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Broadstruck
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1840 William Henry Harrison, Bunker Hill Jubilee Presidential Campaign Medal, DeWitt-WHH-1840-4 / Satterlee-71, 43mm Diameter, White Metal.
One of the original 1840 issued medals worn as a badge during the Bunker Hill dedication celebration. This was one of the first political medals struck by Boston medalists Francis N. Mitchell. All of the originals are seen holed for suspension directly on the rim above the N in Henry. Already considered scarce in 1862 by Alfred H. Satterlee and by W. Elliott Woodward who offered a so called original tin in poor condition in May of 1863. The dies of this Harrison medal just as the obverse Henry Clay DeWitt HC-1844-4/ Satterlee-126 cut by Mitchell were obtained by New York die-sinker George Hampton Lovett who issued proof re-strikes circa 1860 in copper, silver, and white metal medal types. The example below as far as strike, proof-like surface reflectivity, and tin pest oxidation betters the finest in the John J. Ford, Jr's sale earlier Wayte Raymond obtained through the purchase of Fredrick C. C. Boyd's collection.
One of the original 1840 issued medals worn as a badge during the Bunker Hill dedication celebration. This was one of the first political medals struck by Boston medalists Francis N. Mitchell. All of the originals are seen holed for suspension directly on the rim above the N in Henry. Already considered scarce in 1862 by Alfred H. Satterlee and by W. Elliott Woodward who offered a so called original tin in poor condition in May of 1863. The dies of this Harrison medal just as the obverse Henry Clay DeWitt HC-1844-4/ Satterlee-126 cut by Mitchell were obtained by New York die-sinker George Hampton Lovett who issued proof re-strikes circa 1860 in copper, silver, and white metal medal types. The example below as far as strike, proof-like surface reflectivity, and tin pest oxidation betters the finest in the John J. Ford, Jr's sale earlier Wayte Raymond obtained through the purchase of Fredrick C. C. Boyd's collection.
To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
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BHNC #203
This token was first mentioned in Charles Ira Bushnell’s 1858 book titled “An Arrangement of Tradesman's Cards, Political Tokens, Election Medals”. Although not considered rare it was missing in Benjamin P. Wrights 1898-1901 list compiled of all known store cards. It’s one of the lesser seen tokens not featuring a political figure. Over the course of the last decade this is the only the second time I’ve seen this wreathed Edwin Forrest toga bust die used as the other was on a George H. Lovett token. Not much is known about this issue and I’m not sure if this bust is a William Key creation or a mule featuring a die cut by Lovett. Which wouldn’t surprise me as it was quite common for die-sinkers of the likes of Lovett, Key, Bolen, Kline and others to swap dies. This example here is also the thickest store card I’ve ever seen, as it's almost most medal-like. Although the rim is just under 3mm with the ultra high relief bust of Forrest its 5mm overall in total height which makes for a quite impressive token in hand.
About Edwin Forrest:
He was the first true star of the American theater. Born in 1806 he was fascinated with the theater at a very early age and made his first professional appearance on the stage of Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theater when he was only 14 years old. Six years later he debuted in New York as Othello and became an overnight sensation with both critics and audiences.
The fame of his initial triumph and the power of his performances brought him sold-out houses in city after city. Within two years while still in his early twenties he had become the most highly paid performer in the United States. Professionally secure for fifty years Edwin Forrest remained the most highly paid and most popular actor in America. When he toured England and Europe he was the first American to be acclaimed an international star.
The New York City's Astor Place 1849 Opera Riot:
Staged riots at cultural events were routine in the 1840s. But the Astor Place riot of 1849 cost 22 lives and ending this practice. At best art inspires passion, at worst a riot.
On May 10, 1849 in New York City, a simple spat between rival actors turned into what's now known as the Astor Place Riot. Twenty-two people died and over 120 were injured at the Astor Place Opera House. The rival Macbeths were the English master William Charles McCready versus American Edwin Forrest. Their rivalry had been simmering for several years. Both were international stars, both had toured to each other's countries. Forrest, in 1845, had hissed Macready in Edinburgh. Macready was not too interested in engaging in this rivalry and was trying to avoid it, but Forrest wanted to press his point. So when Macready had his own tour to New York in 1849, Forrest's followers decided to avenge their hero and they're the ones that put together the riot.
