The Nexus of Numismatics in Nebraska The Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL ' The Official publication of the Nebraska Numismatic Association Icmuary/Februaiy/March 2011 Volume 55 Issue 1 An Introduction to Paae 7 Also: Show and Event announcements. Pictorial recaps of many state events and Much More! Omaha’s Only US Mint Certified Bullion Retailer. Buy/Sell/Trade: Visit our • Coins NEW website for • Gold and Silver Bullion all your coin • Scrap Gold & Silver collecting needs • Watches & Diamonds www.dsscoinandbullion.com Full line of supplies -Check out the including Dansco “Ask the Expert” \ page on our albums & Airtites NEW website -NEW Items added every day including NEW US Mint products COIN & BULLION 1906 South 13th Stree Omaha, NE 681 Of 402-342-915C dsscoin @ yahoo, con SNGC www.dsscoinandbullion.con open: mon: 10-4 • tues-fri:10-5 • sat: 10-C The Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL The Official Publication of the N.N.A. -In This Issue- Page 3 “My 2 Cents" Mitch Ernst / Editor Page 4 SAC/Midwest Dinner pictures Page 5 Lincoln Coin Club Dinner pictures Pages 7-10, 12-13, An Introduction to Bryan Money Bin Jones 15-17 Page 20 Pictures of Fremont Coin Club's Dec. 18th meeting Page 24 Omaha Coin Club's Annual Winter Dinner pictures Pages 28&29 2011 State Coin Show Calendar Page 31 State Club Directory Page 32 Roger K. Pabian Obituary NNA Officers President — Mitch Ernst 402 397-2696 - 1st Vice Pres— Patrick Milliken 402 218-5069 - 2nd Vice Pres— Gene Frederick 402 488-3044 - Sec/Treasurer— John Veach 402 489-2646 - The Nebraska Numismatic Association Journal is the official publication of the Nebraska Numismatic Association Views expressed are those of the editor and literary contributors and are not necessarily those of the NNA or it's officers Dues are $5 00 per year Direct all questions, suggestions, articles or advertising inquiries to: Mitch Ernst / Editor Nebraska Numismatic Association Journal P O Box 24913 Omaha, NE 68124 Advertising rates: Ad Deadlines: Ads must be paid for and submitted Ad size Per issue by the first of the month prior to the issue in which they will be placed. Full Page $15 •Dec. 1-for Jan/Feb/March issue Half Page $9 •Mar. 1 - for April/May/June issue Quarter Page $3 Business Card $2 •June 1 - for July/Aug/Sept issue •Sept. 1 - for Oct/Nov/Dec issue 1 i i i i 1 1 I ~l~ I .1 1 I i i i i i i i i i i i [ i—i—i—i—r i i i i i i i i r i i i - Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 Upcoming Nebraska Shows and Events 2 czi i i izd i i i j_l_i f i' i r~i. j,-.i— l_.i—L.J—L I i i i i i i "]' i i i i i i i i i i r i i i r i Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 Mitch Ernst MMy 2 Cents’* President / Editor “ I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.” -Andrew Wyeth Well, another year is upon us. Personally, it s going to be hard to top 2010, but as the quote above reminds us, the year ahead of us is full of potential, “something waits beneath it. the whole story doesn 't show. " In this issue of the Journal we are going to explore the world of Bryan Money. Bryan Money is the political exonumia that was created as satirical pieces in honor of, or should I say, to dishonor Nebraska's own William Jennings Bryan and his call for free silver during his presidential campaigns. We are also going to visit the holiday happenings of SAC/Midwest, Fremont, Lincoln and Omaha Coin Clubs. If you are not a member of a local club, or, if you are a member and haven't attended in a while, why not make 2011 the year you reconnect with the grass roots of the hobby by attending a club meeting? We also have some shows on the horizon. Grand Island, Nebraska City and Lincoln Coin Club all have shows coming up, so if you are interested in attending, you will find information within the covers of this issue. Also, here’s a quick reminder. If your membership # is highlighted in yellow on your mailing label, your dues are due at the remarkable rate of only $5 per year or 5 years for $20. 3 v i i ri i i t "i— r~ r Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 SAC/Midwest Coin Club Dinner December 7, 2010 23 members and guests were in attendance for SAC/Midwest Coin Club’s annual dinner held at Farmer Brown’s Steakhouse in Wahoo, NE. Maybe we’ll see you next year! Pictures courtesy Patrick Milliken 4 r~rr~r i i "i i 1 i i r tt i i i i i i i i i i i t t I T ~i r Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 Lincoln Coin Club Dinner December 9, 2010 A good time was had by all when Lincoln Coin Club held it’s annual din¬ ner at Valentino’s. Seven proof Silver Eagles were given out as prizes for the fortunate winners in attendance whose names were drawn. 