Copied from the Coin Doc's Archive at coinsite.com:
You have a "Bryan Dollar" made for the Presidential campaign of 1896 and 1900. Williams Jennings Bryan ran on a platform demanding parity between gold and silver. The Gorham company pieces were made to illustrate how much silver should be in a dollar to equal the value of gold in a gold dollar. Bryan's crusade was too late, the country was already heading for a credit system, The Federal Reserve was only thirteen years away. Read about this period in American History to get a better understanding of this medal.
"Bryan money" is popularly collected and are considered an important part of Americana. Besides a three time Presidential candidate, Bryan was also an Evangelist that believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. He was the prosecutor in the landmark "Scopes Monkey Trial" (Clarence Darrow vs. William Jennings Bryan) in July of 1925 that tried science teacher John T. Scopes for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution in a Tennessee school.
Value Range: $150 - $400 depending on type and grade.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
Kewl metal....Looks like the silversmiths of Gorham mfg. co. are saying that a one dollar gold piece has more than twice the melt value than a Morgan dollar...or at least it did in 1896.
Comments
Not sure what it is but,I like it.
You have a "Bryan Dollar" made for the Presidential campaign of 1896 and 1900. Williams Jennings Bryan ran on a platform demanding parity between gold and silver. The Gorham company pieces were made to illustrate how much silver should be in a dollar to equal the value of gold in a gold dollar. Bryan's crusade was too late, the country was already heading for a credit system, The Federal Reserve was only thirteen years away. Read about this period in American History to get a better understanding of this medal.
"Bryan money" is popularly collected and are considered an important part of Americana. Besides a three time Presidential candidate, Bryan was also an Evangelist that believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. He was the prosecutor in the landmark "Scopes Monkey Trial" (Clarence Darrow vs. William Jennings Bryan) in July of 1925 that tried science teacher John T. Scopes for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution in a Tennessee school.
Value Range: $150 - $400 depending on type and grade.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
Good work Kranky
since sliced bread.
Thanksagain,
Smitty
-YN Currently Collecting & Researching Colonial World Coins, Especially Spanish Coins, With a Great Interest in WWII Militaria.
My Ebay!