Riots in those days especially in theaters were planned ahead of time. And they were usually intended to oppose a specific policy at the theater, not always a rival actor, sometimes a stage manager or even a piece of music that might have been played and ruffled the patriotic feathers in the audience. People would break up some furniture and throw things at the stage. Then retire go home to their dinners and the theater manager would take care of the problem and life would go on.
Forrest's supporters who were a lot of Bowery Boys and Tammany Hall politicians gathered their forces outside the hated Astor Place Opera House. They used Macready's performance as a means of protesting what they took to be elitist privileges in New York City. This was an opera house that had been built two years before and they had special kid glove dress codes and high prices so a lot of the population couldn't get into the opera house. So Macready became a symbol of English oppression of aristocratic privilege, all the things that the Bowery Boys had learned to hate.
Macready did leave but the rioting continued and finally the state militia was called up and brought in. They came to Astor Place Square fired over the heads of a lot of the rioters and ended up killing 22 onlookers. This was not something that Tammany Hall had expected or welcomed. It certainly wasn't a part of the usual we could say rioting conventions of antebellum America and it was a huge scandal for all around.
A satirical anti George McClellan gubernatorial campaign medal is believed to have been struck for Isaac F. Woods by die sinker George Hampden Lovett.
This piece recalls the controversy over the General's Civil War tactics and Presidential ambitions, however was elected Governor nonetheless.
<< <i>Here is a white metal pattern - uniface die-trail. Unique. Ex. Lennox Lohr and it is the Judd book plate coin.
DeliaBug, That's an awesome silver standard pattern from a great collection
Broadstruck I enjoy the historical info. It is appreciated.
hmm, interesting
I suppose times were more interesting back then, but I have never been to the Opera(and hopefully never will).
<< <i>1877 George B. McClellan, New Jersey Governor, 32mm Diameter, Plain Edge, White Metal.
A satirical anti George McClellan gubernatorial campaign medal is believed to have been struck for Isaac F. Woods by die sinker George Hampden Lovett.
This piece recalls the controversy over the General's Civil War tactics and Presidential ambitions, however was elected Governor nonetheless.
Love it!
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
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Obverse: McClellan & Pendleton Democratic Candidates / Reverse: The Constitution As It Is The Hope Of The Union.
The obverse die crack occurred during early stage and is common on all and stretches rim to rim directly through the bust of McClellan.
<< <i>I have never seen another one.
Here's the full info
Brooklyn Hebrew Home & Hospital for the Aged (Brooklyn, New York) White metal token, 27 mm., undated.
Manufactured by the American Emblem Co., Utica, New York.
Obv: BROOKLY HEBREW HOME & HOSPITAL/FOR THE AGED, above Jewish star above, above ברוקלינ ??ש לזקבים (Brooklyn for the Elderly) above row of buildings, above HOWARD & DUMONT/AVENUES/BROOKLYN, N.Y.
Rev: FIFTY CENTS WILL BUY along rim above, ONE/MEAL/FOR in center above wheat ears, AN AGED COUPLE, along rim below, AM.EMB. CO UTICA NY in tiny letters along rim at bottom.
Incorporated in 1907 as Brooklyn Ladies’ Home for the Aged, its name changed to Brooklyn Hebrew Home for the Aged in 1913 and to Brooklyn Hebrew Home and Hospital for the Aged in 1918. By then it was already located at 813 Howard Avenue, at the intersection of Howard and Dumont Avenues, in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. It relocated in 1953 to the former Half Moon Hotel at West 29th Street and the Boardwalk, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. In 1968 it changed its name to Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center, and currently operates as Metropolitan Jewish Health System Foundation.
This piece is only slightly scarce in white metal. DeWitt listed it in copper, but I have seen one.
<< <i>About Edwin Forrest:
Are we absolutely sure this isn't Cosmo Kramer?
