Does anyone own any of the promotional items that were given out during mint tours in the early 20th

Longacre

I was reading Burdette’s Renaissance book, and he puts some interesting tidbits in the footnotes (the author surely is quaint, because no one in their right mind puts footnotes in books anymore). Anyway, there was a footnote mentioning tours at the mint which stated,

“In previous years [prior to 1912], mint employees gave educational tours to visitors of the mint and the mint collection. Visitors were offered the opportunity to purchase a descriptive pamphlet and small medallion as a memento of their visit. The medal and pamphlet were privately produced and the mint staff kept the profits as a supplement to their income. Director Andrew halted this procedure, to the dismay of both employees and visitors. [Senator] Ashbrook’s clause in the appropriations bill was intended to restore part of the former process but distribute profits to the mint collection.”

**********


I think stuff like this is pretty neat. Does anyone on these boards have one of these pamphlets or special medallion coins? I sort of like these “side” items that you can pick up on various tours, but I don’t know how often they are saved. I also could not locate a picture of either of these items. Does anyone know what they looked like?

seateddime

I would love to see some pictures

Coinosaurus

By some bizarre coincidence I was reading about George Bache Soley last night, and I wonder if he was the one supplying these "privately minted medals". Soley purchased the first steam press from the US mint and produced any number of mint-themed tokens and medals during this era. Soley had access to at least one mint die, and the Secret Service shut him down on at least one occassion (in 1894), but I suspect he was quickly back in business. See the July, 2000 Numismatist for more detail.

RWB

A visitor's tour of the mint and its collection of rare and unusual coins from around the world was, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the highlights of a visit to Philadelphia. The curator had one or two assistants (depending on the year), and these and other staff members explained the operations to visitors and answered questions about the collection. (There’s a good photo of part of the collection in Karl Moulton’s new book.)

Sales of pamphlets and small medals brought in several thousand dollars a year, which was much appreciated by people making $600-$900 in hourly wages. Director Andrew was, apparently, the only one to see any problem with this arrangement. Possibly, he did not grasp the idea of visitors wanting a small souvenir. Director Roberts quietly allowed it to resume on a smaller scale in late 1912.

I don’t know who made the medals or who designed them, and I’ve never seen a pamphlet. I recall the pamphlets costing 10-cents and the medals either fifty-cents or $1 – probably much like the cheap medals Barber knocked off for trade exhibitions. (See his description of the ideal exposition medal in the book’s section on the PPIE.)

firstmint

Not that this pertains to the 20th century...but,

Beginning in 1850, when the huge influx of gold started pouring in from California, the U S Mint offered small books to visitors as souvenirs for 25 cents each.

These came in several brightly colored covers, and the book was titled "New Varieties of Gold and Silver coins" by Eckfeldt & DuBois; who worked as Assayers at the Mint. William DuBois was the Mint cabinet curator from 1839 to his death in 1881. There were several versions of this popular book created until 1852.

The deluxe editions even offered refined and raw California gold samples in flat mica covered packets. Now that's a heck of a way to sell coin books!

I mentioned something about George Soley and his Lord's Prayer / U S Mint 13 mm medals in a related Burdette thread from yesterday.

PrivateCoinCollector

I do have what looks like a mint set but the package contains only Denver Mint coins and the package inscription says "Souvenir of the Denver Mint." Not quite what you meant I am sure, but noteworthy none the less.

seemyauction

I would love to see one...........



Al

mrcommem

When I was at the Philadelphia Mint in 1973 you could purchase tiny mint bags that contained Lincoln cents from all three mints. They held about 30 coins.