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Thomas L. Elder Store Cards and Medals


bill

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I've acquired enough Elder pieces to make the beginnings of a collection. So, I'll repost previous pieces and add new ones here as the collections grows.

The first, posted earlier is Store Card No. 3, October 1, 1906.

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DeLorey notes that the engraver is uncertain. Elder lists 1 in Gold, 4 Silver, 5 German Silver, 100 Copper, 100 Brass, 5 White Metal (pictured here), 500 Aluminum, 7 Lead, and 5 Fiber. The ANA museum has 57 copper pieces from the F.C.C. Boyd estate.

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More Enduring than Books, or Customs, or Nations: A Coin. Store Card No. 4 was issued in late Dember 1906 or early 1907. The obverse is a Lovett die used for the Washington inaugural centennial in 1889. Lovett's signature is removed and C.H. Hanson engraved the reverse. The Lovett die is from Hanson's inventory. 2 Gold, 6 Silver, 11 German Silver, 50 Copper (as is hown here), 50 Brass, 50 White Metal, 261 Aluminum, 7 Lead, 7 Fiber.

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The Zerbe satirical issues described in another post:

 

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Engraved by Hanson. 2 in Gold, 25 Silver, 10 German Silver, 25 Copper, 100 Gold-plated Brass, 10 White Metal, 200 Aluminum (pictured here).

 

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Also by Hanson. 2 in Gold, 25 Silver, 10 German Silver, 25 Copper, 100 Gold-Plated brass (pictured here), 10 White Metal, 200 Aluminum.

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The 1909 Hudson commemorative issue designed by Frank C. Higgins and sculpted by J. Edouard Roine. Engraved and struck by the Medallic Art Co. 1 in Bronze, 75-100 in Silver, and 200+ in Aluminum (pictured here).

 

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Issued in 1917 as a "dog-tag" for departing US soldiers, the piece is often listed as a Civil War dog tag. It was issued in 1917 using a Robert Lovett obverse die (made in the Civil War era) and a Hanson reverse die.

 

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Struck in Silver, German Silver, Silver-Plated Bronze, Bronze, Brass (pictured here), and Aluminum.

 

and German silver:

 

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Aluminum 1927 Lincoln token issued by Thomas Elder. A crude copy of a piece he first issued in 1910. Elder idolized Lincoln and struck many different medals in his honor. This piece included 300-500 in Gold, 14 in German Silver, and unrecorded numbers in Silver, Copper, Gildine, and Aluminum (pictured here).

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Very nice medals. You've got quite an interesting collection. You also have lots of good info about your collection pieces. :ninja:

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  • 4 weeks later...

A 1909 store card by Frank C. Higgins, engraved by Hanson. Silver 2-10, German Silver 5, Copper 5, Brass 5-10, Aluminum (pictured here) 100.

 

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1909 was the 300th (CCC) anniversary of Hudson's discovery, but the Clermont sailed in 1807 and Cook reached the pole in 1908. Oh well, close to C.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Elder's first store card. 100 struck in copper and 1,000 in aluminum.

 

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The Latin phrase Moveo et Proficio (I move, I perfect) contains a typo that apparently embarrassed Elder and it was not widely distributed.

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  • 6 months later...

1907 Store Card

 

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The obverse features Swedish inventor, John Ericsson. Ericsson constructed the Union ironclad, Monitor. The die is assumed to have been made in 1903 for an Ericsson commemorative and reused by Elder for the 1907 Fulton celebration.Hanson of Chicago created both dies. This medal is copper. The issue included 1 in Gold, 3 in Silver, 25 Copper, 26 Brass, 3 White Metal, 153 Aluminum, 3 Lead, and 4 Fiber.

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  • 2 months later...

1902 Store Card (replacement for the one above):

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DeLorey 3, 1902 store card replacement for the card shown above that included a mis-spelled word. Aetas 28 refers to Elder's age at the time. This example struck in copper. 60 were struck in copper and 1,000 struck in aluminum.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...

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Elder's Saint Patrick Halfpenny aluminum medal issued March 1910. The medal was designed by Max Bachmann. The reverse was inspired by the Wood's half penny. Elder was descended from the Irish. The aluminum medals sold for 12¢ when first issued.

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This particular medal has low relief as so many did in the style of the time. I have some more to post, on with wonderful high relief.

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Elder held Lincoln in high regard and issued a number of medals featuring Lincoln. One of the large medals, with a beautiful high-relief bust:

 

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The dies for this aluminum medal were produced by Hanson in Chicago. Presumably, Hanson also struck the pieces. The issue included: Silver 5-6, German Silver 5-6, Copper 5-6, Brass 6-10, White Metal 6, Aluminum 50, Lead 6.

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I've bid on several of these and never prevailed. Then, I found that Paul Cunningham had three in his stock at the ANA. I finally landed this example from Elder's satrical medals:

 

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I try to stop just after ribaldry.

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A store card from 1907:

 

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Hanson mated a die from the 1893 Columbian Exposition with the store card commemorating the Jamestown settlement. The Santa Maria never visited Jamestown as far as I know, but its still a ship I guess.

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  • 1 year later...

And, another store card, but it is my favorite:

 

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1908 Thomas Elder store card struck in aluminum, approximately 51mm. A difficult and expensive piece. I passed on one with pestering across the portrait a couple of months ago and then this one came along. It is also plagued by pestering, but the portrait is clear so I bought it.

 

Best estimates indicate 6-10 struck in silver, 25 in German silver, 25 in copper, 25 in brass, and an unknown number in white metal and/or aluminum. Aluminum pieces were sent on the receipt of a 2¢ stamp. They are out there (a silver example sold at FUN a year ago), but mine is only the second one I have seen.

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Congrats on the find, Bill! What is "pestering" exactly?

 

That annoying corrosion that infects the surface of aluminum.

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  • 3 years later...

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