Let's Talk Some History

[leeg]

As I research my Classic Commem book project I'm finding out some really cool stuff. I wanted to share some real history around our coinage. I'm piggy backing a thread that MrEureka started ATS:

 

 

Tell us something we don't know about coins...

 

 

Please share info you know, that we may not.

 

 

From an article in the Chicago Daily Tribune dtd Nov 23, 1894:

 

The amount of counterfeit silver coins and fractional currency detected at the offices of the Treasury during the year was $10,500, an increase of $900 over the year before.

 

Were the Chinese active even back then?

[WoodenJefferson]

The portrait created by Felix Schlag on nickels made before 2004 is reputed to be based on a marble bust by the French sculptor

Jean-Antoine Houdon (03/20/1741-07/15/1828) The sculpture was completed in 1789, while Jefferson was still alive (age 46)

and is said to resemble him accurately. The bust is also said to have been the model for the 1801 Indian Peace Medal by John Reich

 

 

1789 Bust of Jefferson by Jean Antoine Houdon

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Gift of Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehman

(This name should be familiar to those who watch a lot of PBS)

 

 

Jean-Antoine Houdon at work in his atelier, 1804, by Louis-Léopold Boilly, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

 

 

[jackson64]

maybe less "history" and more trivia...but did you know:

 

along with Augustus St Gaudens fabulous designs that appear on our $20 Double Eagle and $10 Gold Eagle coins, he also was the commisioned sculpur for the weathervane that sits atop the tower of Madison Square Garden. Controversial when it was added because of its nudity ( his only nude sculpture ever)...5 smaller re-casts exist in some of the world's finest museums in Paris, New York ( the Met) and the Smithsonian among others...

[leeg]

Thanks for the help so far guy's!

 

Bertha Honore Palmer was the President of the Board of Lady Managers at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

 

 

]

 

 

She was asked this question: "Have any provisions been made to use the Isabella Quarter as Jewelry?"

 

To which she stated: "Yes, we shall sell with the coins three kinds of holders. One is a little chain with a ring by which the souvenir can be worn as a charm. Another is a little pin attachment by which it can be used as a breastpin. The other holder is simply a little kid case to protect the coins."

 

Be nice to find an original coin with one of these wouldn't it!

[BillJones]

It's interesting that I've never seen an example of an Isabella quarter in any of these formats. Of course part of the problem was that the Lady Managers did a poor job of marketing the coins. From what I've read you could only buy them at the women's pavilion, and you had to hunt there to find the place where they were sold.

 

The price was high too. The ladies were charging $1.00 for one of these quarters. That was same as price for the Columbian Expo half dollars, and many people thought that a dollar was too much them!

 

Congress voted the Board of Lady Managers and the Board of Gentleman Managers each a $10,000 stipend. The Gentlemen took their money in cash; the Ladies opted to take in the form of 40,000 Isabella quarters, which they hoped to sell for a buck a piece. The sales were disappointing, and 15,809 quarters were returned to the mint and melted. BUT that only tells part of the story. Included in 24,214 quarters that weren’t melted were 10,000 pieces that Mrs. Palmer bought and saved from the melting pot. If it had not been for her action, the Isabella Quarter would be a much more expensive coin today.

 

For those who might be new to coin collecting, here are pictures of the Isabella Quarter.

 

 

[leeg]

Thanks Bill for adding some history! (thumbs u

 

Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1894:

 

Will Buy Scholarships for Girls

Four historical Isabella coins to be sold at public auction

 

Four historical Isabella Quarters will be disposed of at public auction and the proceeds will probably go to form the nucleus for the establishment of scholarships for girls in some great educational institution. These coins are the 1st, 400th, 1492d, and 1892d. They are in the custody of Mrs. Potter Palmer as President of The Board of Lady Managers. "We received many offers for them last year," said Mrs. Palmer last night, but refused them. We have now decided to put them on exhibition for a period of three months at Tiffany's, in New York. We shall then sell them at public auction"

[Bugmann1974]

Wow that is pretty cool! Are those 4 coins known to exist today?

[BillJones]

Wow that is pretty cool! Are those 4 coins known to exist today?

 

I'll wager that we would be lucky to know the whereabouts of even one of them.

 

The only numbered piece that still has a pedigree is the mythical “First Columbian half dollar.” The Remington Typewriter Company paid $10,000 for that one, and that designation is still known.

