Congressional Gold Medal belonging to president who died in office up for sale
epcjimi1
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epcjimi1
Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭
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Some of the "dialogue" was somewhat OT to our purposes here. . . . :Funny:
US Civil War coinage
Historical Medals
William Henry Harrison does not get the credit that he deserves for his victory at The Battle of the Thames. After the American Revolutionary War the British continued to harass American settlers in what is now the American upper mid West despite the fact that the Treaty of Paris required them to leave. The British continued to stir up trouble using Native Americans as their agents. Harrison's victory over the British in that War of 1812 battle put an end to that harassment.
Some historians, lead by the late Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., love to beat up on William Henry Harrison as the old man who led the bogus "log cabin and hard cider" presidential campaign of 1840. Yes, that campaign was more sizzle than substance, but it also encouraged more than 80% of the eligible voters to vote (an unheard of number by today's standards), and was the invention of the modern presidential campaign. Add to that the fact that incumbent Martin Van Buren was presiding over a recession, which started with the Panic of 1837, and you have reasons why the Democrats lost that election, despite the fact that they were the majority party. Van Buren was the first incumbent president to get the boot in a re-election bid because of a bad economy.
It is unfair to judge what kind of president Harrison might have been given that he lived only 30 days after his inauguration and was ill for most that time. Some who were judged to be unfit for the presidency have turned out quite well, led by "the little man from Missouri," Harry Truman. Another surprise was Chester Allen Arthur, who was thought to be nothing but a hack and "wirepuller," but turned out to be civil service reformer.
Here is a campaign medalet that is attributed to Harrison's first presidential run in 1836, which was modeled after the Harrison gold medal. This piece was stuck over an 1838 large cent (undertype visible), so it must have been from the 1840 campaign!
<< <i>I'm actually surprised it hasn't been snapped up! If there was ever a piece you would expect to be in a museum...this qualifies up towards the top! 12 ounces...wow! That's a heck of a nice award! >>
The medal the Union Government gave to U.S. Grant after the Civil War weighted over two pounds in sold gold. Here is the bronze version of it beside a Morgan Dollar.
As for the price, that has to do with collector interest. Most of the 19th century medals with the rich, mohogany finish can be had for less than $2,000 each. The original mintages are almost always less than 200 pieces. A coin with a mintage of less than 200 would sell for a 5 or 6 figure amount.
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<< <i>I'm actually surprised it hasn't been snapped up! If there was ever a piece you would expect to be in a museum...this qualifies up towards the top! 12 ounces...wow! That's a heck of a nice award! >>
The medal the Union Government gave to U.S. Grant after the Civil War weighted over two pounds in sold gold. Here is the bronze version of it beside a Morgan Dollar.
As for the price, that has to do with collector interest. Most of the 19th century medals with the rich, mohogany finish can be had for less than $2,000 each. The original mintages are almost always less than 200 pieces. A coin with a mintage of less than 200 would sell for a 5 or 6 figure amount. >>
That is awesome! I never really paid a lot of attention to medals. It is amazing that they were able to strike a medal of this size with so much detail. I wonder how much racket it made when a 2 pound medal disc was struck to bring up so much detail. While I am sure they were struck multiple times...it also seems amazing that they would be able to keep it in place without it rotating!
"Issac died in 1854 and is buried in the Sidney, Iowa cemetery. Issac served in the War of 1812, was carried on the roll of Captain Joel Henry's Co. Kentucky Militia, commanded by Lt. Col. William Dudley, mustered in as a private, March 29, 1813 and served until September 28, 1813. He was taken prisoner by the Indians at Dudley's Defeat (May 5, 1813), on the river Raisin. Under an arrangement for the exchange of prisoners of property of various kinds, he was exchanged for a horse."
So there ya go. "OK, deal, I'll take that horse, you get this guy."
Issac went on to father seven children, I am one of his descendants.
<< <i>I am amazed that the family is selling it.... seems like something that would be a 'forever' keepsake. Cheers, RickO >>
The original Washington before Boston medal might have gone to the melting pot had it not been for a group of citizens who pooled their funds and donated it to the Boston Public Library.
$225,000 is a lot of money. Some families simply can't afford to hold on to something that is worth that much.
The interesting thing is that the Harrison family produced two presidents, William Henry and his grandson, Benjamin. A grandfather of William Henry signed the Declaration of Independence
I wouldn't say it's an Urban Legend. it's quite similar to the way people(especially children and the elderly) come down sick the day after a chill or getting wet. the drop in body temperature for an extended period of time is often what it takes with a weak/compromised immune system for an infection to take hold. that's quite likely what happened and they assumed it was pneumonia.