Display of One Million Silver Dollars at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair
JCH22
Posts: 214 ✭✭✭✭
Take 800,000 bagged Morgans and pour 200,000 loose Peace dollars over top, and you get: 
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When I was a kid, I remember a friend telling me that she saw that at the fair. So cool.
"One of the many committees working on the 1962, six-month-long, Seattle World's Fair, which would live on in the Space Needle and Monorail, was responsible for producing, promoting and selling souvenir medals for the exposition. The committee, with Northwest Historic Medals, was also charged with producing a venue for medal sales and was thus attracted to an advertisement for Behlen buildings. The committee also conceived of the display of a million silver dollars to attract medal purchasers and thus contacted Gerry Joseph, Behlen's sales manager, to see if they might be interested in a package promotion.
The downside for the promoter was the loss of the interest on half a year's earnings on the million dollars, then about 6% a year. This would however also amount to a plus for the U. S. Treasury who figured to gain an estimated $167 a day in earned interest.
Behlen calculated that silver dollars could be obtained at either the Denver or Philadelphia mint with their total cost of building the structure, displays and transporting the dollars, would be about $50,000 but could easily be worth that much in advertising alone, particularly if they could sell some of the display.
With the fair's April 21 opening fast approaching, the decision to proceed was made and arrangements initiated to purchase the silver dollars from the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia and take delivery at the U. S. Mint there rather than Denver making the transportation across the country part of the promotion of the fair as well as the Behlen Company. Hartford Insurance Company's bid of only $300 to insure the transportation beat Lloyd's of London, clearing the way for the physical move.
At first it was planned to use their own trucks but General Motors, also seeing the advertising potential, donated two Chevrolet diesel trucks and two Cadillac escort vehicles while Trailmobile Co. loaned them two cargo truck bodies. On April 2, 1962 the trucks backed up to the mint to load the nearly 30 ton cargo. $500,000 of canvas bags, each with 1,000 silver dollars were loaded into steel boxes bolted to the floor of each truck in three hours.
The convoy then set out with police escorts through towns and state patrol cars on highways while Pinkerton agents were scattered through the various vehicles. All expenses during the 13 day trip were paid for with silver dollars, often under the watchful eyes of the local press which, along with the billboard-like trucks, generated publicity in their wake.
As soon as they reached Seattle, silver dollars were purchased from local banks to replenish those paid out along the way. Meanwhile the building had been completed with a seven foot diameter, five foot high Behlen corn crib inside. The crib was then covered with mesh and 800,000 Morgan silver dollars, which had been sealed in $1,000 bags at the mint between 1910 and 1915, were stacked inside the crib. Then 200,000 1922 Peace dollars were poured loose over the bags and into a three inch gap between the crib and the bags. The mesh screen was then removed allowing some of the loose dollars to spill out giving the effect of a loose pile of 1,000,000 silver dollars.
Ten different medals were sold at the display including one which depicted two pyramids of silver dollars and the space needle. Three medals were also minted in 14-kt gold, two at the U. S. Mint and one by Medal Arts Co. In June a young lady from California was awarded $100 silver dollars for being the millionth visitor to the display. In addition to selling official medals, visitors were offered bags of silver dollars for $1,500 with delivery after the fair closed."
peacockcoins
Elvis brought a ham to the 1962 World's Fair.
peacockcoins
Great medals!
Just to add a nugget of trivia-- A woman, who was the one millionth visitor, was presented with $100 from the display while she was passing through the gate in June, 1962.
Very cool. A robbery of such a truck would make an awesome movie.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Can't imagine that this would be a great strategy in 2024.
What would the value of a million dollars in 1962 be today?
peacockcoins
Million silver dollars. Figure $40,000,000 if they were AU.
This looked familiar. Here is a previous thread that might have some other info and an NN link.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1100661/one-million-silver-dollars
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_KWVk0XeB9o - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Piece Of My Heart
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
Thanks--Did a search before I posted--didn't see that thread! Bit of a duplicate!
A nice way to make scratchy Morgans , Cringe worthy today
Back then (1962) they were available at the bank, and many in Las Vegas too.
They were available at Casinos and in business registers trays. as a young teen I got them from both.
All you had to do was ask and exchange for paper dollars.
Those were the days.
very few But the people in the Know cared about gem Morgans back then.
Stuff is sometimes kind of hard to find on the search. Plenty of people missed it I suspect and more information added here. I was just passing along the previous info for this thread.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_KWVk0XeB9o - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Piece Of My Heart
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
Take a look at the photo of the one million silver dollars. Now just think of the total volume of silver dollars distributed to the public in late 1962/early 1963 and then later during the GSA sales.
Too much work for thieves theses day why pack all the silver around when with a couple key strokes you can reroute millions more.
Just saying
I like the old photos
Martin
Thanks for posting. Brings back memories.
The blurb posted by @braddick led me to calculate the height of a vertical stack of 1 million silver dollars: 2400 meters! By comparison, the Space Needle is 184 meters or 605 feet tall.
ya gotta love things like this
Would of been better if the Seattle Fair was in 1964. Then maybe a 1964 Peace Dollar could of found it's way into the bin of dollars.😀
Cool post
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Before the massive display, 50% MS 65
Post display: 0%
Just a wondering…..
WTB: Barber Quarters XF
This is a very interesting post; I was not aware that there was a 1 Million dollar silver dollar exhibit at the Seattle World's Fair-- interesting to note how people regarded Morgan dollars in 1962 versus today-- a huge difference. I bet that counting those silver dollars was a rough task!
Quoting this post from the OP of the other thread that lilolme linked to above, since it has a color photo of the exhibit.
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"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
I wonder how high a stack could get without falling down?
I wonder if Redfield was lurking at the fair!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
It's at least $10,000,000 today with inflation, right?
On the web: http://www.earlyus.com
the price of silver would make it about 25 million worth at melt, eat your heart out inflation
So that's where all the bag and reed marks came from!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
I'd probably be more scared of cops seizing the money via asset forfeiture than a bonnie and clyde trying to steal the load.
At the peak of the 1979-1980 price runup, a silver dollar contained about $38 worth of silver (which is $153 in today's dollars). Most of these coins were likely sent to the smelter during this price spike and later on.
My Adolph A. Weinman signature
Several years ago I sold a collection for a lady - she and her husband bought 1000 silver dollars when they broke up the World's Fair display.
He took the better coins and sold them to help finance his mistress. By the time the widow consigned them to me, there were about 800, all wrapped in tissue paper that gave them a subtle pink color. Many were common dates and so worn that I sold them for melt.
Wonder where the empty bags wound up at.
I saw that with my own 5-year olds eyes. It was amazing!!!
Dave