 

[jackson64]

375th ANNIVERSARY !! this may be a bit of a long read, but I hope you find it interesting historically..the Maryland Commem which celebrated the 300th Anniversary of the founding of the colony of maryland in 1634...shows Lord Calvert on the obverse..the reverse shows the seal which has a farmer ( probably tobacco) and a merchant( commerce centered primarily around the Chesapeake)...cool little bit of history...enjoy

 

The colony of Terra Maria, better known as Maryland, had its beginnings in the Old World long before there was any European colonization in the Americas. Maryland was a colony founded by English religious discontents as a place where any Christian could worship freely. Because of the predominantly anti-Catholic attitude of the English government, and in effect, the English people, there was a strong dislike for anyone known to practice the Catholic form of Christianity. England had long been a Catholic nation, until the days of King Henry VIII, when because of a personal dispute with the Pope, King Henry denounced the Catholic Church. Henry was excommunicated, and started his own Protestant church which was to be supported by tax money, and of which he was the head.

 

Most of the former Catholics converted to Protestantism, but there were a few who remained faithful as Catholics. When the lack of toleration for British Catholics was too much for one man to take, he decided to ask for a grant of land in the New World where he envisioned freedom of religion for all Christians. That man's name was George Calvert, First Lord of Baltimore. Born a Protestant, Lord Calvert was converted to Catholicism in the middle of his life. Although there were many conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in England, that anti-Catholic attitude was not manifest in the Maryland colony during its early years.

 

Once England had been converted to a Protestant nation, the people who remained true to Catholicism, especially the commoners, were looked upon with extreme suspicion, and often charged with crimes that they did not commit, in an effort to discourage Catholicism in England.1 Most Catholics had to practice their form of Christianity in secret to insure that they would not be persecuted by the English government.

 

The conflicts were further exacerbated by troubles between Catholic Queen Mary of Scotland, and Protestant Queen Elizabeth of England.2 Queen Mary was next in line for the English throne because she was Queen Elizabeth's second cousin, on Mary'-s father's side of the family. Mary was the first child of King James V of Scotland, who died a week after her birth. Mary was immediately proclaimed Queen. Mary refused to recognize the power of Elizabeth as Queen of England, and was involved in many plots to overthrow her. Queen Elizabeth had Mary sent to jail for many years, and refused her requests to-be executed until Mary went on trial for high treason. After Queen Mary was convicted, Elizabeth signed Mary's death warrant, and she was beheaded on February 8, 1587.3 This conflict divided the country along religious lines in terms of those who were supporters of Catholic Queen Mary, and those who supported Protestant Queen Elizabeth.

 

As a result of these conflicts, there were many new laws passed that restricted the activities of known Catholics in England. For instance, there were laws passed which prohibited Catholics from holding public offices. Imprisonment and execution of Catholics were acceptable practices in the time of Queen Elizabeth.4 Many Catholics left England during that period of time for other friendlier countries.

 

Elizabeth was succeeded by James I of Scotland. His Minister of State was George Calvert. Because of his conversion to Catholicism, he was forced to resign from his political position, although he was still on good terms with the king.5 Lord Calvert asked to be given a land grant in the New World where a colony could be founded. King James I first gave him an island colony on the coast of Newfoundland which was named Avalon after the mythical place where Christianity entered England.6

 

Calvert was looking forward to a profitable colony with rich harvests, and a thriving maritime economy. The colony did well for the first few months, until a very harsh winter came. Many people in the colony fell sick and died.7 In the April after that winter, Lord Calvert sailed to Virginia to survey the climate and to see how Virginians would accept a Catholic. Calvert had a lukewarm reception to say the least, and after a short time, sailed back to England.

 

Once in England, Calvert asked for a new land grant in a more hospitable climate.8 The King agreed, but Lord George Calvert died shortly thereafter, before the charter could be drawn up. In June of 1632, Lord Cecil Calvert, the son of the first Lord of Baltimore, accepted his father's title, and a land grant in the New World that lay just north of Virginia. This new colony was named Terra Maria after the Queen at that time, Henrietta Maria. 9 This made Lord George Calvert's vision of a colony free from religious persecution of Catholics come full circle.

 

Two small boats, the Ark and the Dove carried the first group of settlers to Maryland. Although the smaller boat, the Dove, was blown off course for a while during a storm, both boats landed safely in the Maryland colony on March 25, 1634.

