a messenger (needless to say, the flags were not always visible through the smoke, and the messengers could get lost or killed, but still...). By WW II, and later, radio could transmit information both from the rear to the front, and often much more importantly, from the front to the rear.
In WW I radio was pretty much in it's infancy, and in the vast majority of cases communications were via telephone lines, which, needless to say, could get cut, and only got as far as the front lines in any case. The battle front in any of the given battles now extended for 10's of miles in both directions, so the generals could only guess what was going on in the front lines. The only way the soldiers in an offensive could contact the command post was via carrier pigeons. Needless to say, that didn't work particularly well. That meant "The Plan" was carried out no matter what, even if it meant the poor infantry was forced to attack strong points that had not been silenced by pre-offensive shelling.
U.S. Type Set
I wonder how much birdseed they had to carry to feed the pigeons...and who did the duties fall to ..... Was there a 'Pigeon Keeper' rating?? Inquiring minds want to know.....Cheers, RickO
@ricko Don’t know about the bird seed but they were part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Carrier Pigeon. A couple articles to read when there is time.
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Fine, Feathered Friends!
By Stewart Beattie, Special Guest Contributor, Student and Intern from Shippensburg University, PA
November 19, 2009
In November, 1944, G.I. Joe, a member of the United States Army, saved the lives of at least 100 Allied soldiers. In just twenty minutes G.I. Joe traveled over 20 miles to deliver a message of grave importance. With only minutes to spare he stopped an air raid from bombing a newly occupied village filled with Allied soldiers. G.I. Joe was not a super soldier; he was a Blue Chock splashed pigeon. One rarely thinks of their flying over the battle-worn trenches of World War I or through the bombarded night skies of World War II. Yet during both wars, thousands of pigeons were used.
Some 600 of which were used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War I. They were used to transmit orders to advance troops, send reconnaissance reports, and carry other crucial military messages. Pigeons played a major role during the World Wars, because they were a dependable source of communication. In World War I, they were especially useful for their speed, long distances flights, consistency, and an impressive homing ability when compared to the existing unreliable and crude communication systems. Over 90% of messages sent by pigeons were received. Reliable forms of communication were necessary because of the constant changes on the front. Trenches often change hands between opposing sides multiple times during a one-week period.
One pigeon named, Cher Ami, a Black Check carrier pigeon, aided in rescuing elements of the U.S. 77th Infantry Division, known as the "Lost Battalion." Separated from American forces, the Battalion was surrounded by the Germans. For six days they endured constant fire from both enemy and Allied forces, and their food and water supplies were extremely low. Cher Ami had delivered many critical messages but his last mission was the most important. Battered and broken with a gunshot wound to the chest, Cher Ami valiantly carried a message from the "Lost Battalion," regarding its dangerous situation. The message stated, "Our artillery is dropping a barrage on us. For heaven's sake, stop it!" Once Cher Ami's message was received, the survivors were rescued and brought safely within American lines. The Lost Battalion originally had over 500 men; Cher Ami's gallant service allowed 194 Soldiers to survive.
Cher Ami, and forty other pigeons, received honors for their brave service in World War I. Cher Ami received the French Croix de Guerre with palm for his valiant work. Unfortunately, due to the injuries sustained on his final mission, Cher Ami died months later in 1919. Pigeons, such as G.I. Joe, would be utilized during World War II, but soon afterwards the use of pigeons in war became obsolete due to advancements in communication technology. So next time you happen to see one, or hear the cooing of a pigeon, do not think of them as a nuisance, but as heroes and a Soldier's fine, feathered friend.
ABOUT THIS STORY: Many of the sources presented in this article are among 400,000 books, 1.7 million photos and 12.5 million manuscripts available for study through the U.S. Army Military History Institute (MHI). The artifacts shown are among nearly 50,000 items of the Army Heritage Museum (AHM) collections. MHI and AHM are part of the: Army Heritage and Education Center, 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle, PA, 17013-5021.
https://www.army.mil/article/30666/fine_feathered_friends
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CECOM HISTORY IS FOR THE BIRDS: HERO PIGEONS
By : Chrissie Reilly and Floyd Hertweck, CECOM Historical Office
March 2, 2012
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD:Yes, it is true; CECOM's early history was for the birds… pigeons to be exact. Pigeons were vital to military communications during war and in peacetime. While pigeons had been a part of nearly every European army since the 1880s, it was not until 1917 that the U.S. Army began relying upon them.
The Signal Corps used pigeons from WWI and into the Korean War. They were deployed to numerous locations during WWII.
Consideration was even given to reactivating the program during the Vietnam War.
Of interest is a write-up on pigeons published in 1920 in Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War (Volume VIII) titled "Our Winged Couriers." Harper's notes that within one year of beginning the pigeon breeding and training program, the Signal Corps had pigeons and lofts in place in France. Harper's credited the pigeons with a 95 percent success rate for message delivery.
By 1925, the Pigeon Service had a breeding base of 75 pairs and lofts for a variety of uses. It boasted 30 long distance flyers, and was breeding 300 birds per season to fill requisitions from eighteen lofts scattered throughout the U.S. and its possessions. Pigeon training, a 12 hour course, had also been incorporated into the Reserve Officer Training Corps and in Signal School maneuvers.
An experiment to evaluate pigeon flight over water took place in 1944. An article in a Signal Corps Technical Information Letter described an experiment at Fort Meade, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay where pigeons were released in an area of the bay that was 14 miles wide. The generally accepted fact was that homing pigeons were averse to crossing large bodies of water and this exercise was an effort to acquaint the birds with water flight. The article indicates that when first tossed over water, the pigeons showed a marked nervousness they did not display over land. Eventually, liberations were made from greater distances on the bay, the nervousness had almost disappeared and the birds homed promptly.
The importance of the Pigeon Service and the feats of those gallant birds were recorded in news reports of their deeds. On 24 December 1943, an article titled "Bird Hero Wins Purple Heart in Saving Message" appeared in The Signal Corps Message. LT Harold L. Holmes of Fort Monmouth had recently returned from the North African Campaign and reported that "carrier birds" had been used extensively there. A pigeon fancier most of his life, Holmes spoke about the high success rate of the pigeons. Describing the pigeon's value to the war effort, the writer noted that during the climax of the African Campaign, over a five day period 45 "secret" and "urgent" messages were delivered by pigeons.
Instituting a pigeon program required efforts to ensurethe safety of these working birds and examples appeared in The National Humane Review in 1918. The article was a public information announcement titled "Do Not Shoot at Pigeons." It described complaints by the Signal Corps that people on hunting expeditions were shooting homing pigeons all over the country, interfering seriously with the Army's pigeon training, despite state laws prohibiting shooting pigeons.
During World War II, Britain so revered pigeons that the birds were protected by a Defense of the Realm regulation which threatened six months in prison or a £100 fine to anyone caught harming a pigeon. The regulation proclaimed that pigeons were conducting "valuable work for the government."
The Army's homing pigeon service, headquartered at Fort Monmouth since the end of WWI, was discontinued in 1957 due to advances in communication systems. Many courier pigeons were sold at auction, while "hero" pigeons with distinguished service records were donated to zoos.
https://www.army.mil/article/74924/cecom_history_is_for_the_birds_hero_pigeons
Wow... Thanks for the pictures and history lesson. While I was aware that pigeons were used, I had no idea of the extent and value of the program. Very interesting... Cheers, RickO
The flying messengers were also reported to be "quite tasty" upon receipt.