A Numismatic Rebus

[BillJones]

A rebus is a puzzle that represents a word, phase or sentence by letters, numbers, pictures etc. that sound like the words represented. You see them in newspapers and comic strips, and they were part of the old TV quiz show, Concentration. Rarely are they seen on coins, tokens or medals.

 

Here is a classic exception. This piece was used during the 1856 presidential election on behalf of James Buchanan. The rebus here is “Buck – Cannon.” This piece is rare, and it is a classic among political collectors. Buchanan was a very poor president, and his political items are not very popular as a rule, but this piece is an exception.

 

I purchased it last week at the APIC national convention, which was held near Orlando Florida. The interest in political is fairly large, but it’s nowhere near the level of numismatics. The convention was a lot of fun and I my wife and I really enjoyed it.

[braddick]

Very nice. The fields are so clean and RED I'd swear this is a replica (I know it isn't, of course).

 

Thanks for the photo.

[MAULUMALL]

That is very cool.

[goose3]

Neat! Looks almost like a proof

[BillJones]

Braddick,

 

The piece is not red; it's bright white. I goofed when I shot the picture and forgot reset color bias on the camera to "indoor."

 

I'll have to go back and change it, but it takes about 10 minutes to reduce the size of the picture and post it up to get the obverse and reverse on the same frame.

[braddick]

I thought it was made of copper but now learn it is a white metal?

 

Those are cool.

 

On a related note (kind of), I've been searching under eBay, "Columbian" and "1892" and "1893" and have come across some very neat large metals. Not expensive at all and they make a great display.

[BillJones]

Yes, there were a lot of medals issued for the 1892 and '93 World's Fair. The best one IMO had an obverse that was designed by St. Gaudens. It is made of toned copper and comes in a really neat velvet lined aluminum box. Prices range from $125 to $235 if the piece is REALLY nice, in the original box (not all of them are) and you can find out something about the person or company that received it as an award at the fair.