Big exonumia bulk bag! Live cherrypicking! (I'll gradually continue posting stuff as it comes out)
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,558 ✭✭✭✭✭
I bought a big sack of miscellaneous exonumia last summer and have only partly gone through it.
In addition to the usual scores of modern arcade tokens and Depression-era tax tokens, there were some interesting pieces. I saw some cull Hard Times tokens and a Conder or two in there. Plus quite a few medals, old and new.
I haven't even scratched the surface yet. Might post more stuff as it comes out of the bag, if anyone is interested in seeing it.
I figured this bag would be a fun "rainy day" project and give me some stuff to research a little.
Plus, it's the sort of stuff one can flip on eBay with no fear of any downside, because after all, since it was a big bulk bag purchase, I have only a few cents invested in each piece.
Here are just the most recent to come out of the bag, with standard apologies for my photography.
In addition to the usual scores of modern arcade tokens and Depression-era tax tokens, there were some interesting pieces. I saw some cull Hard Times tokens and a Conder or two in there. Plus quite a few medals, old and new.
I haven't even scratched the surface yet. Might post more stuff as it comes out of the bag, if anyone is interested in seeing it.
I figured this bag would be a fun "rainy day" project and give me some stuff to research a little.
Plus, it's the sort of stuff one can flip on eBay with no fear of any downside, because after all, since it was a big bulk bag purchase, I have only a few cents invested in each piece.
Here are just the most recent to come out of the bag, with standard apologies for my photography.
0
Comments
Good history lessons in just those two.
Lindbergh sure was the man back then.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Both of these are about half dollar sized.
According to one source I found, the Olympia medal was struck circa 1960, but of course with bronze from the ship's propeller. In closed eBay auctions, some have gone for as much as thirty bucks, which ain't bad considering I have a nickel or dime invested in this one.
The Lindbergh 'coin' was struck by Whitehead & Hoag and I'm pretty sure it's contemporary to the era of his flight.
More later tonight, if y'all wanna see 'em. I'm gonna need help ID-ing some of this stuff.
Cool stuff.... its fun to dig through bulk bags.
Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots
"made from the prop"...
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
For those that do not know it, the USS Olympia can be visited in Philadelphia. I would STRONGLY recommend that those that are interested in American history visit the USS Olympia. I've included a link to it. Unfortunately I have heard that due to the costs of keeping it afloat during a downturn in the US economy, the odds are that she will finally be scrapped. So, if you are interested in walking through a piece of US (and world) history I STRONGLY suggest that you go now to see it... and hopefully make a donation, even if it be only a dollar, to keep it afloat.
USS Olympia site
U.S. Type Set
Please do post more as you dig through the bag. Fun stuff.
Just found somebody's WW2 Navy Reserve dog tag, with the chain still attached. And some really nasty CWTs and HTTs. Pictures coming momentarily.
And some really nasty Hard Times tokens and Civil War tokens.
Forgot to bring the camera with me tonight, so we're relying on a flatbed scanner here at work. (Which is where my SDB is.)
More to come...
this is getting interesting with those civial war and hardtimes tokens
you got a bag of goodies thus far
slow n steady...no need to rush this thread...a couple a day is working great as this thread is up n rolling now
congrats too
This one is a military ID badge, I believe. You could order them from a mailorder catalog, and have your name and information engraved on those little "waves" in front of the shield.
Obviously this one is still blank, and never got engraved. Interesting that it seems to have gotten a little bit of wear, though.
I recall seeing these somewhere before, but now I can't seem to Google up the right kind.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's 19th century, though whether it's from the Civil War or Spanish-American War or even as late as WW1, I don't know. I think WW1 is a bit late.
OK, maybe one or two more for tonight, and I'll give it a rest.
And an interesting WW1 military reunion token from 1931. The watch fob is about 31 mm in diameter, i.e. roughly half-dollar sized.
And I guess I'll give y'all a break and call it a night for this.
aluminum back in the day was considered a precious metal to a degree
this bag you got rocks
any shot of the size of the bag to give that a feel for how big this is ?
<< <i>Why someone would make a souvenir to commemorate a disaster which killed 137 people is anyone's guess. I must admit it's pretty interesting 80 years after the fact, though. >>
Here's where that Morro Castle cent came from:
"In the intervening months, because of its proximity to the boardwalk and the Asbury Park Convention Hall pier, from which it was possible to wade out and touch the wreck with one's hands, the wreck was treated as a destination for sightseeing trips, complete with stamped penny souvenirs and postcards for sale"
Link
<< <i>that last marke token center is sweet
aluminum back in the day was considered a precious metal to a degree >>
Yep. That piece looks a little better in hand. The scanner picked up the scratches on it and made 'em look worse.
<< <i>this bag you got rocks
any shot of the size of the bag to give that a feel for how big this is ? >>
It's a cloth bank bag, like the US Mint ships cents in. I dunno, I'd say there's five pounds in here at least.
GrumpyEd- thanks! Had I bothered to read the full text of the Wikipedia article I'd linked up (or thought I'd linked up, 'cause I botched it), there it was, staring right at me.