I missed out on this exact token shown far below 2 years ago and immediately started researching it heavily.
This store card was already considered Rarity-5 by Benjamin Wright in 1901 and today is far more difficult to locate then it's rarity level in any condition.
Along with the cleaned corroded lower grade example shown directly below which was the best Russel Rulau could find with through all his contacts to plate in his book on U.S. Trade Cards I know of only of two other survivors.
Here is the finest example known which I immediately purchased when it became available again.
This has always been refereed to as a W.D. Grimshaw token, however Thomas Prosser was the proprietor located at 15 Gold Street.
Thomas Prosser was the distributor of Grimshaw's High Speed Compressed Air Hammer and his store card token was actually struck on the Air Hammer featured on the obverse.
Grimshaw's Air Hammer was capable of 150-420 blows per minutes at the time of patent in 1865 and by 1867 adjustable between 100-800.
It's fully proof-like and a bear to photograph.
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
1892-93 World's Columbian Exposition, Committee of 100 Citizens Medal.
Great stuff everyone.
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<< <i>
<< <i>About Edwin Forrest:
Are we absolutely sure this isn't Cosmo Kramer? >>
Haha, I instantly thought the same thing when I saw that photo! I really enjoyed the story that went along with this one. It was indeed a good read!
<< <i>What is that in his right hand and why does he have his arm on his shoulder and why does that guy look so worried!
I thought that was the devil, or Pan on the left. I have been wrong before.
"1825 Erie Canal Completion Medal. White metal. About Uncirculated.
81.5mm. By Sir Edward Thomason after Charles Cushing Wright. Forest god Pan seated with sea god Neptune. Rev. New York State Arms, legend gives dates of commencement, completion. Struck by Thomason as a pirated version of the smaller C.C. Wright original that was commissioned by the New York authorities. Reverse exhibits fascinating tawny red-gold peripheries and clear blue at center."
1825 Erie Canal Completion Medal
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<< <i>Nice medals everyone.
Broadstruck I enjoy the historical info. It is appreciated.
nice i like
Luther Robinson, Chittenango, N.Y., HT-215B / Low-389, White metal, Rarity-8
Ex: Charles Litman collection.
I first saw an example of this medal about a decade ago and really liked the nouveau obverse design however it was holed for suspension which turned me off. Over the years I’ve seen a half a dozen others which all had either environmental damage or abused in some fashion. None have compared to the quality of this specimen which looked wonderfully preserved based on the seller mediocre images. Well I had a major eyegasm once it arrived and I had it in hand being fully proof-like with wonderful pull-away patina.
Enjoy!
I always bid on nice ones when I find them but come up short.
The next nice, bronze example I find will be different.
Either me or the person I'm bidding against will be poorer.
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Struck for and distributed at the Baltimore 150th anniversary celebration by Charles W. Hamill & Company which was among the most successful firms in the city as manufacturers of silver plated ware and fine metal work. These tokens are usually always seen holed for suspension and in really low abused condition. If you look at the obverse you can see a small guide circle for tapping at 12 o'clock right between CO. & MF. as this is part of the obverse die design. With the full silvering is intact there's eye appealing pull-away patina. They are all seen with minor rim bumping. This is an extremely popular pictorial token which features the newly introduced circulation silver dollar design by George T. Morgan. These were struck by German born die-sinker Francis X. Kohler who was a medalist in Baltimore from 1851 until his death in 1886.
Top example is from the Louis Eliasberg Collection which was received as a gift from Abe Kosoff.
This is an unofficial muling of a Pope Urban VIII Papal Medal.
I'm not sure how this was made, but the reverse sure is interesting. Maybe a misaligned electrotype ?
It looks damaged, off-center and broadstruck.
This pictorial token has a reversible die design which shows a smiling & frowning face.
It's unique as a unlisted variety which was never documented by Benjamin Wright, Edgar Adams. Donald Miller, or Russell Rulau.
