"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
It would be interesting to see if Andrew Jackson handed out any more items like this.
The Andrew Jackson campaigns were the first presidential canvasses that held rallies, barbeques and other events to energize their voters. In 1800, about 25% of the electors in the Electoral College were selected by the direct vote of the people (almost all White males). The rest were selected by the state legislatures. By 1824 those numbers had turned. About 75% of the Electoral College were elected by the voters.
It was considered unseemly for presidential candidates to campaign for votes for much of the 19th century. If the office was offered to them, it was their duty to accept it, but they were not supposed to ask for it. This was in the George Washington mode of thinking, which for him was the case. Washington didn’t want to be re-elected in 1792, but accepted it as a “duty.” In 1796 he declined, strongly.
All of this met that Jackson had to find people to work on his campaign, and perhaps small gifts, like the engraved half dollar, where part of that.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Seriously though, this is without a doubt the best thing I've seen hit the forum in a long time..
My first thought was that you should get ahold of @CaptHenway but I see he's already on it!
Agree, no need to send in for grading, definitely one to hold in hand, but I also feel like it's a coin that needs authentication and recognition in the numismatic community, with the provenance as researched and documented as possible...
Major Presentation pieces like this one will sometimes hit the auction block with well documented historical research in place, and they then have their existence known through auction record...
I suggest at the very least you continue this post here with updates as you discover more about it!
Not only is it an amazing, fascinating coin for us all to enjoy, but it also puts it on the map so to speak, among serious numismatists.
Also, hopefully some of our members who specialize in presentation pieces will add further information to this post and share some of their coins with you!
This could be the beginning of an amazing collection for you, perhaps adding other coins, medals, etc that relate directly to the events this coin refers to?
Thanks for sharing!!
Are you sure? I came up with
1817 O-102 🤔
Just Kidding!
Whew you had me going for a second! If I was wrong then at least I was close😁
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
This stuff probably isn't useful, just some semi-relevant stuff I found.
As far as I am concerned this letter is sufficient to authenticate the piece.
It would be nice if there was some church record to check to see if a child was baptised on that date.
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.
The letter to Jackson is requesting Jackson pay a visit to Brownsville "on his return home." This may have sparked Jackson to order the two tokens made for his supporter Valentine's sons to present to them on the visit. I think one would have to delve deeper into Jackson's archives (lots on-line) to see if there is more, such as a receipt for the work or documentation of the visit on the specified day. I haven't seen any other reference to similar tokens, but it's hard to tell if the two are unique. There is another article from 1833 similar to the 1824 article about a half that was given to a young lad, but these others all seem to be regular halves, not specially prepared as these two were. Somebody could make a whole research project out of this.
@jacrispies said:
Whew you had me going for a second! If I was wrong then at least I was close😁
Of course, with the obverse shaved we wouldn't know if it was 102 or 103?
Can you imagine if this coin had 1817 Rev B?? Could it be further identified from die state?
This could already become a somewhat famous coin... that would take it to the moon 😄
@jacrispies said:
Whew you had me going for a second! If I was wrong then at least I was close😁
Of course, with the obverse shaved we wouldn't know if it was 102 or 103?
Can you imagine if this coin had 1817 Rev B?? Could it be further identified from die state?
This could already become a somewhat famous coin... that would take it to the moon 😄
Not necessarily, this reverse die was used once, on the O-108. Furthermore, on the 102 and 103 reverse dies, the I's look like J's because they are missing a lower serif, which is not apparent. The 50 C on the coin in question has a very low 5, which does not match the 102 or 3. So, it is certainly not any of those die varieties.
Looking at the reverse die deterioration, I believe this is the 108 "a" die state rated as an R.4+
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
Not necessarily, this reverse die was used once, on the O-108. Furthermore, on the 102 and 103 reverse dies, the I's look like J's because they are missing a lower serif, which is not apparent. The 50 C on the coin in question has a very low 5, which does not match the 102 or 3. So, it is certainly not any of those die varieties.
Looking at the reverse die deterioration, I believe this is the 108 "a" die state rated as an R.4+
My bad @jacrispies, I know this is not the 102 reverse... just riffing on how cool it would be if a coin like this wound up over the top of a 17/4 🥴
Originally I was joking around, know I feel like I'm hijacking an awesome thread... my apologies!
