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The Coin Blog

The U.S. Trade Dollar: An Accessory to the ‘Crime of 1873.’

Sometimes, it takes a while for people to get outraged about a law.

Maybe it’s all of the legalese — for instance, it is not the case that double negatives are unacceptable in drafting legal documents.

Maybe it’s the arcane parliamentary procedure that only C-SPAN junkies have the wherewithal to comprehend or stomach. Heck, even C-SPAN gets bored during quorum calls and starts playing background music.

Or maybe it’s not always apparent what a law’s effects will be until it’s been in effect for a few years.

That was the case with the Coinage Act of 1873 (also known as the Fourth Coinage Act). A few years after its enactment, the law would become known as the “Crime of 1873” and helped spawn a powerful political movement that influenced multiple presidential elections.

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The Silver (Gold, Copper and Nickel) Screen: Coin Collecting and Pop Culture

Numismatics have long been an important trope in pop culture, and it’s not hard to see why.

For one thing, coins can be worth a lot of money, making them a good plot device for heist movies, crime dramas and treasure hunts.

For another, they can serve as historical documents, adding credibility to period pieces or providing a glimpse into yesteryear from the present.

And of course, they look good on screen, giving the actors, to say nothing of the audience, something striking to look at.

These are just a few of the many movies, TV shows and plays in which numismatics play an important role.

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Some Pittsburgh Sports Coins for Yinz*

* Yinz – A western-Pennsylvania bastardization of the phrase “you ones”, which addresses more than one person.

With 17 professional championships, Pittsburgh may not be Titletown, USA (that would be New York City, with 65 as of early 2023), but it’s definitely punching above its weight. Yinzertown has won more titles than several much larger cities and markets, including Atlanta, Denver, Houston, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Miami, and Baltimore (suck it, Ravens!). Not bad, considering Pittsburgh only has three of the four major sports (although an old ABA franchise, The Pittsburgh Pipers, did win a championship in 1968 behind the legendary Connie Hawkins).

Obviously, the bulk of these championships have come from the Steelers (sorry Stillers), Pirates (Buccos) and Penguins (Pens). Between the Steel Curtain Steelers of the 70s and the modern-day teams under Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, the “We Are Family” Pirates teams of the 70s, and the Stanley Cup Penguins teams of the early 90s and 2010s, plenty of titles and many legendary players have passed through the Steel City. And, thanks to various mints, there have been plenty of coins made honoring said teams and players.

Here are a few of the ones I’ve collected over the years:

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Runneth Over: A Few World Cup Coins

The upcoming FIFA World Cup will make history in several ways.

It will be the first tournament to take place in November-December, disrupting the European club season.

It will also be the first World Cup to take place in the Middle East, and the first to take place in an Arabic country.

One thing that won’t be a break with precedent? There will be plenty of coins issued to commemorate the event. FIFA, the Central Bank of Qatar, and various countries have already made some available for sale and there are probably a lot more out there.

I’ve acquired a few World Cup coins over the years. Read all about them below:

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Some of My Hard Times Tokens (Gallery)

  • 1833 I Take the Responsibility Token
  • 1834 My Substitute for the U.S. Bank Token
  • 1834 Andrew Jackson/The Constitution Token
  • 1837 Feuchtwanger Cent
  • 1837 Half Cent of Copper Token
  • 1837 Shin Plasters/May 10th Token
  • 1837 Liberty Head/Centre Market Token
  • 1837 Liberty Head/Not One Cent Token
  • 1837 Executive Experiment/I Follow In the Footsteps Token
  • 1838 Loco Foco/Mint Drop Token
  • 1841 Daniel Webster/Martin Van Buren Token
  • 1841 Daniel Webster/Not One Cent Token

I’ve enjoyed collecting Hard Times Tokens for many years now. There’s something about the combination of politics, history and numismatics that really appeals to me. Between the ongoing slavery debate, rising sectional tensions, fiscal and economics questions relating to the Bank of the United States, and some truly fascinating personalities, these tokens provide an glimpse into an interesting and difficult time in American history.

I’ve written about some of these tokens in the past, and I have several more in my collection that have interesting stories behind them.

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We Hardly Knew Ye…

When you become leader of a country, state, republic, kingdom, empire or territory whose legal status is in dispute, one thing is for sure: your face will appear on coins — both official and unofficial ones.

That’s the case even if your reign lasts about as long as Chevy Chase’s career as a late night talk show. Or Mötley Crüe’s retirement. Or Richard Nixon‘s forced exit from politics after his infamous “Last Press Conference.”

