Thomas Elder paperweight with embedded 1854 Large Cent

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RLSnapper
RLSnapper Posts: 582 ✭✭✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum

As I collect Braided Hair Large Cents this piece of exonumia caught my eye. I wish the LC was in better shape but it would make a fine addition to my overall LC set. What do you guys think?

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  • Mr_Spud
    Mr_Spud Posts: 7,272 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    That’s really cool!

    Mr_Spud

  • MFeld
    MFeld Posts: 17,144 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I love it!

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • DCW
    DCW Posts: 7,877 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Now THAT is neat!

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • NumisOxide
    NumisOxide Posts: 11,049 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Cool!

  • PerryHall
    PerryHall Posts: 47,759 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Very cool. B)
    Any idea when Thomas Elder was at this location?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • tttwo
    tttwo Posts: 41 ✭✭✭
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    New York City directories show him on 23rd Street by at least 1906 and still there through at least 1916, but by 1920 he was on 35th.

  • Steven59
    Steven59 Posts: 11,232 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Indeed - a great collectible piece.

    "When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"

  • CaptHenway
    CaptHenway Posts: 34,175 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I had one. The "macerated money" is not U.S. currency, or at least not the cut up bits of wildcat notes that are still identifiable. THe pulp might be.

    Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • Dave99B
    Dave99B Posts: 8,947 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Man that’s cool!

    Dave

    Always looking for original, better date VF20-VF35 Barber quarters and halves, and a quality beer.
  • RobertScotLover
    RobertScotLover Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Awesome

  • PerryHall
    PerryHall Posts: 47,759 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @CaptHenway said:
    I had one. The "macerated money" is not U.S. currency, or at least not the cut up bits of wildcat notes that are still identifiable. THe pulp might be.

    Private bank notes including notes from "wildcat banks" ceased circulating during the Civil War when the US government got into the paper money printing business. Thomas Elder wasn't even born until 1874 so it's unlikely the "macerated money" contained bits of wildcat notes. Perhaps there are redeemed or obsolete foreign bank notes inside the paperweight.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • tokenpro
    tokenpro Posts: 940 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The good Captain is most probably correct about his example - the three I've handled over the years and the others that I've seen have - when identifiable - bits and pieces of obsolete currency on top of the macerated mass. The weight in the OP actually has the least amount of bits & pieces that I've seen in one of these. All I've seen have had well circulated large cents. IIRC a couple other coin dealers issued similar macerated weights but without a coin. Piles of obsolete notes were easily available during the time that Elder was in business (and actually well into the 20th Century).

  • PerryHall
    PerryHall Posts: 47,759 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @tokenpro said:
    The good Captain is most probably correct about his example - the three I've handled over the years and the others that I've seen have - when identifiable - bits and pieces of obsolete currency on top of the macerated mass. The weight in the OP actually has the least amount of bits & pieces that I've seen in one of these. All I've seen have had well circulated large cents. IIRC a couple other coin dealers issued similar macerated weights but without a coin. Piles of obsolete notes were easily available during the time that Elder was in business (and actually well into the 20th Century).

    I'll take your word for it. I wonder if there were some old CSA notes in the macerated mix. After the Civil War, Confederate notes were in large supply and were considered virtually worthless.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • ricko
    ricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Nice piece of numismatic memorabilia..... Cheers, RickO

  • CaptHenway
    CaptHenway Posts: 34,175 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @tokenpro said:
    The good Captain is most probably correct about his example - the three I've handled over the years and the others that I've seen have - when identifiable - bits and pieces of obsolete currency on top of the macerated mass. The weight in the OP actually has the least amount of bits & pieces that I've seen in one of these. All I've seen have had well circulated large cents. IIRC a couple other coin dealers issued similar macerated weights but without a coin. Piles of obsolete notes were easily available during the time that Elder was in business (and actually well into the 20th Century).

    Correct. Elder, or whoever made these for him, took unidentifiable blobs of presumably macerated U.S. currency and cut out identifiable little bits from obsolete non-U.S. currency and pasted them onto the blobs to make them more interesting. The one I owned had a small train vignette on it.

    Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • lkenefic
    lkenefic Posts: 9,519 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Very Cool! B)

    It's going to make cracking the coin out for the album a bit problematic... ;)

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
  • Smudge
    Smudge Posts: 10,001 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Nice collectible.

  • Zoins
    Zoins Posts: 34,489 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Very very cool! I haven't seen these before and it's great to both see it and hear about their history!

    Private Mint News | 2010 Lincoln Reverse Finalists
  • Zoins
    Zoins Posts: 34,489 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @tttwo said:
    New York City directories show him on 23rd Street by at least 1906 and still there through at least 1916, but by 1920 he was on 35th.

    I don't see many medals or tokens issued from 1920 and later. It seems like 1917 was a high point.

    Private Mint News | 2010 Lincoln Reverse Finalists
  • telephoto1
    telephoto1 Posts: 4,966 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Awesome find, and a solid piece of numismatic history.


    RIP Mom- 1932-2012
  • johnny9434
    johnny9434 Posts: 34,110 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    nice, i like :)

  • NeophyteNumismatist
    NeophyteNumismatist Posts: 1,117 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    That's really cool. Thanks for sharing!

    I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.

  • World67
    World67 Posts: 13,098 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Very cool!

  • Maywood
    Maywood Posts: 4,395 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Times change and so does spelling. It looks really weird to see "inclosed" but I suppose that 100+ years ago it was standard.

    "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin

  • Lakesammman
    Lakesammman Posts: 17,698 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I LIKE it! :+1:

    Gone but not forgotten: IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal, CoinsAreFun.

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