1906 Thompson Restaurants Slug - When Territorial Slugs cost $300.00

Zoins

I'm a fan of imitation territorial slugs and have long been interested in the Thompson Restaurants slug. I was lucky enough to pick up this MS65 specimen recently. The surfaces are on this are amazing in hand. There are some minor distractions on the obverse but they are easy to overlook when looking at how well it's otherwise preserved. I'm amazed by how bright it is and how sharp the letters are. This is the 2nd best specimen I've run across so far.

I like the reference to territorial slugs going for $300 at the time. Today, the best specimen of this slug has sold for more than that. I bet the people at the time never thought that would happen.

Anyone know who struck this?

Reading the history on this chain is fascinating. The original restaurant was the first restaurant in Chicago and the 50 year anniversary slug was created by one of the 3 largest restaurant chains in the US by the mid-1920s.

The January 7, 1922 issue of Chicago Commerce mentions that in John R. Thompson had just published a booklet on the restaurant history in Chicago mentioning the following, quoting Moses and Kirkland's history of early Chicago. ( https://books.google.com/books?id=KzsP8Y6VqO8C&pg=RA15-PA18 )

S. H. Thompson started the first restaurant in Chicago in 1856 on Lake Street. After the fire in 1871 he opened at 666 Wabash avenue. Later he moved to 147-33 Dearborn Street.

The famous Thompson Restaurants of the early 1900s is the chain created by John R. Thompson in 1891, also publisher of the guide that mentions S. H. Thompson's 1856 restaurant above. I assume John R. and S.H. Thompson are related as they were both restaurateurs in Chicago but it would be nice to find out definitively. ( https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2010/06/10/early-chains-john-r-thompson/ )

Although it is largely forgotten today, the Chicago-based John R. Thompson company was one of the largest “one arm” lunchroom chains of the early 20th century. We so strongly associate fast food chains with hamburgers that it may be surprising to learn that Thompson’s popular sandwiches included Cervelat, smoked boiled tongue, cold boiled ham, hot frankfurter, cold corned beef, cold salmon, and Herkimer County cheese, served on “Milwaukee Rye Bread” baked by the chain’s bakery. Thompson was proud that his meals were suited for sedentary office workers of the 1900s and 1910s. A 1911 advertisement claimed that lunch at Thompson’s “won’t leave you logy and lazy and dull this afternoon.”

Thompson, an Illinois farm boy, ran a rural general store as his first business. He sold it in 1891, moved to Chicago, and opened a restaurant on State Street. He proved to be a modernizer in the restaurant business as well as in politics.

He operated his restaurants on a “scientific” basis, stressing cleanliness, nutrition, and quality while keeping prices low. In 1912 he moved the chain’s commissary into a premier new building on North Clark Street (pictured, today). Thompson’s, then with 68 self-service lunchrooms plus a chain of grocery stores, became a public corporation in 1914, after which it expanded outside Chicago and into Canada. By 1921 there were 109 restaurants, 49 of which were in Chicago and 11 in New York (with a commissary in NYC). By the mid-1920s Thompson’s, Childs, and Waldorf Lunch were the big three U.S. chains, small by comparison to McDonald’s but significant nevertheless.

Here's the Chicago Commerce article from January 7, 1922:

Here's an early photo of the restaurant and an image of their corned beef from the John R. Thompson article:

291fifth

A great write up about a very interesting medal. I had never seen one before, let alone in that grade!

ricko

Thanks for the pictures and the history....I did not know about the Thompson restaurants. Cheers, RickO

Zoins

Thanks @291fifth and @ricko! I love the medal and looking into the history of this. It's amazing that this was such a large chain in the US at the time. Hopefully more information will surface. It would be great to see a period ad for these.

coinsarefun

One of my favorites. I have one in MS64.
Got to look for it and post it here.
I also read that Mr Thompson’s major decline and ultimately
Lost his stores because of the way he viewed segregation.
That was very unfortunate.

johnny9434

all cool history stuff here, wtg

golden

I had never saw one of those before. Very,very cool!

NumisOxide

Nice higher grade example. I picked up one of these last year but mine is around AU.

Namvet69

Thanks for reminding me why historical medals are important. Peace Roy

CaptHenway

The lettering style is different from that found on the Thomas Elder medals struck by C.H. Hanson of Chicago around the same time, but those date digits look familiar. Can't say that it is, but Hanson is a possibility for the Thompson piece.