However, I suspect the "stamped penny" souvenirs the article mentions were mostly elongated cents like this. But of course the "shell encased" one I have probably has a similar backstory.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
The Swami sees an Egyptian Magic Coin in your future.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
<< <i>Nice collection, LM!
The Swami sees an Egyptian Magic Coin in your future.
Actually, I found a Swami token just like that in here.
There was one of those "Egyptian magic coins" too, and I set aside for you last year.... but now I have no idea where.
<< <i>
Looks like a winner here.
I've never seen it before, anyway.
But the cool thing is that "Morro Castle" encased Lincoln cent was bought by the curator of the New Jersey Maritime Museum!
I thought that it was pretty neat that it was going to become a museum piece, so I gave her a $10 rebate. (The token closed for $22-something, so I've still got over ten bucks profit there.)
Might get around to scanning the next wave of cherrypicks soon.
PS @ Swampboy- since you didn't win the USS Olympia propeller medal, watch your mailbox! (Remember, I found another one in the bag, which is now on its way to you.)
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Keep 'em coming
BHNC #203
"The Whiskey Without Regrets".
Ha. I rather doubt that.
Then again, the whiskey was an inanimate liquid. It couldn't have any regrets.
The people who drank the whiskey, on the other hand... they might've had one or two.
I dug one of these tokens while detecting, once. No regrets about that- it was a fun find.
Must've been a pretty racy number by the standards of the day. <*wolf whistle*>
Obviously Abe Lincoln on one side. Looks like maybe U.S. Grant on the other?
"U.S. Mint Medal Medalet No. 615 Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S. Grant 19 mm Bronze
From the listing This medal was originally issued in 1869. The one being offered is the modern U.S. Mint re-strike which has not been available from the Mint since the 1980s. Struck in Bronze, it is 19 mm (3/4") in diameter."
Wonder if mine is a restrike or an original? Probably the former, but it does look a tiny bit different than the one you linked to. Hmm.
The Met Life medal isn't especially tough but most examples look pretty bad. Nice examples
are underappreciated.
<< <i>But the cool thing is that "Morro Castle" encased Lincoln cent was bought by the curator of the New Jersey Maritime Museum! >>
Deb Whitcraft, curator of the museum, is sending me a copy of her book about the Morro Castle disaster, which is shown on that page I linked to. How cool is that? I probably should refund the rest of her money so the encased cent can be a donation. Gave her a $10 rebate when I heard the coin was going to the museum, but if she's giving me a $30 book and paying to ship it, why keep the measly 12 bucks remaining from what I got off the sale? It's not like the encased cent cost me anything much in the first place.
More scans from the bag late tonight, if my hotel guests aren't too restless.
"Must've been a pretty racy number by the standards of the day. <*wolf whistle*>"
just wait
their could be some nevada tokens in there that surely can raise an eye brow or 2
probably best not to post um though to spare one's self from being banned
<< <i>as the sweet lil cherries keep falling from this tree
"Must've been a pretty racy number by the standards of the day. <*wolf whistle*>"
just wait
their could be some nevada tokens in there that surely can raise an eye brow or 2
probably best not to post um though to spare one's self from being banned >>
Don't recall seeing any of those yet, but fasten your seatbelts. I found some swastika stuff.
I'd snap a group shot of the whole bag but have sort of presorted it into a bunch of smaller bags, so I don't want to mess up what little organization there is.
Last night didn't work out for scanning more, 'cause drunk wedding guests invaded my hotel lobby and ruined the usual graveyard shift peace.
Might go in tonight (off duty, off the clock), just to use their better computer and speedier connection and access my safe deposit box. It's great having my SDB at work because it is accesible and attended 24 hours a day, is free, and is 3x the size of the one I used to rent at the bank.
1935 Mercury dime ring:
1926 Lincoln cent in Rundback's Jewelers (NYC) horseshoe-shaped encasement:
WW2 Office of Price Administration food rationing points (red & blue fiber tokens):
Assorted Depression-era sales tax tokens:
What's ths stuff? Oh. Mardi Gras doubloons and wooden nickels.
Note the use of swastikas on both sides. This is circa 1930s, just before WW2 when the Nazis spoiled the swastika forever. Prior to them, it had been a good luck symbol, as you see it in this context. The swastika in the crystal ball on this piece runs counterclockwise, like the ancient Zoroastrian symbol. The one on the reverse runs clockwise, like the one the Nazis ripped off. Note the other lucky symbols.
Neat piece. I found one of these while detecting, too. It was in an old park, only about an inch deep in an area that had yielded a lot of Indian cents, V-nickels, and a Barber dime or two, and the signal about blasted my ears off. In sandy soil, it was gorgeously preserved for a dug find, but is much darker brown than this one. This one could use a little Vaseline rub and I think the 1:00 obverse scuz would come off OK. My dug one is actually in equal or better condition than this one.
Speaking of swastikas...
Hm. I wonder who this guy is.
Eh, probably some obscure German or Austrian dude nobody ever heard of.
The portrait on this ca. 1916 medal features WW1 French general Joseph Gallieni.
It was created by sculptor Auguste Maillard.
Fun find, IMHO.
I had one of those "Vaterland" ones before, with the muscular munitions lady slinging around huge artillery shells. Cool stuff.
Whoops! There's a French spy in the mix. (The big aluminum one.)