bill

My latest acquisition is a coin box from the exposition with the top embossed with a design similar to that of Hibler & Kappen 250 (see above). The box is unsigned, but the image on the top of the box is definitely close to that of H&K 250 with a different inscription.

1894 Medal of Award Gilt base metal Base of medal only. I acquired the base of a Medal of Award on Ebay. I've not seen a full medal for sale, but I used my base to reconstruct the medal by making a composite with an image in the Exposition final report. The black-and-white image has been colorized by me based on information at hand. The ribbon color may not be correct.

1894 Aluminum Lauer Exposition View So-Called Dollar Hibler & Kappen 263 35.6 mm EF Obverse: State seal, signed LAUER at bottom. Reverse: View of the Fine Arts Building, CALIFORNIA MIDWINTER INTERNAT. EXPOS. / SAN FRANCISCO 1894. FINE ARTS / BUILDING in exergue. LAUER NURNBERG in small letters below central image. Lauer of Nürnberg, Germany won a gold medal at the exposition for their medal manufacturing exhibit. Six differerent medals were issued. Upgraded the medal in August 2009:

Nice.

Wonderful coins. I particularly like the pennies of the 10xx range from England and Scandinavia. I sold my one Norwegian penny and two early bractates in 1990. There are times when I miss those critters. They are too expensive today to start collecting again.

An inexpensive 38 mm bronze medal designed by Julio Kilenyi and struck by Whitehead & Hoag. Kilenyi designed two so-called dollars, HK 738 (1926 Paramount Pictures) and HK 775 (1935 Mark Twain Centennial). Kilenyi also designed the 1932 Olympic participation medal, U.S. presidential medals and other medals honoring famous people, organizations, events and companies. The bust of Larkin caught my eye. I thought it was well done. The reverse shows the Larkin factory in Buffalo, New York. The inset at the top is the original factory building. The company's administration building (extreme right hand edge of image) was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A postcard shows the buildings: The Larkin Company was founded in 1875 to produce Sweet Home Soap. He was so successful at selling door to door ("soap slinging" or "factory to family"), that his line of soaps expanded and ultimately grew into a variety of household products marketed through more traditional channels, chain stores, and mail order. By joining a Larkin Club, you could buy virtually everything you needed from one source. Larkin's innovations extended to his treatment of his employees. The list of amenities included daily exercise, savings accounts, educational services, men's and women's clubs -- even free coffee. A dental clinic, doctor's office and public library branch were all on-site. An early air conditioning system provided fresh air. His biography, "John D. Larkin: A Business Pioneer" by Daniel I. Larkin was published by Western New York Wares in 1998.

Three convention medals (in chronological order): 1978 ANA First Mid-Year convention medal. Colorado Springs. Issued in 350 bronze and silver sets, this bronze example is numbered 243. 1983 ANA San Diego convention medal. Mintage: 150, non-numbered, 100 serially numbered in silver and bronze sets. 1987 ANA Atlanta convention medal. Mintage: 150 The nice part about this collecting topic is that most items have been less than $25, many less than $10 for rather limited issue medals.

Using the holidays to catch up on cataloging my collection. Two purchases from Art: 1970 ANA convention badge Mintage: 2400 1971 ANA convention badge Mintage: 2400

Thank you. Thank you. thank you! (Although some might say I'm odd, I've never accused of being charming! ) And finally, yes, my guess is that it was a marketing ploy, but he kept at it (and it turns out he was both a little odd and a whole lot charming). I wished I had had the chance to meet him by the time I had finished researching and writing the article. Corresponding with his granddaughter was the closest I got. She helped me learn things that I would not have otherwise discovered and I helped her learn things she never knew about her grandfather. Coin collecting is a great hobby when it all comes together as it did when working on the article.

Portland, Oregon Convention badge, 1998 Mintage: 500

1894 Aluminum Bird's Eye View - Five Edifaces So-Called Dollar Hibler & Kappen 254 43.7 mm VF Not as nice as H&K 255 pictured earlier, but it fills a space in the collection until I'm willing to spend a lot more on an Unc example. All the Unc examples I have encountered were slabbed and graded. That seems to add $50 to $100 or more to the price of a so-called dollar. I don't get it and I'm reluctant to pay the premium since I don't have a registry set to build. I'll wait and find one some day unless I break down and free one from plastic that comes along reasonably priced.

1894 White Metal (Copper-Nickel?) Director's Medal Hibler and Kappen 248 40 mm VF Not the best preserved specimen, but the only one I have encountered since i started building the Midwinter Fair collection. The obverse features De Young, founder and director general of the fair.

A small charm or medallette featuring the administration building on the reverse. The obverse reminds me of a standard design found on hard times tokens, so I suspect it was a stock die in some die sinker's cabinet. A simliar piece was struck for the 1895 Cotton States and international Exposition in Atlanta.

I know nothing about his small piece (the medal) is smaller than a dime and features the Lord's Prayer on the reverse. I seem to remember that pieces such as this (with the Lord's Prayer) were struck to demonstrate the skill of engraving in such a small size. I've got some digging to do to find the reference i think I remember unless someone with a better memory can save me some time.

1894 Aluminum Firth Wheel So-Called Dollar Hibler & Kappen 247 40 mm EF Companion piece to the Electric Tower piece (H&K 246) discussed above. Ferris wheels were still relatively new and novel. The fair's wheel was smaller than that in Chicago and obviously built by Firth!

1981 ANA New Orleans Convention appreciation medal. Bronze, 38 mm Designed by Paul Vincze (1907 - 1994). Mintage: 450; another 350 were serially numbered as part of the convention medal set.

Art piqued my interest and as he notes, these are not expensive. In no particular order except as I acquire them and get around to posting them. 1998 ANA Portland Convention Exhibitor's and Judges Medal. Pewter. 63.5 mm Manufacture: Gallery Mint, Eureka Springs, AR. Designer/Sculptor: Ron Lanis The medal is very thick and the edge is inscribed: 107 TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION, PRESENTED TO EXHIBITORS & JUDGES FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE NUMISMATIC EXHIBITION.

Finally came across and acquired this political button for the collection:

Welcome, I spotted your name and avatar when you joined. I love books as well as coins (and photography). I wish I could afford to attempt to collect the series in original die states (a proof, original Libertas at Kagin's bourse table--I will never forget holding that beauty even though it was encapsulated), but it is still an interesting and historical series in the later French and US Mint strikings. Not real expensive and still something one can appreciate. I would love to see your efforts posted here when you are ready.

I need to bring this set up to date, but in the mean time you can read about some of the collection in the new issue of the ANA Journal (Vol 2, No. 1, Spring 2007), Midwinter Bird's-Eye View: So-called dollars document the development of the California Midwinter International Exposition.

Comitia Americana and Related Medals: Under Appreciated Monuments to Our Heritage by John W. Adams and Anne E. Bentley Published by George Frederick Kolbe, 1997 Beautiful book on a wonderful series. Its worth it for so many reason. but the photograph of Washington's original set of Comitia Americana medals in the original box commissioned by Thomas Jefferson is fairly special in and of itself.

And Bravo to this thread. Great reading.

Any thoughts on the J and S on the sails or is it something obvious that I have overlooked?

It is always a pleasure to visit your sites. Thank you.

I imagine you have a room in your home upholstered in black velvet. At night you lay out your copper coins and turn on tiny spotlights aimed at just the right places. Then you sit back and enjoy the glow from these beautiful coins! You have an eye for circulated coppers. Amazing pieces.