Zoins

Good info @coinsarefun . I found the following John R. Thompson and public accommodations and segregation. Of note, the lawsuits started in the 1930s but he had died in 1927. His son, John R. Thompson Jr. was born in 1985 and lived to 1980, seeing the sale of the restaurant in 1971.

Where he stood on the question of public accommodations is unclear but the chain faced numerous lawsuits by Negroes in the 1930s. However the best known case occurred in 1950 when a group of integrationists led by Mary Church Terrell was refused service in a Washington D.C. Thompson’s Restaurant.

• https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2016/12/thompsons-cafeteria-restaurants-of.html

Here's a bio and some info:

John R. Thompson (1865-1927) was an Illinois native who founded a successful chain of Thompson restaurants and grocery stores. He began in 1887 with a single store in Fithian, IL. When sold in 1891 it provided capital for his first restaurant at 397 State St. in Chicago. His restaurants promoted low priced but clean and nutritious food, fast. Interestingly, in addition to restaurants and groceries, John Sr. managed several theaters for his brother Harry W. Thompson.

John R. Thompson Jr (1895-1980)

John Jr (pictured above as the little boy on the horse) attended college, married, had three children and assumed control of the restaurant business. By 1921 there were ninety-seven John R. Thompson restaurants around the country. The groceries were sold off in 1924. John Jr further expanded the company but became involved in legal disputes over integration and charges of tax evasion involving his father’s art collection.

Of note, he opened his restaurant to act as a hospital during a 1903 movie theater fire:

John Thompson was a highly successful businessman with dozens of restaurants in Chicago but on December 30, 1903 he became one of hundreds of fathers terrified for the safety of his children. While firefighters fought the blaze next door at the Iroquois Theater, lining the sidewalk with fatalities in front of John's Randolph street diner, he opened the restaurant for use as a hospital. As a stream of bodies were carried in and out, John searched frantically for his own son and daughter, nine-year-old John Thompson Jr. and seven-year-old Ruthie. The pair had accompanied their two aunts and grandfather George W. Holloway to the Mr. Bluebeard matinee. At home his wife, Rose Holloway Thompson (1870-1951), cared for their two-month-old infant, Florence Holloway Thompson (1903-1972).

John would later describe his anxiety: "Sister got almost to the door with both of them. Then Ruthie disappeared. She told me she knew the child must be safe, but I was like a maniac. It was an hour before we found her. How it happened I didn't know, but she ran back into the theater and out under the stage, out through the stage entrance."

All five escaped. John Jr. was handed out over the heads of the crowd. Ruth somehow got to the stage and out the stage door into Couch Place.

• http://www.iroquoistheater.com/john-r-thompson-restaurant-important-iroquois-theater-fire-scene.php

When he died in 1927, the New York Times had an obituary saying John R. Thompson made a fortune for millions:

JOHN R. THOMPSON, RESTAURATEUR, DIES; Great Chain of 'One-Arm Chair' Cafeterias Brought Fortune of Millions.

• https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/18/archives/john-r-thompson-restaurateur-dies-great-chain-of-onearm-chair.html

It wasn't until 1950 when the restaurant chain became a test case which went before the Supreme Court in 1953:

District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. Inc., 346 U.S. 100 (1953),[1] is a United States Supreme Court case which began on April 30, 1953 over the validity of the local Washington Acts of 1872 and 1873. The Acts prohibited segregation in public places within the District. With the court's support, the legal ramifications of the 1872 and 1873 Acts could once again be enforced. The case transpired during growing racial tension in the nation's capital. Throughout Washington, the black community had grown tired of unfair treatment regarding housing, businesses, and education. But, change came soon enough through the courts. On June 8, 1953, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the segregating policies practiced by Thompson's Cafeteria were illegal, marking a huge victory for the national black community.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._John_R._Thompson_Co.

There's more on this case here:

• https://lists.h-net.org/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-dc&month=1106&msg=RgnpeDs%2BpNVt7skFIcT/tg

Zoins

Here's an early restaurant ad:

Here's a postcard from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

coinsarefun

I found mine.
.
.

Zoins

Nice medal @coinsarefun ! I'm a big fan of your brass slug collection. Very inspiring

Zoins

@coinJP said:
Nice higher grade example. I picked up one of these last year but mine is around AU.

Aren't these great? Please post yours here if you get the chance too! The more the merrier

Zoins

@CaptHenway said:
The lettering style is different from that found on the Thomas Elder medals struck by C.H. Hanson of Chicago around the same time, but those date digits look familiar. Can't say that it is, but Hanson is a possibility for the Thompson piece.