( By the way, excellent job attributing from the reverse only!!! Would have been much easier if it was 102 or 103 👏)
This stuff probably isn't useful, just some semi-relevant stuff I found.
Thank you so much for sharing! I just got the coin in my possession today, glad it arrived safe and sound. I found another letter Valentine wrote to Andrew Jackson in October 1825. I am having a hard time making out what most of it says, there's some bleed through of both sides on the copy.
Are you sure? I came up with
1817 O-102 🤔
Just Kidding!
Whew you had me going for a second! If I was wrong then at least I was close😁
Well, of course it could be an 1817 O.109, right?
Lance.
Ah shucks you are right Lance! The reverse die was used a second time. Thanks for catching that.
The difference in deterioration from the 108 to the 109 is minute, and the example does not show any extreme die wear or prime features, so a conclusive answer is not possible at this moment. A close examination of the die state could point to a likely marriage. Crystal clear photos may help.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
I took another look this evening to see if I could find any information on additional medals and found this very interesting article that gives proof that Genl. Jackson was in Brownsville, PA on March 20, 1825, and that there was at least one additional medal presented by Jackson, though not conclusively matching the others.
Cool.
Andrew Jackson Isler passed away 6 years later in 1911 at the age of 83. His wife Ann passed in 1912. They had 9 children born from 1856 to 1874. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MRVW-XQ7 (site requires registering to view, but it's free)
@tttwo said:
I took another look this evening to see if I could find any information on additional medals and found this very interesting article that gives proof that Genl. Jackson was in Brownsville, PA on March 20, 1825, and that there was at least one additional medal presented by Jackson, though not conclusively matching the others.
So cool! I will have to get some better photos of the coin and post them at some point. Thank you so much for all the info. I wonder if perhaps anything would be found about Henry J. Rigden. I could certainly see since Valentine Giesey wrote to Andrew Jackson requesting him to be in Brownsville that Andrew Jackson went to the jeweler to have a piece for all three young men, the boy baptized that day as well as the Valentine's two sons. Or as suggested before maybe Valentine's son's were both baptized that day as well at a later age.
I thought it might have been to commemorate a baptism! I wonder if the church records would show how many babies were baptized that day?
TD
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.
The jeweler would not have been open for business on a Sunday, so it is likely that Jackson visited the town jeweler on Monday (or shortly thereafter) and ordered the pieces before continuing to pass through. These would have taken a bit of time to engrave, so it makes sense that they would have been presented to the recipients' families at a later date.
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.
Man o man is this forum every glitchy when you try to make a simple modification...I tried posted and tried to modify the following:
From the article, it appears Isler received his medal "upon another visitation" so there were at least two such occasions apparently, one on March 20, 1825 and a later one, possibly even after Jackson was elected as President. I was guessing Jackson had them made by a jeweler in D. C. but he could have used a local jeweler for all of them as in Isler's case. It would be interesting to compare the engraving on Isler's to the OP's.
I would also guess that other boys in the community, sons of his friends and supporters, may have received these as well, such as any young boys in the Workman home where the article indicates Jackson stayed on this visit. There was a James Workman living in Brownsville in 1820 and 1830 census records and the family did include young boys.
It appears Henry J. Rigden/Rigdon of Brownsville was born ca 1795 in either Maryland or D. C. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. In the 1850 census he was listed as a silversmith. In 1860 and 1880, he was listed as a Justice of the Peace. His obituary from 1887 says he was in his 97th year (seems to be slightly exaggerated) and was the oldest citizen of the town, and that he had held a number of minor govt. positions. I only found a couple newspaper articles mentioning him, one as a participant in a local meeting and the other indicating he had been appointed as postmaster of Brownsville, both from the 1830s.
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.
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.
What an incredible family heirloom! A real piece of American history, for sure.
Id get some professional photos taken and submit an article to CW.
Thanks for a great thread
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
There are at least three other known presentation pieces from Jackson:
1836 half dollar engraved “From Andrew Jackson President of the United States to Andrew Jackson Ellis of New Haven, Conn. Feb 22d, 1837.” Ex. Bowers & Merena 1/89:432 ($2,530).
Gobrecht dollar inscribed “A. Jackson to J. W. McGrath.” Reported in Numismatic News 12;/15/2009, and previously appearing in a Jonathan Kern ad in Coin World, 7/11/1984.
Jackson to Ralph Earl, reported in Gobrecht Journal #122, March 2015. PCGS PR62.
