When is a survey marker NOT a survey marker . . . ?

ZoidMeister

Leave it to me to find the most unusual exonumia. What looks like a pilfered survey marker is actually a medal. At 50mm it's the same size and I'm assuming the same weight as a real marker. The top of this medal is convex. I'll get the weight of it tomorrow, but it's heavy. The finish seems lacquered.

I'm was thinking that it was sold at the Washington Monument in 1999 as a souvenir, but the serial number on the reverse leads me to think it might have been a limited production piece.

Anyone ever seen anything similar?

Z
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ricko

@ZoidMeister ... Very nice medal. I have not seen one before, however, I would think since they are numbered, it may well have been a limited issue. Perhaps others have more information. Cheers, RickO

Namvet69

Nice, anything on da edge? Peace Roy

johnny9434

Wicked cool, I like 👍

ZoidMeister

@Namvet69 said:
Nice, anything on da edge? Peace Roy

Nothing on the edge. I've actually run across a few of these official Bench Mark / Survey Markers in the wild. The one I remember most in on Panola Mountain in Georgia. We were hiking and ran across one of these embedded into the granite.

I just took it's weight. It weighs in at 52.8g. I'm still doing my Google-fu to try to find out more about it. It would be wild if this were silver.

Z

Mr_Spud

This one for Carlsbad Caverns is very similar
https://store.wnpa.org/carlsbad-caverns-national-park-magnet-benchmark-037676.html

Mr_Spud

Probably came from this company
https://www.omnimap.com/catalog/access/benchmark.htm

Mr_Spud

Or might be from this company
https://mountainmonkeycompany.com/professional-awards/

jesbroken

I like it and will be looking for one.
Jim

1630Boston

@ZoidMeister said:

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I like that a lot.
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NOAA study uses latest technology to compute updated Washington Monument height
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Using new international measurement standards and technology not available in the past, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey has calculated the official architectural height of the Washington Monument to be 554 feet 7 11/32 inches — a highly precise measurement
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Although the newly established architectural height differs from the historical height of 555 feet 5⅛ inches, neither the starting point nor the so-called “standard deviation” used for the original 1884 measurement is known, making comparison of the two measurements difficult.

ZoidMeister

@Mr_Spud said:
This one for Carlsbad Caverns is very similar
https://store.wnpa.org/carlsbad-caverns-national-park-magnet-benchmark-037676.html

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I just took another look at this piece and tested it with a neodymium magnet. Not magnetic . . . .

The seller above's products look more like refrigerator magnets.

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@Mr_Spud said:
Or might be from this company
https://mountainmonkeycompany.com/professional-awards/

@Mr_Spud said:
Probably came from this company
https://www.omnimap.com/catalog/access/benchmark.htm

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Neither of these sellers show an image or the reverse. I am guessing they are blank, maybe suitable for engraving?

Z

ZoidMeister

My best attempt at taking an edge view photo to show its thickness and the arc of the obverse surface.

Z
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1630Boston

Measuring on top of the Washington Monument
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1630Boston

@ZoidMeister
This is your thread, if I'm adding too much about the monument tell me, but I find that medal very interesting and trying to find out more about it.
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It seems that it took 36 years to build and the 1884 date on your medal is the completion date.
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November 18, 1845
The Washington National Monument Society selects a design for the monument by Robert Mills. A design for the Washington Monument by Robert Mills is formally adopted by the society. This original design called for a 600-foot tall obelisk with a nearly flat top, surrounded by a colonnaded rotunda 200-feet in diameter and 100-feet tall. Thirty 12-foot diameter columns formed a 'National Pantheon' with statues of 30 prominent Revolutionary War heroes and signers of the Declaration of Independence inside. The obelisk was crowned with a statue of Washington in a chariot. This building was estimated to cost $200,000 to complete.

January 31, 1848
Congress authorized the Washington National Monument Society to build their monument to George Washington on public grounds or a reservation within Washington, D,C.