Good to know. Christian Henry Hanson's company was started in 1866 and still a family business today. He served in the Civil War and was the Danish Consul in Chicago. Do we know who was running the company at the turn of the century when these were made?

The C.H. Hanson company is still around and here's a bit from their About page:

https://www.chhanson.com/stories

Here's an excerpt. More on the site:

Our company’s founder, Christian Henry Hanson, the ‘CH’ of C.H. Hanson, came to the United States of America from Denmark in the mid 1800s. Shortly after arriving in the US, the 39th New York Volunteer Infantry drafted Christian into the Civil War. Christian fought with the 39th in many major battles, but was injured in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was taken to Fort Dearborn in Chicago where he was discharged, and decided to settle in the growing city.

On February 21st, 1866 Christian Henry Hanson founded C.H. Hanson, basing it off the stencil business he knew in Denmark. The first location was on Clark and South Water Street in Chicago, where he began producing hand-cut stencils. Christian also volunteered at the Denmark Consulate. He became the Danish Consul in Chicago in 1866, assisting the Danish immigrants in the surrounding areas. There, and at his own company, he led with kindness, generosity, and courage. The King of Denmark even recognized Christian Hanson for his work helping Danish immigrants.

Six years after the business began; the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost all of his work. After his building burned down, with just the clothes on his back and a handful of stencil dies, he vowed to rebuild everything.

NumisOxide

@Zoins said:

@coinJP said:
Nice higher grade example. I picked up one of these last year but mine is around AU.

Aren't these great? Please post yours here if you get the chance too! The more the merrier

Here you go! Maybe more like XF.

Zoins

@coinJP said:

@Zoins said:

@coinJP said:
Nice higher grade example. I picked up one of these last year but mine is around AU.

Aren't these great? Please post yours here if you get the chance too! The more the merrier

Here you go! Maybe more like XF.

Love the honest wear on that! These are pretty hefty and I can imagine people carrying these around, wondering what it would be like to have so much gold!

ZoidMeister

From the date, this looks to be one of, if not the earliest reproduction of the 1851 $50 Gold Territorial slug. It's interesting that Thompson started his restaurant chain only five years later.

A recent arrival for me. First example I've run across in a condition that I could acquire.

Z
.

.

ZoidMeister

This is a tough crowd.

Here is my latest "slug" . . . . .

Z

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

coinsarefun

I have this one for quite some time and wondered if its bronze? I know they are gilt bronze but maybe this one didn't have the gilt? I've looked to find any remnant of gilding but don't see any. I do not believe it's brass nor copper. I also believe this is circulated or at best AU but even then you would see something of the gilt leave behind in the crevices. Unless it was a weak strike in the center?
.
I also searched and found non in bronze only.......what is everyones opinion? And help please.

,

.

.

CaptHenway

@coinsarefun said:
I have this one for quite some time and wondered if its bronze? I know they are gilt bronze but maybe this one didn't have the gilt? I've looked to find any remnant of gilding but don't see any. I do not believe it's brass nor copper. I also believe this is circulated or at best AU but even then you would see something of the gilt leave behind in the crevices. Unless it was a weak strike in the center?
.
I also searched and found non in bronze only.......what is everyones opinion? And help please.

,

.

.

When I was an Authenticator I was quite good at doing specific gravity measurements. On something this large I could get repeatable results that could tell copper from bronze from brass.

Zoins

@CaptHenway said:

@coinsarefun said:
I have this one for quite some time and wondered if its bronze? I know they are gilt bronze but maybe this one didn't have the gilt? I've looked to find any remnant of gilding but don't see any. I do not believe it's brass nor copper. I also believe this is circulated or at best AU but even then you would see something of the gilt leave behind in the crevices. Unless it was a weak strike in the center?
.
I also searched and found non in bronze only.......what is everyones opinion? And help please.

,

.

.

When I was an Authenticator I was quite good at doing specific gravity measurements. On something this large I could get repeatable results that could tell copper from bronze from brass.

That's a good idea. There are quite a few videos on YouTube on doing this.

it would be great to try this out and report the results.

coinsarefun

@Zoins said:

@CaptHenway said:

@coinsarefun said:
I have this one for quite some time and wondered if its bronze? I know they are gilt bronze but maybe this one didn't have the gilt? I've looked to find any remnant of gilding but don't see any. I do not believe it's brass nor copper. I also believe this is circulated or at best AU but even then you would see something of the gilt leave behind in the crevices. Unless it was a weak strike in the center?
.
I also searched and found non in bronze only.......what is everyones opinion? And help please.