5 □ ti r ~r -J_1 .1 i i .1 1 i i i i i i • i i t i i i i i i t ~r i i i i i i i - i i i i t i i > i i i Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 The oinery Visit us in our NEW LOCATION, still at the Piedmont Shops, but now several shops to the north. Since 1965...Coins, paper money and bullion bought & sold. Mon.—Thu., 12:30 PM to 8 PM Fri., 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM 489-COIN Sat., Noon to 5:00 PM Sun., Noon to 5:00 PM 489-2646 Free appraisals, by appointment. #25 Piedmont Shops, 1265 S Cottier Blvd. (S. Coiner Blvd. at A Street) Lincoln Nb 68510 6 Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 The following is being reprinted with permission of The American Political Items Collectors (AP1C) and the article s author Bill Jones The article was first printed in the Summer 2010 issue of The Keynoter the APIC s official publication and edited for use in The Journal The following information is from the APIC website The American Political Items Collectors (APIC) is a non-profit membership organization, dedicated to promoting the collection, preseivation and study of materials relating to political campaigns and the U S presidency Founded in 1945. the APIC serves a grouing hobby. Our membetship includes collectors and enthusiasts from all walks of life and evert,' occupation such as educators, students, archivists, historians, elected officials including members of Con¬ gress. political junkies, political animals, campaign staffers, journalists from print, broadcast and cable, museum curators and even a couple of past PresidentsI The APIC cooperates with the Smithsonian, presidential libraries, homes, birthplaces and museums, national and local media as well as colleges and universities to facilitate the under¬ standing ot Amencan politics using the artifacts ot political campaigns For more information about The American Political Items Collectors , please visit their website www.apic.us/ An Introduction to Bryan Money By Bill Jones On July 9, 1896 a 36 year old, relatively obscure former Nebraska congressman took the stage to give a speech at the Democratic National Convention His assignment was to lend support to the free silver plank in the party platform, but his goal was to win his party’s presidential nomination After extolling the virtues of life in rural America and proclaiming that the free silver movement could no longer be ignored, he closed with his most famous line: £ % You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall £ not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold! " t- O .o’ Then he held out his arms and laid his head to one side in a symbolic recreation of The Qc %«o< Crucifixion. There was a moment of silence, followed by a tumultuous demonstration that lasted for more than an hour The following day, dark horse candidate William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic presidential nomination Bryan's 1896 presidential campaign was based almost entirely upon one issue, the unlimited coinage of silver at an inflated value relative to gold Under Bryan's proposal silver would be monetized and coined using the standard that 16 parts of silver were equal in value to one part of gold The problem was that the price ratio be¬ tween the metals was considerably higher than that There was also so much silver available that there would be almost no control over the amount of new currency that could be added to the money supply Bryan's opponents believed that his proposal would result in massive inflation and the ultimate breakdown of the U S monetary system At a time when the industrialized nations were on the gold standard, the U S would be left with an inflated currency and virtually no U S gold coins in domestic circulation This would considerably hinder the nation's efforts to become a world economic power In addition, lenders were concerned that their loans would be repaid in inflated dollars This concept appealed to the debt strapped farmers who formed the core of Bryan's support The unexpected rise of William Jennings Bryan energized his Republican opposition In prior presidential elections "soft money" and later “free silver" had been peripheral issues The Greenback and then the Populist Party had pushed for significant increases in the money supply since the mid 1870's Some congressmen and senators, mostly from the western silver mining states, had proposed the idea in Congress But the Greenbacks and the Populists had been third parties that had posed no threat