Writing coin history

[shirohniichan]

I watched a brief documentary on writer David McCullough. He said that he didn't intend to be a historian, but as a writer he was drawn to history. When he writes history he wants to make it literature, a piece of art.

 

I think I've tended to see such writing as "popular history" instead of serious academic historiography. Now I'm wondering how possible it would be to write a history of coins that is technically accurate while being enjoyable to read. How can one keep from clogging the prose with footnotes or clumsy qualifications without sacrificing clarity and precision? Is it even possible to write about something as mundane as coins used in daily commerce (e.g. not something as intriguing as "illegal" 1933 double eagles) and make it a pleasure to read?

 

I think it best to aim high when writing and to try to achieve this.

 

Can anyone give me examples of compelling numismatic literature about coins themselves that does't rely on drama associated with them?

[RWB]

It would be helpful for you to read some of McCullough's works first, to understand what his comment meant.

 

Try "Great Bridge" and "John Adams."

[leeg]

True coin research is Hard Work! I've found that out trying to find the facts around Classic Commemoratives. Rogers books are the model for all others to emulate.

[Dcoin]

The drama surrounding coin stories is just a strategy for adding juice to the potentially dry topic about coins. Its the hook.

 

I'll -u-me that you are the writer, in which case, maybe you should find another common hook that threads coins together. Numismatic hi jinks is an easy commonality. The challenge will be to find a the story behind the story so that your writing does not become a collection of facts .

[World Colonial]

I believe David Bowers has written some books in the style you describe. I am more interested in a reference book like Frank Gilboy's "The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America.". It has an excellent historical section but at least equally includes specifics on the coin attributes. Though this is a niche specialty with a print run of only 500 copies, it is hardly the typical coin book that most coin collectors would either want to read or own.

[physics-fan3.14]

I face the same challenge when writing about technical topics. Its often hard to write an article about luster or prooflike coins and have it come off readable - as more than a list of facts and processes. Again with my Franklin set, there's only so many ways to describe the qualities of a coin without becoming grandiose. I admire people like James who can write auction catalogue after catalogue, and always make it interesting.

[BillJones]

I write an article for my local coin club every month. Here is one I wrote about a Grover Cleveland campaign item that was struck in leather. Is this the sort of artical that you like?

 

Copyright William T. Jones - all rights reserved.

 

A Grover Cleveland Political Medal … in Leather

 

By Bill Jones

Most coins, tokens and medals are made of metal. Pieces that are made of something unusual are almost always tokens or medals, but even among that group the number pieces that are composed of a non-metallic substance is small.

The first non-metallic piece that I acquired was a rubber Civil War token that Charles Plum, Troy, New York merchant, issued. That piece was especially interesting because it was marked, “Goodyear India Rubber.” The name “Goodyear” referred to Charles Goodyear who accidentally found a way to harden or vulcanize rubber. A couple of years ago I purchased two large presidential campaign pieces that were made of wood. The first one was issued during Grover Cleveland’s 1884 presidential campaign. Later I found a matching piece for his opponent, James G. Blaine.

This fall I located an example of a very unique political campaign piece. It is an 1888 Grover Cleveland medal struck in leather. This is the first example of this piece that I have seen in almost 20 years of political collecting. The political items dealer from whom I purchased it claimed that it is only the second one he has handled in 34 years. There is a string attached at the top which would have been used so that the piece could be worn on a shirt or jacket. It is 80 mm in diameter, and the design is loaded with unusual symbolism.

The obverse features a donkey with a laurel wreath on its head. Surrounding the beast is the slogan “Commemoration of the Democracy 1885 – 1889” which marked the years of the first term of the Cleveland administration.

The reverse features a large upside down horseshoe (a symbol of bad luck?) over a casket with “R+I+P” on the side. This is symbolic of the end of the total grip that the Party had had over the presidency from 1861 to 1885. On the lid of the casket are the words, “I told you so,” and an owl. To the right side of the horseshoe is a trophy with the words, “Free Trade” on it. This symbolizes Grover Cleveland’s legislative policy which had resulted in reductions to the protective tariff. The protective tariff was a cornerstone of Whig and Party politics for all of the 19th century. On the left side that is another trophy with the number “4” on it. This stood for the four years that Cleveland had been in office.

