Bryan money

BustDMs · February 21, 2021 3:57PM

Let’s see some interesting Bryan money.

hchcoin · February 21, 2021 4:12PM

I can honestly say I had not heard of Bryan Money until your post.

MsMorrisine · February 21, 2021 4:14PM

derryb needs one of those

davewesen · February 21, 2021 4:14PM

I bid on some a few months back, but they went for too much

ricko · February 21, 2021 4:25PM

Interesting... I had read about Bryan Money...but had never seen one, or a picture of one. Cheers, RickO

JBK · February 21, 2021 4:30PM

Last week the final question on Jeopardy! had to do with presidential candidates and the clue included a reference to silver. The three contestants didn't get the answer but thanks to my time in numismatics I knew it: William Jennings Bryan.

DCW · February 21, 2021 4:34PM

BustDMs · February 21, 2021 4:42PM

Couple more. There are hundreds of different. Most are base metal. Silver made by Tiffany, Gorham and Whiting. These two are white metal.

astrorat · February 21, 2021 4:48PM

S-3

astrorat · February 21, 2021 4:51PM

S-739

astrorat · February 21, 2021 4:54PM

S-313

MsMorrisine · February 21, 2021 4:57PM

I like the below and HK-782

@astrorat said:
S-3

astrorat · February 21, 2021 4:57PM

S-736

BustDMs · February 21, 2021 5:23PM

Here is the reference book on the subject of Bryan money.

Jimnight · February 21, 2021 5:27PM

Never heard of Bryan money.

Kliao · February 21, 2021 5:28PM

Me either but they are cool.

Walkerguy21D · February 21, 2021 5:56PM

I’ve posted this one before, it’s one of the more common varieties. I owned it many years, after buying it at a small country auction in Ohio. I sold it to a forum member last year:

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:03PM

@Jimnight said:
Never heard of Bryan money.

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:03PM

@Kliao said:
Me either but they are cool.

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:07PM

S-356 (3rd in the "ONE DAM" trio)

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:11PM

S-1 (HK-777)

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:12PM

S-10 (HK-782)

astrorat · February 21, 2021 7:16PM

S-823 (88 mm diameter!)

1946Hamm · February 21, 2021 7:24PM

I've had this one for a long time.

abcde12345 · February 21, 2021 7:30PM

@Jimnight said:
Never heard of Bryan money.

CuKevin · February 21, 2021 7:39PM

Bryan Money is such an interesting part of (numismatic) history.

BustDMs · February 21, 2021 9:03PM

A few more.....

Zoins · February 22, 2021 5:25AM

1630Boston · February 22, 2021 5:32AM

Very interesting pieces presented above, thanks all for sharing the history

RichieURich · February 22, 2021 9:35AM

I used to have about 15 Bryan pieces, couldn't find any more different ones that I liked so I sold the whole group.
Thanks for posting this thread, got to see a lot of pieces I hadn't seen before except in the book.

astrorat · February 22, 2021 1:16PM

@Zoins said:

I think you may have posted this before with a story behind the alteration (I can't seem to find it). Can you re-share the story of this interesting piece?

coinsarefun · February 22, 2021 2:49PM

My only two examples.
.

astrorat · February 23, 2021 12:04PM

Here's a Bryan Money trivia question:

Which Board member cataloged a significant Bryan Money collection as part of his/her interview for working at a major US numismatic firm?

Bonus points if you can guess which company and the name of the sale!

BillJones · February 23, 2021 12:51PM

Here are a couple of Bryan money pieces that have not been posted yet.

This first one features a Lincoln quote and is listed as quite rare. The number is S-865. It is not a stuck piece. It is two thin disks of medal with some sort of weight inside.

This one from the 1900 campaign is a pro-silver piece, which is quite unusual. It is listed in the "1000" section of the Schornstein book.

Bryan ran on his pro-silver issue again in 1900, but by then the economy had improved and he needed to find other issues. One of those issues was trust busting. In 1900, a smoking factory was considered to be a good thing.