[leeg]

Wow that is pretty cool! Are those 4 coins known to exist today?

I put a call in the the Senior Archivist at Tiffany's. She said they do have records that go that far back. Unfortunately, it's not an easy process to access these records. I'm going to see what I can do though.

[RWB]

The Tiffany's people require appointments to examine their archives and they also require a prospectus on what you are looking for and what you want to do with it. Expect fees. AT&T does the same thing. If anything, they are more arrogant than ANS staff. (Writing from experience...)

[leeg]

The Tiffany's people require appointments to examine their archives and they also require a prospectus on what you are looking for and what you want to do with it. Expect fees. AT&T does the same thing. If anything, they are more arrogant than ANS staff. (Writing from experience...)

I've gotten just a little taste of the wall's put up to find truth. I can imagine the frustrations you've been through. Palms up looking for the greenback.

 

Nice stuff Jackson64! Thanks for sharing!! (thumbs u Here is a Maryland I used to own. Tough to find with lustre and fairly well struck up:

 

 

 

 

To the Director of the Mint Nellie Tayloe Ross from the Chairman of the Maryland Celebrations Matthew Page Andrews on May 19th, 1934, regarding the designs of the Maryland Tercentenary Half Dollar:

 

We were much disturbed yesterday to learn that thee is delay in the preparation of the dies for the Maryland Tercentenary Half Dollar, which we hope to have in time for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Maryland. I understood from Mr. Hans Schuler, when he returned from Philadelphia after certain corrections had been made, that the dies were to be projected or executed at once and I gave the matter no further concern.

 

I can understand how changes are necessary to make the design conform with United States standards, and also those of the Fine Arts Commission, but I learn from Mr. Schuyler that the Commission or a representative of the Commission had asked him to change the garb of Lord Baltimore on the ground that Cecil Calvert was not a Puritan but a Cavalier. Mr. Schuler would not make this change, on what seems to me the justifiable ground that the one generally accepted portrait of Cecil Calvert is the one by Gerard Soest. This portrait must conform with the garb Cecil Calvert elected to wear or else it would not have been painted, regardless of what we know of his political or social affiliations. In fact, the portrait has frequently been described as unusual, because of the severity of the garb assumed by Lord Baltimore; but its authenticity has never been questioned, either by historians or artists who have made comment theron.

 

I earnestly hope the the Fine Arts Commission will not insist upon this point; and I am writing confidentially to ask you if you will not use your good offices and recognized tact to have this objection or proposed change withdrawn. Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of the catalogue of Calvert portraits recently sold at London. This particular one of Cecil Calvert brought over $21,000.

 

The catalogue I am sending you is out of print and is already rated as "rare"; so I should appreciate its return when it has served its purpose.

[jackson64]

great post..fascinating letter....and it's pretty amazing to think that a portrait of Cecil Calvert sold for $21,000 back in 1934 ( right in the heart of some serious economic turmoil), wonder what it would bring today?

[leeg]

Robert I. Aiken was selected to prepare the designs for the $50 gold coins at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In a letter dated January 23, 1915 from Mr. Aiken to Mr. T. P. Dewey, Acting Director of the Mint, Washington, D. C., Aiken writes:

 

"Dear Sir,

Enclosed please find sketches for the obverse and reverse of the new Fifty-Dollar piece. They are so arranged as to show the application of the circular form to the octagonal.

 

By way of an explination of my design, permit me to state, that in order to express in my design the fact that this coin is struck to Commemorate the Panama-pacific Exposition, and as the Exposition stands for all that Wisdom and Industry have produced, I have used as the central motive of the obverse, the head of the virgin goddess Minerva. She is the goddess of wisdom, of skill, of contemplation of spinning and of weaving, of horticulture and agriculture. Moreover she figures prominently upon the seal of the State of California. This head will make a beautiful patern in the circle and the use of the Dolphins on the octagonal coin do much to add to its charm, as well as express the uninterrupted route made possible by the Canal.

 

Upon the reverse I use the owl, the bird sacred to Minerva, also the symbol of wisdom, perched upon a branch of western pine, behind which is seen the web of the spider, suggesting Industry.

 

With these simple symbols, all full of beauty in themselves, I feel that I have expressed the larger meaning of the Exposition, its appeal to the intellect.

 

I trust that these designs will met with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

 

Respectfully,

 

Robert I. Aiken"

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were some concerns about this design and it was not approved. More on that, and the finished design, in my next post.