A Rare 1840 William Henry Harrison Campaign Medal 0

[BillJones]

Here is an early, very scarce William Henry Harrison medal from his 1840 presidential campaign. William Henry Harrison won the 1840 Whig Party presidential nomination in December of 1839. On May 4, 1840 the Whigs held a ratification / pep rally convention for Harrison in Baltimore, Maryland. National political conventions were often held in Baltimore in the 19th century because the city was centrally located on the Eastern Seaboard and had an easily accessible harbor. The "young men" aspect was undoubtedly intended to get the young and first time voters energized and enthusiastic for the upcoming campaign.

 

The 1840 William Henry Harrison presidential run set the standard for the modern political campaign. The Whigs pulled out all the stops with huge rallies, parades, barbeques and other events. At one point the Whigs built a huge ball, with slogans written on it, that was 10 feet in diameter and started to push it from Cleveland, Ohio to Lexington, Kentucky. The idea was to "keep the ball rolling" and get the voters out to polls. It was said the parade behind this ball stretched at one point to nine miles long.

 

The Whigs also issued a large number of tokens, ribbons and other campaign items. The output exceeded all previous campaigns, and would exceed most all succeeding elections until the landmark 1896 canvass. As a result there are many political medalets with Harrison on the obverse and a long cabin on the reverse. Here is a typical example, listed as WHH 1840-50.

 

 

The strategy worked. Harrison won the presidency despite that fact that the Whigs were the minority party and they were running against in incumbent president, Martin Van Buren. The voter turnout also impressive. Eighty-five percent of the eligible voters cast ballots, which is an amazing percentage compared with today's statistics, which usually hover around 50%.

 

Unfortunately Harrison's presidential campaign was much more exciting that his presidency. On Inauguration Day he stood in the cold and rain without a hat and coat and gave the longest inaugural speech in history. He caught a cold with developed into pneumonia, became progressively weaker and died 30 days after taking office. His vice presidential successor, John Tyler, proved to be more of Jefferson Donkey Party man than a Whig. He vetoed a re-charter for the Bank of the United States, which was the cornerstone of the Whig platform and soon became a president without supporters or a political party.

 

This piece is listed as WHH 1840-1 in Sullivan / DeWitt. It is a very scarce piece, and represents a significant upgrade from me. If anyone has an interest in my old one, which grades VF, send me a PM. I'll warn you these pieces are not cheap. My guess is there are no more than 20 of these pieces still in existence.

 

[coinsarefun]

Thanks for another great write up Bill. Wonderful pieces and love your new acquisition .

 

 

 

 

[AHFreak]

Very fascinating history behind those two pieces. Thank you for the lesson.

 

I wasn't really into history much and in high school/college I would have said it was my "least favorite" subject... Then out of nowhere I catch this sucker-punch from the coin "BUG" and shortly thereafter I find myself wishing I could go back to school and stay awake during history class.. Much like coins, I cant seem to get enough of it.

 

 

[jpcienkus]

I remember reading about Harrison. I believe he didn't want to wear a jacket because he was "a man of the people". It's interesting to think how our country might have been different had he been able to fulfill his term in office. It's impossible to predict, I know, but it's interesting to ponder. Had Harrison not died, would the Whig Party be one of the Big 2? Or would it have facilitated a 3 party system? 20 years after his death, the party was gone.

 

Thanks for sharing your medals and the information about the campaign. A nine mile long parade with a 10 ft. ball at the head is quite an image.

 

Edited to add: Interesting tidbit: Both of the Whig Parties elected Presidents died in office (WHH and Zachary Taylor).

Edited June 4, 2014 by jpcienkus

[BillJones]

Had Harrison not died, would the Whig Party be one of the Big 2? Or would it have facilitated a 3 party system? 20 years after his death, the party was gone.

 

I don't think that the Whig Party would have survived regardless of what would have happened had William Henry Harrison survived. The trouble with the Whig Party was that it was more against something than it was for something.