April 11, 1848
Due to funding shortfalls, the Washington National Monument Society directs Mills to modify his original design for the monument, to** initially build only the 500-foot tall obelisk**, with a 55-foot square base and 35-foot square apex. The construction of a pantheon, terrace, or landscape would be addressed after the obelisk was completed.

July 4, 1848
The cornerstone of the monument is laid with great fanfare. Among the participants were President James K. Polk, the Cabinet, Congress military units, fire companies and marching bands. Within the 24,500 pound marble cornerstone was a zinc case filled with mementoes, including copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, coins and newspapers.

**Fall 1854
By the end of the building season, the Washington Monument stood 152 feet tall **and the Washington National Monument Society had exhausted all funds for the project.

1861
A presidential order presidential order is issued "to use the Monument Grounds for Cattle belonging to the Government." The grounds of the incomplete monument were known as the Beef Depot, the Cattle Meadow, and the Washington National Monument Cattle Yard during the Civil War.

August 2, 1876
Congress appropriates $2 million in federal funds to complete the construction of the Washington Monument. The public funding is contingent upon the transfer of ownership of the monument from The Washington National Monument Society to the federal government.

July 1, 1878
Thomas Lincoln Casey is appointed as engineer-in-charge of the monument. He is authorized to hire, build temporary buildings, and prepare a project for strengthening the foundations to support a 525-foot tall shaft.

February 1880
Contractors begin installation of the staircase and elevator frames within the monument.

May 28, 1880
The strengthening of the monument’s foundation is completed.

August 7, 1880
A second cornerstone is set at the 150-foot level, marking the resumption of the construction of the shaft. Twenty-six feet would be added during the 1880 construction season.

1881
An additional 76 feet is added to the monument, bringing it to 250 feet in height.

May 1, 1882
Construction resumes for the 1882 building season.** Ninety feet would be added before the end of the season** on December 19, bringing the total to 340 feet.

December 6, 1884
The capstone and aluminum point are set in to place at 2:17 p.m. marking the completion of the construction of the Washington Monument.

ZoidMeister

@1630Boston
This is your thread, if I'm adding too much about the monument tell me, but I find that medal very interesting and trying to find out more about it.

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It compelled me to pick it up when I first saw it.

Awesome information! Totally appreciate the contributions!

I am guessing the 1934 date on the medal corresponds to the Washington Monument's 50th Anniversary. I am also guessing this medal was commissioned in 1999. 115 years between it's completion and the creation of the medal. Perhaps something in 1999 was in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary celebration?

Still looking for more information . . . . .

Z

1630Boston

And the 1934 date ?
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During the fall and winter months of 1934, the Washington Monument was prepped for repairs and cleaning, due to cracking at the base. Scaffolding was built around the 550-foot monument to allow the workers to make the repairs with Public Works Administration funding.
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also in 1934
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Fearless Thieves Hit the Top of the Washington Monument and Stole the Lightning Rods
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December 28, 1934, someone scaled the scaffolding to remove 107 of the 170 gold-plated, platinum-tipped lightning rod points from the top of the monument. The points were valued at $8 each, which totaled $856 (about $24,000 in today dollars). That’d buy quite a lot of beer during the Great Depression.

Workmen install new platinum lightning rods atop the Washington Monument, Washington, DC.

Mr_Spud

Since we are adding additional info, I found out yesterday there is a miniature underground replica of the Monument

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/washington-mini-monument

ZoidMeister

@Mr_Spud said:
Since we are adding additional info, I found out yesterday there is a miniature underground replica of the Monument

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/washington-mini-monument

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Now that's totally related to my medal.

More pieces of the puzzle. I need to turn them "picture side up" and begin putting them together.

Z

1630Boston

@Mr_Spud said:
Since we are adding additional info, I found out yesterday there is a miniature underground replica of the Monument

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That mini monument is 12.5' tall
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https://youtu.be/ioZIwoFT_LA