In the center of the horseshoe there is a folded bandana. If this piece had been in color that bandana would have been red. This unusual symbol stood for Grover Cleveland’s 1888 running mate, Alan Thurman. Thurman had long championed the interests of wage earners and farmers. He was addicted to snuff, and during rallies he was noted for stuffing a big, red bandana in his pocket which he used to wipe his brow and to catch the expectorate that resulted from his snuff habit. During the 1888 presidential campaign the Democratic Party issued thousands of bright red bandanas that had slogans on them like, “Red Hot ” and “Rights of Working-men.”

Above all of these symbols, is the most famous Grover Cleveland campaign slogan, “A public office is a public trust.” Grover Cleveland may not have been brightest president, but no one ever questioned his honesty. At time when many politicians regarded dips into the public treasury as a right of elective office, Grover Cleveland was scrupulously honest.

In 1888 Grover Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the election in the Electoral College. This was one of only three times that this has happened in U.S. history, and it was the only time that the losers did not dispute the result. (1) Cleveland rolled up big popular vote majorities in the southern states, but he lost his home state, New York, and its crucial 36 electoral votes by a narrow margin. Cleveland’s problem in New York was that he had angered the powerful Tammany Hall Democratic Party machine by prosecuting some of their members for corruption while he had been Governor of New York. The Tammany politicians hated him for that and refused to lend him their support to his presidential campaign.

As she was leaving the White House, Grover Cleveland’s bride, Frances Folsom Cleveland, who was 27 years younger than he was, vowed that she would be returning to the presidential mansion as First Lady in four years. Her prediction turned out to be true as Grover Cleveland won the 1892 presidential election and became the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

 

 

Footnote:

(1) In 1824 Andrew Jackson received more popular votes and more votes in the Electoral College than any other candidate, but he did not win a majority in the Electoral College. Under the rules set forth in the Constitution, the presidential election was decided in the House of Representatives. In that vote Henry Clay used his influence as Speaker of the House to elect John Quincy Adams President. When Adams appointed Clay to be his secretary of state, Jackson and his supporters claimed that there had been a “corrupt bargain”

____________________________________________

between Adams and Clay. “Corrupt bargain” became a rallying cry for the Jackson campaign when it unseated Adams in 1828. Most Floridians are quite familiar with the events that surrounded the controversial results of the 2000 presidential election.

 

 

[x2rider]

Nice article Bill

Could you give me a quick rundown on some of the symbolism on the medal Reverse .?

Martin

[BillJones]

Could you give me a quick rundown on some of the symbolism on the medal Reverse?

 

I though I did that in these three paragraphs:

 

The reverse features a large upside down horseshoe (a symbol of bad luck?) over a casket with “R+I+P” on the side. This is symbolic of the end of the total grip that the *spoon* Party had had over the presidency from 1861 to 1885. On the lid of the casket are the words, “I told you so,” and an owl. To the right side of the horseshoe is a trophy with the words, “Free Trade” on it. This symbolizes Grover Cleveland’s legislative policy which had resulted in reductions to the protective tariff. The protective tariff was a cornerstone of Whig and *spoon* Party politics for all of the 19th century. On the left side that is another trophy with the number “4” on it. This stood for the four years that Cleveland had been in office.

In the center of the horseshoe there is a folded bandana. If this piece had been in color that bandana would have been red. This unusual symbol stood for Grover Cleveland’s 1888 running mate, Alan Thurman. Thurman had long championed the interests of wage earners and farmers. He was addicted to snuff, and during rallies he was noted for stuffing a big, red bandana in his pocket which he used to wipe his brow and to catch the expectorate that resulted from his snuff habit. During the 1888 presidential campaign the Democratic Party issued thousands of bright red bandanas that had slogans on them like, “Red Hot *spoon*” and “Rights of Working-men.”

Above all of these symbols, is the most famous Grover Cleveland campaign slogan, “A public office is a public trust.” Grover Cleveland may not have been brightest president, but no one ever questioned his honesty. At time when many politicians regarded dips into the public treasury as a right of elective office, Grover Cleveland was scrupulously honest.

