"United Snakes of America" Token Bryan Money S-360

DCW · November 26, 2016 5:14PM

Here is a cool new purchase:

38mm, struck in aluminum. Listed as very rare in Fred Schornstein's book. This token or "Bryan Money" medalette from the 1900 Presidential election is quite interesting! The obverse features an old woman riding a donkey over a goose that has "POP" branded into its sides. Its legend bears the striking, "United Snakes of America," and adds "Anti-expansion" and "Anti- everything" for good measure.
The reverse mocks Bryan's 16 to 1 idea of free silver with the "One Dam" denomination.
I've seen the more common United Snakes of America token with the donkey head on a goose, but Ive never seen one of these for sale before. So I jumped on it. What do you guys think?
Feel free to post your Bryan Money to this thread as well...

Zoins · November 26, 2016 5:23PM

Very nice token. Expansionism was a very interesting movement in the US. In the end it seems like expansionism had it's limits so the anti-expansionism movement in 1900 may have won out in the end.

Some interesting cartoons from the times:

10,000 miles across. Interesting comparison of 1898 with 1798. In 1998, the US was smaller without the Philippines.

Building of the Panama Canal commentary on it's importance to expansionism.

TomB · November 26, 2016 8:16PM

That's a cool piece, DCW, and great political cartoons, Zoins. I have always liked Puck's take on various issues and this 1901 cover is a classic, as well-

Broadstruck · November 27, 2016 4:57AM

The Donkey Head on a Goose United Snakes is VERY common compared to what you just bought. I've seen 3 of your example available in recent months which is really uncommon, however all have been lower grade and somewhat problematic. Finding a example in UNC with full lustrous surfaces will prove to be quite a challenge.

ricko · November 27, 2016 5:41AM

Very nice piece....and those political cartoons are great...much better than contemporary offerings. Cheers, RickO

BillJones · November 27, 2016 7:38AM

Congratulations! That is definitely a scarce piece, and from my experience the scarcest of three pieces that carry that theme.

Here are the other two. "POP" made his début on this 1896 piece, which is the most common of the three. "POP" is short of populist which was the theme of Bryan's 1896 and 1900 presidential runs. He makes a cameo appearance on your new piece.

Here a second appearance from "POP."

BillJones · November 27, 2016 8:05AM

Here is another piece that satirizes the wealth of William McKinley's contributors and chief fundraiser, Mark Hanna and the anti-imperialist position that Bryan took in the 1900 presidential campaign. Mark Hanna was a wealthy industrialist who headed up the effort to get William McKinley elected president. Some people say that Hanna "owned" McKinley, but that is an exaggeration. McKinley was very much his own man and while he and Hanna saw eye to eye on the gold standard, the McKinley administration was not run by Hanna and his allies.

The obverse depicts Hanna as a "bagman" who delivered millions of dollars to the McKinley campaigns. Hanna was very good at getting political contributions from wealthy donors, but he was not a corrupt politician (Hanna held a seat in the U.S. Senate) who bought and sold favors. The reverse shows a dead GOP elephant who has gone to his demise carrying the banner of "imperialism."

This piece is quite scarce, and I have only seen four or five offered during the 20+ years that I have been seriously collecting small political items.

DCW · November 27, 2016 8:24AM

Great pieces @BillJones !

Your collection must be absolutely breathtaking. You consistently post the most amazing and historical pieces! And I wouldn't have known about the token I just bought had I not seen it in a previous thread of yours.

Thanks and keep 'em coming!

astrorat · November 28, 2016 5:04PM

Congrats! It took me quite a while to find one at a decent price. The "goose" version is so much easier to locate than the "donkey." I was also thrilled to finally locate a nice "donkey." Well done!

coinsarefun · November 28, 2016 6:31PM

Congrat's!! very nice and rare piece as Bill has said.

ricko · November 29, 2016 6:03AM

Very nice piece Bill.... and thanks for the history....as always, much appreciated. Cheers, RickO

BillJones · November 29, 2016 6:10AM

Here is a pair of political "caskets" for the two 1900 major party candidates. The McKinley piece is gold colored, naturally, and addresses the gold standard and imperialism.

The second piece blames the 16 to 1, silver cursade for Bryan's demise. It is silver plated, naturally.

These items are scarce, but not rare.

Finally this three leaf clover button covers the three issues that Bryan used in his 1900 campaign. The silver issue had lost a lot of steam between 1896 and 1900 because the economy had gotten much better.

The McKinley campaign reminded the voters about the improving economy on this button which would not be "politically correct" today with polution belching factory as its showcase. The "full dinner pail" image of the factory was a ongoing symbol for the two McKinley campaigns.

Bikergeek · July 23, 2023 8:27AM

I was sent to this thread from a BST listing by @U1chicago and this thread definitely delivers! I think @BillJones could put his collection in display cases and open it up for tours!!! Very interesting reading on a Sunday morning tour through the forums.

U1chicago · July 23, 2023 9:28AM

The example that sparked the search and helped me find this thread as well:

DCW · July 23, 2023 9:40AM

Nice to see this thread resurrected! Some great pieces shared in an area ripe for exploration, research, with tokens priced at a fraction of what they probably should be worth.
Here is an upgrade of my original United Snakes token. Purchased it from the late Frank Kraus (Broadstruck) who is gone too soon. 😔

BustDMs · July 24, 2023 6:03PM

A couple from my collection.

"United Snakes of America" Token Bryan Money S-360

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