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Some of My Early Commemorative Coins (Gallery)

  • 1893 Columbian Expo Half Dollar
  • 1921 Alabama Centennial Half Dollar
  • 1924 Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar
  • 1925 California Diamond Jubilee Half Dollar
  • 1925 Lexington–Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
  • 1926 Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar
  • 1934 Texas Centennial Half Dollar
  • 1936 San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge Half Dollar
  • 1936 Long Island Tercentenary Half Dollar
  • 1946 Iowa Centennial Half Dollar
  • 1952 Booker T. Washington/George Washington Carver Half Dollar

I enjoy collecting early commemorative U.S. coins (1892-1954) and I’ve written about some of them in the past. I enjoy these coins due to the level of detail on them and the beautiful, classical designs that give them a real vintage feel. The Bay Bridge, California Diamond Jubilee and Texas commemoratives are some of the most aesthetically pleasing coins I’ve ever seen.

Plus, some of these coins have great stories behind them.

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The Big 2-5-0

America’s semiquincentennial is coming up. Or is it a sestercentennial? Or bicentennial-and-a-quarter?

Whatever you want to call it, it’s America’s 250th birthday. Planning commissions are already meeting to figure how to properly commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. If history is any guide, commemorative coins will be part of those plans.

Will it be like 1876, when the U.S. Mint produced an official centennial medal? Or will it be like 1926, when it produced a sesquicentennial commemorative half dollar? Or 1976, when it produced new bicentennial reverse designs for circulating quarters, half-dollars and dollar coins?

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Why Isn’t There a Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Coin?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has his own holiday (although some states have combined it with holidays recognizing people who were antithetical to his beliefs and teachings).

He has his own postage stamps.

He has schools, monuments, songs and in most cities, he has his own street — although those roadways don’t always have the best rep. (As Chris Rock once said: “Martin Luther King stood for non-violence. Now what’s Martin Luther King? A street. And I don’t care where you live in America. If you’re on Martin Luther King Blvd, there’s some violence going down!”)

One thing he doesn’t have is a U.S. Mint-issued coin. Why is that?

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The Olympics: A Great Excuse for Commemorative Coins

Here are some things that are almost always true of the modern Olympic Games:

  • They’re really expensive and end up costing the host city a fortune.
  • For two weeks, the Olympic Village turns into a scene from Caligula.
  • The host country will always issue commemorative coins.

As the 2020(1) Summer games wind down, I thought I’d show off some of my Olympic coins:

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To Err is Human — And Sometimes Lucrative

As someone who collected baseball cards during the late 80s/early 90s, there were a few players who were always in demand. Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Ken Griffey Jr. Bo Jackson. Todd Van Poppel (no, seriously — one of my friends had a 1991 Upper Deck rookie card for the overhyped prospect who ended up with a career record of 40-52 and a 5.58 ERA and we all thought he had won Powerball).

But the guy everyone wanted a piece of was Gregg Jeffries. A can’t miss prospect for the New York Mets, Jeffries was the first player to win the Minor League Player of the Year Award from Baseball America twice (other players to have won the award include Dwight Gooden, Canseco, Frank Thomas, Derek Jeter, Mike Trout and the only other 2x winner: Andruw Jones). With his versatility in the field and undeniable talent at the plate, Jeffries started his pro career in 1987 with a bang and made an instant impact for the defending champion Mets. The hype train went into overdrive and his rookie cards became the hottest thing since Prometheus brought fire to the people.

So when I got the above Donruss card and noticed the coloring error, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Error cards can be extremely rare and valuable, so the fact that I had one for a player in such demand as Jeffries meant I’d never have to work a day in my life, right?

Obviously, things didn’t work out that way (for me or Gregg, who had a fine 14-year career, including some excellent seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-90s, but will never be voted into the Hall of Fame). The value of error cards, and baseball cards as a whole, depend on supply and demand. And once it was clear that Jeffries wasn’t the second coming, demand plummeted and everyone moved on to the next can’t miss kid (Jeter, Chipper Jones, A-Rod… there’s always someone).

Error coins are the same way. Whether or not you have a Griffey Jr. or a Jeffries depends on supply and demand. Here are a few of the error coins I’ve collected over the years:

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Barber Coins: Were They Really ‘Beneath Contempt’?

When an 1891 contest to determine new designs for the dime, quarter and half-dollar went bust, it played right into Charles Barber’s hands. The Chief Engraver for the U.S. Mint had wanted to design the coins himself, and when the contest failed to yield any worthy designs, he got his wish.

Unfortunately for Barber, his victory would prove to be Pyrrhic. Be careful what you wish for.

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About Me:

- Former Lawyer.
- Current Journalist/Writer/Editor.
- Author of "Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House," published in 2018.
- Husband, father and dog-lover.
- Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Manchester United supporter.
- Chicago via Pittsburgh, New York City and several others.

© 2023 Victor Li, all rights reserved. Theme by Frejya - Designed & Developed by Sparrow & Snow