[x2rider]

Sorry Bill must of scrolled right past it .

I hate early mornings

[DaveG]

shiro,

 

My favorite example is "Greenback" by Jason Goodwin. It's the most "readable" book on the history of money I've ever read. As you might expect, it's "popular" rather than "scholarly" (no footnotes, but at least he identifies his sources).

 

I also try to use Bowers as a model - he's very readable and (at least the books I've read) has good footnotes.

 

For myself, I try, first and foremost, to tell a story and then I try to flesh it out with footnotes. One "problem" I have is that I really like quoting original sources, so I sometimes end up with a string of long quotations that I have to piece together to tell a story.

 

I've found that using original sources and quotes really brings the story to life - the tricky part for me is deciding whether to put the quotes in the body of the text, or in sidebars or as footnotes.

[shirohniichan]

That's a good example. Articles seem to be a lot easier to write than a book with a common thread from start to finish, but I'll see what I can do to keep it from looking like a collection of articles.

 

I've actually come up with some interesting "back stories" from newspapers and literature. The driest reading came from the legislative record, except for a speech or two by Senator John P. Jones. The legal tender issue was the most confusing part, especially since the government authorities didn't always abide by the law.

 

I guess the best way to write good history is to read works of good historians and pick up some pointers. Events and people generally are easier vehicles to hold the reader's interest than objects, though.

[cpm9ball]

A few years back, I recall reading the story (I think it was in the Numismatist) of two young boys in 30's Baltimore who decided to dig a clubhouse in the basement of one of their homes. They found a can full of gold coins that had apparently been buried by an old sea captain who lived in the house before them. I think he had died, but when the news of the discovery hit the papers, the old captain's heirs tried to claim the proceeds. Later on they unearthed another can of gold coins as they continued digging out the clubhouse. This time the mother tried to sell the coins quietly, but that didn't fare too well either. A settlement was finally reached, and the coins were eventually put up for auction which apparently made national news in the numismatic community. Since both boys were minors, their share of the proceeds had to be put into a trust until they were of age. Unfortunately, one of the lads died before the family could gain legal title to the funds that could have saved his life.

 

It would be interesting if someone could research those coins and try to trace where they went after the auction. I think a story like this could be very compelling for a lot of readers, not just coin collectors.

 

Chris

[RWB]

The book is called "Treasure in the Cellar" by Len Augsberger, published by the Maryland Historical Society, 2009. Not sure if Len posts here, but he posts on PCGS.

[cpm9ball]

The book is called "Treasure in the Cellar" by Len Augsberger, published by the Maryland Historical Society, 2009. Not sure if Len posts here, but he posts on PCGS.

 

Roger,

 

If I recall correctly, the Numismatist gave the title of their article another name, though I don't doubt that is was based on Len's book. I just can't recall, right now, any credits they may have been listed. Do you know if Len tried to trace the whereabouts of any of the coins?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[physics-fan3.14]

The book is called "Treasure in the Cellar" by Len Augsberger, published by the Maryland Historical Society, 2009. Not sure if Len posts here, but he posts on PCGS.

 

Roger,

 

If I recall correctly, the Numismatist gave the title of their article another name, though I don't doubt that is was based on Len's book. I just can't recall, right now, any credits they may have been listed. Do you know if Len tried to trace the whereabouts of any of the coins?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

 

Augsberger says that few of the coins today are traceable. Many notable numismatists had a hand in the proceedings though, including Thomas Elder. Augsberger repeats Breen's guess that many of the highest graded 1850's Double Eagles are from this hoard, and it is very likely that Eliasberg bought more than one of these hoard coins at auction. Many of them were reputed to be of very high grade.

[RWB]

Len's book supersedes anything that would have been in the Numismatist. I can only refer you to the book as the best source of reliable, researched information.

[cpm9ball]

Thanks, Roger. I'll see if I can locate a copy.

 

Chris

[physics-fan3.14]

Thanks, Roger. I'll see if I can locate a copy.

 

Chris

 

Around the time the book came out, NGC was giving them away as weekly trivia prizes. That's how I got mine. You can find it pretty easily, here: http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/treasure-in-the-cellar.html

[cpm9ball]

Thanks, Jason!

 

Chris