1887 Military Encampment & Semi-Centennial of Chicago So-Called Dollar

Zoins

1887 International Military Encampment & Semi-Centennial of Chicago - SCD-560 - PCGS SP63 POP 0/1/0

I couldn't resist picking this up a while back. It's "extremely rare", unholed, and in great condition. What are the chances of finding another?

This is cataloged as SoCalledDollar.com (SCD) 560 by John Raymond, whose catalog numbers are used by Stack's Bowers and others. John is working with Jeff Shevlin and Bill Hyder to add his listings into a catalog published by Jeff and Bill so it may show up there as well.

• Cert: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/38919871
• SCD.com Listing: https://socalleddollar.com/SearchFinder.html

SoCalledDollar.com SCD-560:

560) Soldier standing facing. Campgrounds behind. International Military Encampment Oct. 1-20, 1887 around. //REV: Blockhouse. Semi Centennial Of Chicago, Ill. Fort Dearborn around /// Found in white metal and bronze. Very Rare in white metal and sometimes holed. Extremely Rare in Bronze. 37mm.

Here's a newspaper engraving of the encampment:

Here are two images of Fort Dearborn:

Chicago Archiecture Center wrote:

Fort Dearborn was a wooden stockade built in 1803 on the south bank of the Chicago River. It was located at the mouth of the river, at the intersection of modern-day Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. Bronze markers embedded in the sidewalk today mark where the walls of the fort once stood.

The fort was the U.S. Army’s westernmost outpost in the early 19th century and marked the first major investment on new federal land in this region. Around the fort, there were a few homes and John Kinzie’s fur trading post. This settlement signaled the arrival of Europeans and European Americans to the Chicago area. The fort marked an advance into Native American land. As a result, Native Americans and U.S. Army troops fought periodically. In the Battle of Fort Dearborn (part of the War of 1812), Potawatomi Native Americans burned the fort down, but it was rebuilt in 1816 on the same site.

Ref: https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/fort-dearborn/

Ref: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/fort-dearborn-chicago-fair-14369

CaptHenway

Nice.

Just as an aside, Chicago has used both 1833 and 1837 as its founding date as the need has demanded. See the 1933 World's Fair as one example. Obviously something happened in its history in 1833 and something else happened in 1837 to change the status established in 1833.

ricko

I like that one.... Neat detail of both the encampment and the blockhouse. Cheers, RickO

Treashunt

Great item, especially as an SP!

Zoins

Here's the only other one I've come across so far:

eBay via WorthPoint: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/medal-for-international-military-encamp-fort

White metal coin type medal for the International Military Encampment, Oct. 1-20, 1887, and the Semi-Centennial of Chicago Fort Dearborn. Planchet is approx. 1.5" in diameter. Has hole drilled in top and a brass Col's eagle with pin attached. Shows age and oxidation, and some old polishing residue. Looks to have been silver plated at one time. May be made of zinc.

291fifth

Amazing condition for a medal like that!

Zoins

Here's an excerpt from the New York Times. It seems that it was not as successful as the organizers had hoped.

New York Times wrote on October 15, 1887, Page 4:

The portion of the prolonged international encampment at Chicago which had been most relied upon for attracting the attention of visitors, including the competitive drills and the sham fights, has already passed, and the enterprise cannot be said to have reached the degree of success hoped for by its projectors. The camp is under...

Everything else is behind a paywall:

https://www.nytimes.com/1887/10/15/archives/the-chicago-military-camp.html

Zoins

Here are some documents and brochures from the 1887 encampment:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss11973.073_0195_0205/?sp=1

CaptHenway

@Zoins said:
Here's an excerpt from the New York Times. It seems that it was not as successful as the organizers had hoped.

New York Times wrote on October 15, 1887, Page 4:

The portion of the prolonged international encampment at Chicago which had been most relied upon for attracting the attention of visitors, including the competitive drills and the sham fights, has already passed, and the enterprise cannot be said to have reached the degree of success hoped for by its projectors. The camp is under...

Everything else is behind a paywall:

https://www.nytimes.com/1887/10/15/archives/the-chicago-military-camp.html

I have read the entire story, which is rather negative, but I am reminded that at the time the cities of New York and Chicago were bitter rivals for the title of greatest city in America. See “The Devil in the White City” for the section on the competition between the two cities for the right to hold The World’s Colombian Exposition just a few years later.

Zoins

Great info Tom @CaptHenway !

Thanks for reading the article and posting your info

Great background on the founding dates and rivalry between the cities.

It's great to read about the actual events these and others medals were issued for.