 

The "something" was Andrew Jackson and his successors. The fundamental problem was the northern half of the party became increasingly anti-slavery while the southern half supported it while many of them were pro-union. That split the party in two in the early 1850s and led to its demise. From the ashes came the Elephant Party which added anti-slavery and pro-union people to its ranks as it grew.

 

The Donkey Party almost fell apart over slavery, but it survived the Civil War and continued as the "conservative" American party until William Jennings Bryan turned it leftward in 1896.

Edited June 5, 2014 by BillJones

[BillJones]

Very fascinating history behind those two pieces. Thank you for the lesson.

 

I wasn't really into history much and in high school/college I would have said it was my "least favorite" subject... Then out of nowhere I catch this sucker-punch from the coin "BUG" and shortly thereafter I find myself wishing I could go back to school and stay awake during history class.. Much like coins, I cant seem to get enough of it.

 

 

I am not sure that high school history would have made you happy. For me it was only a start. If you would like a list of books I could post it here, but my response will have to wait for a week. Sadly I am afraid that current high school history is less satisfying. I go for "like is was" not sanitized or PC history.

[jpcienkus]

Had Harrison not died, would the Whig Party be one of the Big 2? Or would it have facilitated a 3 party system? 20 years after his death, the party was gone.

 

I don't think that the Whig Party would have survived regardless of what would have happened had William Henry Harrison survived. The trouble with the Whig Party was that it was more against something than it was for something.

 

The "something" was Andrew Jackson and his successors. The fundamental problem was the northern half of the party became increasingly anti-slavery while the southern half supported it while many of them were pro-union. That split the party in two in the early 1850s and led to its demise. From the ashes came the Elephant Party which added anti-slavery and pro-union people to its ranks as it grew.

 

The Donkey Party almost fell apart over slavery, but it survived the Civil War and continued as the "conservative" American party until William Jennings Bryan turned it leftward in 1896.

 

Good point Bill. You're right, they were anti-Jackson and two fractious in their beliefs. It's fun to think about it. I don't want to get political in the thread, but we could use a real third party in this country to shake up the status quo. The status quo isn't working anymore as our politicians have completely lost sight of the important issues and what they are elected to do.

[BillJones]

Had Harrison not died, would the Whig Party be one of the Big 2? Or would it have facilitated a 3 party system? 20 years after his death, the party was gone.

 

I don't think that the Whig Party would have survived regardless of what would have happened had William Henry Harrison survived. The trouble with the Whig Party was that it was more against something than it was for something.

 

The "something" was Andrew Jackson and his successors. The fundamental problem was the northern half of the party became increasingly anti-slavery while the southern half supported it while many of them were pro-union. That split the party in two in the early 1850s and led to its demise. From the ashes came the Elephant Party which added anti-slavery and pro-union people to its ranks as it grew.

 

The Donkey Party almost fell apart over slavery, but it survived the Civil War and continued as the "conservative" American party until William Jennings Bryan turned it leftward in 1896.

 

Good point Bill. You're right, they were anti-Jackson and two fractious in their beliefs. It's fun to think about it. I don't want to get political in the thread, but we could use a real third party in this country to shake up the status quo. The status quo isn't working anymore as our politicians have completely lost sight of the important issues and what they are elected to do.

 

I am of the opinion that a conservative third party would be a disaster for this country. It would divide the conservative movement and open up most of the political spectrum to the so-called "progressives." I believe in freedom and individual responsibility, and I want to work within the system as much as I can.

[Mr. Smith Guesser]

This is awesome! All around great write-up!

 

The 1840 William Henry Harrison presidential run set the standard for the modern political campaign. The Whigs pulled out all the stops with huge rallies, parades, barbeques and other events.

It's been said that political campaigns during this time would often booze people up to get them to vote.

 

I live in Baltimore. And as a youngster, I heard that Edgar Allen Poe died here in Charm City from alcohol poisoning after being boozed up and recruited to vote. But as far as I'm concerned, this is impossible as Poe died on 10/07/1849 and the closest presidential election was eleven months earlier on 11/07/1848.