Comments
The variety is 1817 O-108.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
Wow... What great research... And that coin is a real family treasure. Let us know if further information becomes available. Cheers, RickO
Indeed! What a family treasure! Thanks for sharing!
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
It would be interesting to see if Andrew Jackson handed out any more items like this.
The Andrew Jackson campaigns were the first presidential canvasses that held rallies, barbeques and other events to energize their voters. In 1800, about 25% of the electors in the Electoral College were selected by the direct vote of the people (almost all White males). The rest were selected by the state legislatures. By 1824 those numbers had turned. About 75% of the Electoral College were elected by the voters.
It was considered unseemly for presidential candidates to campaign for votes for much of the 19th century. If the office was offered to them, it was their duty to accept it, but they were not supposed to ask for it. This was in the George Washington mode of thinking, which for him was the case. Washington didn’t want to be re-elected in 1792, but accepted it as a “duty.” In 1796 he declined, strongly.
All of this met that Jackson had to find people to work on his campaign, and perhaps small gifts, like the engraved half dollar, where part of that.
Are you sure? I came up with
1817 O-102 🤔
Just Kidding!
Seriously though, this is without a doubt the best thing I've seen hit the forum in a long time..
My first thought was that you should get ahold of @CaptHenway but I see he's already on it!
Agree, no need to send in for grading, definitely one to hold in hand, but I also feel like it's a coin that needs authentication and recognition in the numismatic community, with the provenance as researched and documented as possible...
Major Presentation pieces like this one will sometimes hit the auction block with well documented historical research in place, and they then have their existence known through auction record...
I suggest at the very least you continue this post here with updates as you discover more about it!
Not only is it an amazing, fascinating coin for us all to enjoy, but it also puts it on the map so to speak, among serious numismatists.
Also, hopefully some of our members who specialize in presentation pieces will add further information to this post and share some of their coins with you!
This could be the beginning of an amazing collection for you, perhaps adding other coins, medals, etc that relate directly to the events this coin refers to?
Thanks for sharing!!
https://www.loc.gov/item/maj010675/
A letter written by Valentine Giesey to Andrew Jackson, From the Library of Congress:
Here's a page with more material about Valentine Giesey:
http://www.pagenweb.org/~fayette/military/gieseys_company.html
This stuff probably isn't useful, just some semi-relevant stuff I found.
Young Numismatist
Whew you had me going for a second! If I was wrong then at least I was close😁
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
As far as I am concerned this letter is sufficient to authenticate the piece.
It would be nice if there was some church record to check to see if a child was baptised on that date.
The letter to Jackson is requesting Jackson pay a visit to Brownsville "on his return home." This may have sparked Jackson to order the two tokens made for his supporter Valentine's sons to present to them on the visit. I think one would have to delve deeper into Jackson's archives (lots on-line) to see if there is more, such as a receipt for the work or documentation of the visit on the specified day. I haven't seen any other reference to similar tokens, but it's hard to tell if the two are unique. There is another article from 1833 similar to the 1824 article about a half that was given to a young lad, but these others all seem to be regular halves, not specially prepared as these two were. Somebody could make a whole research project out of this.
Of course, with the obverse shaved we wouldn't know if it was 102 or 103?
Can you imagine if this coin had 1817 Rev B?? Could it be further identified from die state?
This could already become a somewhat famous coin... that would take it to the moon 😄
Not necessarily, this reverse die was used once, on the O-108. Furthermore, on the 102 and 103 reverse dies, the I's look like J's because they are missing a lower serif, which is not apparent. The 50 C on the coin in question has a very low 5, which does not match the 102 or 3. So, it is certainly not any of those die varieties.
Looking at the reverse die deterioration, I believe this is the 108 "a" die state rated as an R.4+
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
My bad @jacrispies, I know this is not the 102 reverse... just riffing on how cool it would be if a coin like this wound up over the top of a 17/4 🥴
Originally I was joking around, know I feel like I'm hijacking an awesome thread... my apologies!
( By the way, excellent job attributing from the reverse only!!! Would have been much easier if it was 102 or 103 👏)
Thank you so much for sharing! I just got the coin in my possession today, glad it arrived safe and sound. I found another letter Valentine wrote to Andrew Jackson in October 1825. I am having a hard time making out what most of it says, there's some bleed through of both sides on the copy.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/maj.01066_0087_0090/?sp=4
Threads like this are what I like about this forum and the people in it.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
This thread reminds me of the PBS show History Detective.