of winning the presidency Congressional moves toward the free coinage of silver had ended in compromise legislation Now a young, dynamic speaker with a rousing voice and a charismatic speaking style had won the nomination of the Democratic Party The establishment felt threatened and it had to respond Prior to Bryan's nomination the Republican Party had nominated William McKinley for President McKinley had supported bimetallism in the past, but now he was firmly committed to the gold standard McKinley's greatest political weapon was his campaign manager, Mark Hanna Hanna postponed a planned post convention vacation, dipped into his own financial reserves and began a very successful fund-raising campaign from wealthy contribu¬ tors It has been estimated that the McKinley campaign had at least $7 million at its disposal for the 1896 presi¬ dential campaign In contrast the Democrats had no more than $300 thousand, which came mostly from silver mine owners The Republicans used their huge war chest wisely William McKinley chose not to compete with the flam¬ boyant Bryan on the campaign trail but conducted a front porch campaign from his home in Canton, Ohio An estimated 750,000 pilgrims came to hear the future president speak As Bryan traveled around the country, sometimes giving more than 20 speeches per day, Republican speakers followed him to rebut his free silver message It has been estimated that the Republicans and their supporters issued 120 million political pieces during the 1896 campaign These items included flyers, leaflets, ribbons, mechanical gadgets, celluloid buttons and a series of medals and medalets that are now called Bryan Money. Tokens and medalets had been fixtures in presiden- (Corrtinued on page 8) 7 Nebraska Numismatic Association JOURNAL Jan / Feb / March 2011 (Continued from page 7) tlal campaigns since Andrew Jackson's supporters had issued them in 1824, but the output in 1896 was unprece¬ dented Collectors divide Bryan money into two broad categories The satirical pieces are made of base metals that include aluminum, lead, pot metal and iron The designs were quite often grotesque reproductions of the liberty head and eagle that appeared on the government issued Morgan silver dollars The comparative pieces were made of coin silver (90% silver, 10% copper) These pieces purported to show what the size and weight of a silver dollar would be if it contained a dollar's worth of silver relative to gold, A Sampling of Satirical Bryan Money Fred Schornstein in his excellent book, Bryan Money, lists more than 200 varieties of satirical Bryan Money By far the most popular denomination is the ''dollar” although there are “dimes", "quarters" and a few five cent pieces The quality of workmanship ranged from excellent to circular blobs of base metal with barely discernable features The reason for this disparity is that the makers of these pieces ranged from jewelers and artists to blacksmiths and unskilled citizens who wanted to make a political statement Emotions ran high during the 1896 campaign, and these pieces reflected that This example of a well executed satirical Bryan Dollar. The piece is cast in lead, is 89 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick, and weighs six ounces The composition, size and weight ridicule “Bryan’s money". The slogan on the reverse can be read as, “Bryan's idea of coinage, 16 to 1 aber (but) NIT (Not In Trust)" (25 mm = 1" ] This piece is unusual because Ms Liberty is facing right, which is opposite of how she is depicted on the Mor¬ gan silver dollar It is made of nickel-plated cast iron, has a diameter of 79 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and weighs almost half a pound There are two anti-Bryan slogans that often appeared during the campaign: "In God we trust: in Bryan we burst", and “In God we trust for the other 47 cents" This last slogan pointed out the fact that a silver dollar contained 53 cents worth of silver The execution, which is crude and cartoon-like, was probably intentional The lettering on this Bryan dime is well executed except that the letter “N" is backwards in all cases The back¬ ward “N" is often seen on Bryan money and was usually intentional The implication was that Bryan and his support¬ ers were ignorant and uneducated The term “UNLIMITED" is important One of the great concerns that Bryan's detractors had was that the free coinage of silver would be unlimited and massive inflation would be the result The piece is holed for suspension, but since it weighs almost two ounces, it would have been a very cumbersome lapel piece (Continued on page 9) 8