 

And after writing it out like that, I can see where the confusion comes from.

[Conder101]

I wasn't really into history much and in high school/college I would have said it was my "least favorite" subject... Then out of nowhere I catch this sucker-punch from the coin "BUG" and shortly thereafter I find myself wishing I could go back to school and stay awake during history class

One of the major reasons high school history tends to be such a bore for most students is because it it is typically taught as simply nothing more than memorization of names and dates with very little context. You are told what happened but not how or why it happened. The other little background stories (like rolling that slogan ball) can also make it come alive and interesting. You usually don't get those in a high school history class.

 

It's been said that political campaigns during this time would often booze people up to get them to vote.

Not just at that time. Even during Prohibition the political conventions were all very "wet". And in the era just before Prohibition it was very common in the south (especially when a "dry" referendum or candidate was on the ballot) for the breweries and distilleries to come in and pay the poll tax for blacks and poor whites so they could vote the "right" way and pay them off in beer or liquor. This would later backfire on them as the dry and Jim Crowe law advocates would use the image of drunk crazed negros to encourage the passage of dry laws to keep alcohol and the ballot away from blacks.

 

But as far as I'm concerned, this is impossible as Poe died on 10/07/1849 and the closest presidential election was eleven months earlier on 11/07/1848.

Keeping people liquored up and taking them from poll to poll wasn't just confined to Presidential elections. In fact it was probably a bigger problem during local elections.

[Mr. Smith Guesser]

local elections

 

I didn't even consider local elections. A little research shows that there was in fact a local election on October 3, 1849. This was the same day Poe is said to have been found wallowing in a gutter and taken to the hospital before dieing 4 days later. So maybe it's true.

 

I've always heard that he was drinking Baltimore Lemonades, which is 90% vodka and 10% lemonade. The Baltimore Lemonade is still on the drink list of many many bars around Charm City, especially in places like Fells Point...if you have the guts to drink one...literally and figuratively.

 

____

 

By the way...if you ever consider visiting the Poe house in Baltimore...Don't! Unless you're extremely brave. It's located in one of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore. And there's no really good parking that's close. So you'll be walking around. Google map it: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.291313,-76.633197,3a,75y,135.56h,79.68t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOHD4Tao62vEBgT86ZCzFMQ!2e0

Edited June 5, 2014 by Mr. Smith Guesser

[rynegold-migration]

heck, I've got one of those!

 

DSC08833 by rynegold, on Flickr

 

DSC08834 by rynegold, on Flickr

 

I thought the hole was put in it by someone after the fact.

[BillJones]

These pieces were holed so that people could wear them. Many high grade pieces without a hole were made for collectors. Such pieces were sometimes made after the election had been held.

 

This is one of few areas of numismatics were I have no problem with a hole. A lot of collectors do not agree with me however.

[denny r robertson]

I've come across one of these with the and Whig scales on the back. Is this one just not seen as much? 

[Bruce Thomas Collection]

Attached are pictures of my William Henry Harrison inaugural medal, which shows his inauguration date and the date of his death a month later.

[Conder101]

Odd, I would have thought an Inaugural Medal would have been made before the Inaugural so people would have it by the Inaugural. 

[Crawtomatic]

I thought the same @Conder101  A 10 minute search revealed many examples like the one in the most recent picture.  However, there is this true inauguration medal sold in a HA auction last fall.  Described as "...the "Holy Grail" of Harrison medals."

https://historical.ha.com/itm/political/tokens-and-medals/william-henry-harrison-extremely-rare-inauguration-medal/a/6191-43038.s

The medal shown by @Bruce Thomas Collection has to have a different official name.

 

[Bruce Thomas Collection]

I have been told that these U.S. Mint made Julian cataloged medals with the "PR" in the type actually refer to Post Requiem, which means after death. This medal lists his inaugural date and date of death one month later. I suppose that this would not actually be listed as a Presidential inaugural medal. Sorry for the confusion.