Bravo to all involved!
Well, of course it could be an 1817 O.109, right?
Lance.
Ah shucks you are right Lance! The reverse die was used a second time. Thanks for catching that.
The difference in deterioration from the 108 to the 109 is minute, and the example does not show any extreme die wear or prime features, so a conclusive answer is not possible at this moment. A close examination of the die state could point to a likely marriage. Crystal clear photos may help.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
I took another look this evening to see if I could find any information on additional medals and found this very interesting article that gives proof that Genl. Jackson was in Brownsville, PA on March 20, 1825, and that there was at least one additional medal presented by Jackson, though not conclusively matching the others.
Forgot to include the source: The Courier, Connellsville, PA, 26 August 1905.
Cool.
Andrew Jackson Isler passed away 6 years later in 1911 at the age of 83. His wife Ann passed in 1912. They had 9 children born from 1856 to 1874.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MRVW-XQ7 (site requires registering to view, but it's free)
O.M.G.
As "love token"-style engravings with a historical backdrop go, you can't beat that!
So cool! I will have to get some better photos of the coin and post them at some point. Thank you so much for all the info. I wonder if perhaps anything would be found about Henry J. Rigden. I could certainly see since Valentine Giesey wrote to Andrew Jackson requesting him to be in Brownsville that Andrew Jackson went to the jeweler to have a piece for all three young men, the boy baptized that day as well as the Valentine's two sons. Or as suggested before maybe Valentine's son's were both baptized that day as well at a later age.
I thought it might have been to commemorate a baptism! I wonder if the church records would show how many babies were baptized that day?
TD
The jeweler would not have been open for business on a Sunday, so it is likely that Jackson visited the town jeweler on Monday (or shortly thereafter) and ordered the pieces before continuing to pass through. These would have taken a bit of time to engrave, so it makes sense that they would have been presented to the recipients' families at a later date.
Man o man is this forum every glitchy when you try to make a simple modification...I tried posted and tried to modify the following:
From the article, it appears Isler received his medal "upon another visitation" so there were at least two such occasions apparently, one on March 20, 1825 and a later one, possibly even after Jackson was elected as President. I was guessing Jackson had them made by a jeweler in D. C. but he could have used a local jeweler for all of them as in Isler's case. It would be interesting to compare the engraving on Isler's to the OP's.
I would also guess that other boys in the community, sons of his friends and supporters, may have received these as well, such as any young boys in the Workman home where the article indicates Jackson stayed on this visit. There was a James Workman living in Brownsville in 1820 and 1830 census records and the family did include young boys.
It appears Henry J. Rigden/Rigdon of Brownsville was born ca 1795 in either Maryland or D. C. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. In the 1850 census he was listed as a silversmith. In 1860 and 1880, he was listed as a Justice of the Peace. His obituary from 1887 says he was in his 97th year (seems to be slightly exaggerated) and was the oldest citizen of the town, and that he had held a number of minor govt. positions. I only found a couple newspaper articles mentioning him, one as a participant in a local meeting and the other indicating he had been appointed as postmaster of Brownsville, both from the 1830s.
This might interest the group. A walking stick with an engraved silver head linked to Jackson.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/13747402_andrew-jackson-silver-hickory-presentation-walki
Another walking stick with an engraved head presented by Jackson. It seems like he did like presenting engraved gifts.
https://www.icollector.com/Andrew-Jackson-Gold-Capped-Walking-Stick_i7825502
What an incredible family heirloom! A real piece of American history, for sure.
Id get some professional photos taken and submit an article to CW.
Thanks for a great thread
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
There are at least three other known presentation pieces from Jackson:
1836 half dollar engraved “From Andrew Jackson President of the United States to Andrew Jackson Ellis of New Haven, Conn. Feb 22d, 1837.” Ex. Bowers & Merena 1/89:432 ($2,530).
Gobrecht dollar inscribed “A. Jackson to J. W. McGrath.” Reported in Numismatic News 12;/15/2009, and previously appearing in a Jonathan Kern ad in Coin World, 7/11/1984.
Jackson to Ralph Earl, reported in Gobrecht Journal #122, March 2015. PCGS PR62.
Great thread! A remarkable family heirloom.
The engraving is just beautifully done!
Wayne
www.waynedriskillminiatures.com