A 75th Anniversary Battle of Gettysburg Button

BillJones

Okay, it's a button, not a coin, but it has a coin connection. This button was issued at the time of the dedication of a memorial for the 75th anniversary of the Gettysburg Battle. President Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech at the dedication of this memorial which includes an eternal flame. The Gettysburg commemorative half dollar was issued in connection with this celebration. I spotted this button in a political items auction.

This marked the last really big Civil War veterians reunion. By this time time the youngest veterians were in their late 80s and most were in their 90s. A tent city, complete with medical facilities, was set up for them and four or five of them passed on during the celebration. There is a very interesting film about this that I bought during my visit to Gettysberg years ago.

Here is a photo I took of this monument back in 1990.

ricko

Nice memorabilia Bill... ties in with the coin very well.... Cheers, RickO

Nap

Gettysburg should be on everyone's list of places to visit, especially if you have anything more than a passing interest in American history.

Hmm, the coin honors the 75th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg but it was issued in 1936, a couple of years early.

Is there a story behind that?

BillJones

Is there a story behind that?

The story is it takes an act of Congress plus a presidential signature to authorize a commemorative coin. Sometimes it takes some political deals and a quid pro quo to get your coin passed, despite the fact the event to be commemorated falls on a different date. The authorization bill was passed in 1936; the coins were struck in 1937; and the event commemorated had its anniversary in 1938. A similar thing happened for the Delaware Commemorative half dollar.

P.S. I'm always on the look out for "the perfect Delaware commemorative." I keep getting closer.

DCW

My great great grandfather was a veteran who attended the event. I have some amazing personal items from this reunion:
His registration card that he carried in his pocket:

The tent tag that hung that marked his location on the field:
His certificate:
The pullman train tickets that he uswd for transport to Gettysburg:


His invitation letter and itinerary:

Program where some veterans have signed their names:


Token souvenir:


And of course, the 75th Anniversary of Gettysburg Veteran's medal issued to B. Frank Herbert (34th NJ Infantry Volunteers.)
I brought it back to Gettysburg about 5 years ago and took this picture in front of the eternal peace memorial:
I've always been fascinated by this last reunion of the Blue and the Gray.

1630Boston

Thanks for preserving the historical documents

mannie gray

@DCW said:
My great great grandfather was a veteran who attended the event. I have some amazing personal items from this reunion:
His registration card that he carried in his pocket:

The tent tag that hung that marked his location on the field:
His certificate:
The pullman train tickets that he uswd for transport to Gettysburg:


His invitation letter and itinerary:

Program where some veterans have signed their names:


Token souvenir:


And of course, the 75th Anniversary of Gettysburg Veteran's medal issued to B. Frank Herbert (34th NJ Infantry Volunteers.)
I brought it back to Gettysburg about 5 years ago and took this picture in front of the eternal peace memorial:
I've always been fascinated by this last reunion of the Blue and the Gray.

That is a wonderful collection of memorabilia and history!
Like x100!!!!
Awesome!

My maternal great-great-great grandfather died in Andersonville Prison in 1864.
He was in Ill. 9th Infantry.