When I was an Authenticator I was quite good at doing specific gravity measurements. On something this large I could get repeatable results that could tell copper from bronze from brass.

That's a good idea. There are quite a few videos on YouTube on doing this.

it would be great to try this out and report the results.

.
So I googled specific gravity weighing and found a few homemade ways of measuring this via YouTube video’s.
They use either a string or wire to hold the coin/medal. Of course we need to be careful how we secure the medal in question as not to harm it.
.
Suspend it in water and take a dry weight and a “wet weight”. By using a simple calculation.
This will give us the specific gravity weight of the medal.

I searched and found on Newman Portal the list of various metal weights.
The difference between copper and brass is extremely minimal.
.
My question is……….. can a homemade specific gravity test really be accurate?
I will try and do as in the YouTube Videos show a few times and see but I’m not feeling confident.

Here is a screenshot from Newman portal on metal weights.

Zoins

@ZoidMeister said:
From the date, this looks to be one of, if not the earliest reproduction of the 1851 $50 Gold Territorial slug. It's interesting that Thompson started his restaurant chain only five years later.

Do we know wy he sold his chain? Did he get a good offer for it?

A recent arrival for me. First example I've run across in a condition that I could acquire.

Z
.

.

Very nice specimen! Congrats!

Zoins

@coinsarefun said:

@Zoins said:

@CaptHenway said:

@coinsarefun said:
I have this one for quite some time and wondered if its bronze? I know they are gilt bronze but maybe this one didn't have the gilt? I've looked to find any remnant of gilding but don't see any. I do not believe it's brass nor copper. I also believe this is circulated or at best AU but even then you would see something of the gilt leave behind in the crevices. Unless it was a weak strike in the center?
.
I also searched and found non in bronze only.......what is everyones opinion? And help please.

When I was an Authenticator I was quite good at doing specific gravity measurements. On something this large I could get repeatable results that could tell copper from bronze from brass.

That's a good idea. There are quite a few videos on YouTube on doing this.

it would be great to try this out and report the results.

So I googled specific gravity weighing and found a few homemade ways of measuring this via YouTube video’s.
They use either a string or wire to hold the coin/medal. Of course we need to be careful how we secure the medal in question as not to harm it.
.
Suspend it in water and take a dry weight and a “wet weight”. By using a simple calculation.
This will give us the specific gravity weight of the medal.

I searched and found on Newman Portal the list of various metal weights.
The difference between copper and brass is extremely minimal.
.
My question is……….. can a homemade specific gravity test really be accurate?
I will try and do as in the YouTube Videos show a few times and see but I’m not feeling confident.

Here is a screenshot from Newman portal on metal weights.

Hopefully @CaptHenway can chime in on what's needed to do this at a TPG authentication level.

I'm also guessing one will learn a lot more about this after trying it a few times. Then it would be great to document the process.

CaptHenway

Here is a link to an old thread where I discussed how to do an S.G.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/842687/tutorial-on-how-to-do-specific-gravity/p1?new=1

It is very important to have a good triple beam balance accurate to within 1/100ths of a gram. Even then you can use the spaces between the 1/100th marks to approximate a third decimal place, such as say 13.135 or 12.367 grams. Check your balance before beginning.

Be sure that your heating/air conditioning is not blowing on the scale. Use a windscreen or, if possible, just turn off your HVAC blower. This can offend co-workers. Gently tap the slide weights until you have an exact balance and then wait a few seconds to be sure.

Surface tension where your hanging wire enters the water can be a factor. I used a tiny dab of Ivory dishwashing soap (stick your finger on the end of an open bottle and turn the bottle upside down and back and swish your finger around in the water) to break the surface tension. The item is going to get wet anyways, so when finished just rinse it under the tap and pat dry WITH A VERY CLEAN TOWEL!

A good list of expected S.G.'s for U.S. coins appears in old editions of the Coin World Almanac. These figures have been reproduced in many places. Test a few known pieces (a standard silver dollar is a good test piece) to see if you are doing it right.

For Pure Copper I expect an S.G. of 8.92. For 95% copper, 5% Tin and Zinc Bronze I expect 8.89. Brass varies with the many different alloys of it. For example, Thomas L. Elder advertised what I call DeLorey-58 in two different brass alloys. I had one in what I call "Light Brass" that I got an S.G. of 8.4208 on, and one in "Dark Brass" that I got a reading of 8.716 on.

Take your time and be careful. If you do a second test to check your work (not unreasonable on certain pieces) make sure that the piece is absolutely dry before you do your dry weight.

TD