I call these two pieces, the cussin' buttons. The obverse shows the flag and the candidate. They open up with springs to reveal a slogan that might be considered naughty for 1900.

I have opened these two up once to take the photo. given that they work with springs that are 120 years old, I don't like to push it.

The Bryan piece.

The corresponding McKinley piece.

astrorat · February 23, 2021 5:08PM

S-835

astrorat · February 23, 2021 5:09PM

S-819

astrorat · February 23, 2021 5:10PM

S-348

astrorat · February 24, 2021 7:52AM

@astrorat said:
Here's a Bryan Money trivia question:

Which Board member cataloged a significant Bryan Money collection as part of his/her interview for working at a major US numismatic firm?

Bonus points if you can guess which company and the name of the sale!

No guesses ... seriously?

trueblood · February 24, 2021 12:19PM

Were there any coins/medals/token that were complimentary to Bryan's beliefs and cause?

astrorat · February 24, 2021 12:59PM

@trueblood said:
Were there any coins/medals/token that were complimentary to Bryan's beliefs and cause?

Yes, but they are not as fun as those lampooning Bryan and his supporters. The silver "comparator" medals made by Tiffany and Gorham, for example, were serious attempts to directly compare the amount of silver in a US silver dollar (412.5 grains) to the amount of silver equivalent to $1 in gold (770-870 grains +/-, depending on the date). The point being was that "we" were being cheated and being forced to use a silver "dollar" worth less than 50 cents in gold. It's a contemporary lesson in Gresham's Law (bad money drives out good money).

BillJones · February 25, 2021 6:25AM

@trueblood said:
Were there any coins/medals/token that were complimentary to Bryan's beliefs and cause?

I posted one earlier.

Here is another piece that satirized Mark Hanna, a millionaire industrialist who raised a great deal of the money for the McKinley campaign. He is shown here as a “bag man” which is just as uncomplimentary then as it is now. The reverse shows a dead elephant, done in by “imperialism.” Bryan tried to make an issue of the Spanish – American War in 1900. The trouble was it had already been fought and won.

This gold colored (part of satire) piece is a bear to photograph. It looks better in person than it does here.

astrorat · February 27, 2021 10:05AM

Not Bryan money, but related to Bryan's presidential candidacy.
S-908
The pendant is turned to reveal hidden text:
I'M ALL RIGHT / PAT JULY.27-1897. --> WHERE AM I AT?

GOLD STANDARD / MEANS A DOLLAR WORTH 100 CENTS / MACK, TEDDY AND PROSPERITY -->
FREE SILVER / MEANS A DOLLAR WORTH 50 CENTS / BRYANARCHY ADN STEVENSON

trueblood · February 27, 2021 10:15AM

Now that is one interesting and unique (I imagine) piece of numismatic jewelry

BustDMs · February 27, 2021 3:09PM

More likely a watch fob. Much nicer than mine. Thanks for sharing.

BustDMs · March 24, 2021 10:12AM

I dug out a couple from the back of the safe.

astrorat · March 24, 2021 2:22PM

@astrorat said:

@astrorat said:
Here's a Bryan Money trivia question:

Which Board member cataloged a significant Bryan Money collection as part of his/her interview for working at a major US numismatic firm?

Bonus points if you can guess which company and the name of the sale!

No guesses ... seriously?

Hint ... the firm was Bowers and Merena ...

koinpro · January 14, 2022 8:41PM

pursuitofliberty · January 14, 2022 9:01PM

Great thread!! Glad it made it back up top

MilkmanDan · April 24, 2023 5:23PM

This is an older thread, but I thought I might use it to bring out the experts. Does anyone have any information on the 1933 stamped Bryan dollars, such as the one below. Brunk has limited info in his reference, loosely connecting them to William Jennings Bryan and the silver speculation that occurred in 1933 (after his death). I'd love to hear if anyone has more detailed information about these stamps. Apparently they were stamped on to local as well as world coinage.

Bryan money

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