In 1842, a 19-year-old Quaker named Stephen F. Whitman set up a small "confectionery and fruiterer shoppe" on Market Street near the Philadelphia waterfront. His shop attracted Philadelphians from all walks of life, leading citizens to sailors. Thanks to exotic ingredients taken to Whitman by well-traveled sailors, his candies quickly gained renown across the Northeast.
Whitman was an innovative marketer; he knew that presentation could be as important as taste to some customers. So he created beautiful packaging and well-crafted advertising campaigns that focused prospective customers on the quality of his candies. Whitman's became a familiar name, thanks to ads in newspapers and magazines as early as 1857.
Business thrived, and the company's facility in Philadelphia expanded. New products, including tinned Instantaneous Chocolate, brought acclaim and boosted profits. In 1869, the next generation took the reins when Horace Whitman replaced his father as company president. Horace introduced America to cellophane, a then-wondrous material that helped keep candy fresh, colorful and clean.
By 1907, Whitman's Candies were appearing on the shelves in "better drug stores" across the region. Four years later, Walter Sharp stepped in as president; he developed new products and initiated the company's money-back guarantee that continues to this day. Sharp also created the Whitman's Sampler®, an assortment of the company's best-selling chocolates. Inspired by a cross-stitched sampler hanging in his home, Sharp worked with a skilled employee to create the sampler that's reproduced on Sampler boxes to this day. By 1915, the Sampler had become America's best-selling box of chocolates, a position it still holds today.
The company has a long history of honoring servicemen and women. During World War I, the company began distributing chocolates to soldiers, another noble tradition the company continues today. Whitman's Candies survived the Great Depression without sacrificing quality, lowering prices, or reducing dealer profits. In fact, more magazine ads were run in the 1930s, at the height of the Depression, than at any other time in the company's history.
Products and packaging evolved ... new products were added ... and the company continued to prosper. With the start of World War II, the company introduced the beautiful Land, Sea and Air Tins. Women working the candy lines added handwritten notes to packages sent to soldiers; some of those notes results in long-term friendships and in a few cases, marriage.
Refrigerated display cases in 1946 enabled dealers to store fresh candy longer. After WWII, Hollywood's brightest stars promoted Whitman's Candies, often in exchange for payment in chocolate and a mention of the star's latest movie.
As America became more health-conscious, the company introduced Light Chocolates in 1984, Sugar Free candies in 2001, and the Net Carb line in 2003. In 2005, Whitman's partnered with Weight Watchers International® to produce a line of Weight Watchers Chocolates.
Consumers continue to recognize Whitman's as one of a handful of brands that have stood the test of time, a true sampler of American ideals and values. It is fitting, then, that American presidents offer Whitman's Samplers to guests at the White House and those traveling on Air Force One.
1890 Montreal Witness Canada Prize Competition, Silvered White Metal, Breton-608 Token
Ex: George F. Landon collection.
In 1890 the "Montreal Witness Journal" offered these tokens as prizes the public school school children of the Dominion for writing a story. The obverse pictorial design is fashioned after the Bearers Building a Dam reverse of a 1754 French Canadian Betts-389 medal. This specimen is exquisitely toned and a very rare token especially in this state of preservation, as in uncirculated condition this is only the second I've seen and the Landon is far finer then the former Temple example. Since it was a first year issue only obtainable by children who entered the contest many have seen abuse and therefore today are only price guide valued in conditions of VF-20 through AU-50.
1891 Montreal Witness Canada Prize Competition, Aluminum, Breton-609 Token
Ex: George F. Landon collection.
In 1891 a different pictorial design token as seen below was issued in aluminum for the same competition. Struck in high relief on both the obverse and reverse with cameo contrast on the centers and peripheral proof like fields. Aluminum in 1891 was a new fancy metal type which was just becoming a affordable alternative to white metal since just a few decades earlier it was valued at more then gold an once. Although also found abused and at times seen holed for suspension at the space at 12 o'clock the Breton-609 variety is more readily available in higher grades of survival. These where better preserved by collectors who after the release of the 1890 issues latched on to these quickly. Still a scarce token to locate in mint condition as most survivors are more commonly seen in grading between between extra fine to almost uncirculated.