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Recent Newp... Thanx to member/dealer Pistareen :)

1825 Peale's Museum, HT-303/ Low-269 / Miller NY-632, R-5/6.

The finest known specimen of this token variety which is ex: Capt. Andrew Zabriskie who’s incredible coin rarities where sold by Henry Chapman in 1909, however his family held his tokens and medals after his death in 1916 until the 1999 Sotheby’s sale at his mansion overlooking the Hudson river. This is the current Russell Rulau Plate Coin in his Standard Catalogue of Hard Times Tokens for the Copper variety which replaced the lower grade ex: John L. Roper / Herbert Oechsner specimen in Russel's earlier works. This is only one of two early die stage examples I've seen struck with a non almost fully cracked obverse die, the other being the lower grade ex: Lionel Ruddick. Struck on a large thick 34.6 mm copper planchet the date on the obverse only symbolizes the date of establishment, as this token was used during the Hard Times Era as an entrance admittance pass which sold for $10.00 seasonally and was not something set aside to be preserved for future generations.
Some History:
Rubens Peale ran his museum in the Parthenon Building across from the City Hall from 1825 until he sold out to P.T. Barnum in 1843. Peale's Museum was located at 252 Broadway, close to City Hall in Manhattan. The Museum featured an Egyptian mummy and many other historical artifacts to entertain the locals and tourists. These large entrance tokens were occasionally taken home by souvenir hunters, but most were turned in for the price of admission. Rubens Peale came from an important family, his father was the famous painter Charles Wilson Peale, and his brother Franklin Peale who became the Chief Coiner at the Philadelphia Mint
Andrew C. Zabriskie was born in New York City in 1853 to one of the largest real estate owning families in that city. After graduating from Columbia University, Zabriskie wold help manage the family's real estate business. He was a member of the New York National Guard from 1873 through 1897, and eventually rose to the rank of Captain. Later in life he would be known as "Captain Zabriskie" due to this service. A member of the ANS for forty-two years, Zabriskie first joined the ANS in 1874 and became a life member in 1894. He served initially as Third Vice-President from 1880-83 and then as First Vice-President from 1884-96 before finally being elected President of the ANS in 1896. He remained as President until his resignation in December 1904.In 1908, when the Society's constitution was amended to create the office of Honorary President, Zabriskie, along with Daniel Parish, Jr., was elected Honorary President for Life. Zabriskie's tenure as president was marked with a financial crisis which led Zabriskie to advocate for the merger of the ANS with the New-York Historical Society. When that proposal was rejected by the membership of the ANS, Zabriskie resigned from the presidency. He was succeeded by Archer M. Huntington. During his career, Zabriskie amassed a large collection, the most significant of which were Lincoln medals and Polish coins and medals. In 1873 he wrote A Descriptive Catalogue of the Political and Memorial Medals Struck in Honor of Abraham Lincoln which has since become the basis for those collecting Lincoln pieces. Zabriskie died on September 16, 1916.

The finest known specimen of this token variety which is ex: Capt. Andrew Zabriskie who’s incredible coin rarities where sold by Henry Chapman in 1909, however his family held his tokens and medals after his death in 1916 until the 1999 Sotheby’s sale at his mansion overlooking the Hudson river. This is the current Russell Rulau Plate Coin in his Standard Catalogue of Hard Times Tokens for the Copper variety which replaced the lower grade ex: John L. Roper / Herbert Oechsner specimen in Russel's earlier works. This is only one of two early die stage examples I've seen struck with a non almost fully cracked obverse die, the other being the lower grade ex: Lionel Ruddick. Struck on a large thick 34.6 mm copper planchet the date on the obverse only symbolizes the date of establishment, as this token was used during the Hard Times Era as an entrance admittance pass which sold for $10.00 seasonally and was not something set aside to be preserved for future generations.
Some History:
Rubens Peale ran his museum in the Parthenon Building across from the City Hall from 1825 until he sold out to P.T. Barnum in 1843. Peale's Museum was located at 252 Broadway, close to City Hall in Manhattan. The Museum featured an Egyptian mummy and many other historical artifacts to entertain the locals and tourists. These large entrance tokens were occasionally taken home by souvenir hunters, but most were turned in for the price of admission. Rubens Peale came from an important family, his father was the famous painter Charles Wilson Peale, and his brother Franklin Peale who became the Chief Coiner at the Philadelphia Mint
Andrew C. Zabriskie was born in New York City in 1853 to one of the largest real estate owning families in that city. After graduating from Columbia University, Zabriskie wold help manage the family's real estate business. He was a member of the New York National Guard from 1873 through 1897, and eventually rose to the rank of Captain. Later in life he would be known as "Captain Zabriskie" due to this service. A member of the ANS for forty-two years, Zabriskie first joined the ANS in 1874 and became a life member in 1894. He served initially as Third Vice-President from 1880-83 and then as First Vice-President from 1884-96 before finally being elected President of the ANS in 1896. He remained as President until his resignation in December 1904.In 1908, when the Society's constitution was amended to create the office of Honorary President, Zabriskie, along with Daniel Parish, Jr., was elected Honorary President for Life. Zabriskie's tenure as president was marked with a financial crisis which led Zabriskie to advocate for the merger of the ANS with the New-York Historical Society. When that proposal was rejected by the membership of the ANS, Zabriskie resigned from the presidency. He was succeeded by Archer M. Huntington. During his career, Zabriskie amassed a large collection, the most significant of which were Lincoln medals and Polish coins and medals. In 1873 he wrote A Descriptive Catalogue of the Political and Memorial Medals Struck in Honor of Abraham Lincoln which has since become the basis for those collecting Lincoln pieces. Zabriskie died on September 16, 1916.
To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
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Comments
<< <i>Very cool - I don't know much about these sorts of things, but your post was excellent and very informative!
Thanks Walkerguy21D... I received it about 10 days ago, but as I've been ill it's taken me until now to write about it.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I have a book signed by Andrew Zabriskie in my library.
Congrats and thanks for sharing.
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Edited to add : A kudos to Pistareen for getting it into the hands of someone who loves the history of these.
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
you find one off center or broadstruck aye...
all kidding aside....very nice piece...very nice background info too...
"grab a cookie"
I was also very fortunate as I was able to secure a matching Peale's Museum Admittance Ticket signed by Rubens Peale himself, which might actually be scarcer then the token itself.
Great token but the historical perspective is what makes the token so fascinating.
Have you thought of a hard times session at CS summer seminar.