Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1959 Denver, Colorado Centennial

Interesting story how Denver acquired its name. Thanks for sharing the history commems.

Growing up in Denver, I always liked the fact that Colorado became a state in 1876, the "centennial state" as it is known. Made it easy to remember 1776 - 1876 - 1976. That was a fun time. Also the Denver mint had Kansas-Colorado connections with the Clark Gruber team of Kansas moving the assay office to Denver then selling it to the US government which turned it into the Denver Mint eventually.

I can remember when the RTD station on 16th street (before it was turned into whatever giant monstrosity of a building is there now had the "historic plaque" on the original site of the Clark Gruber building.

So much cool history that all happened right around the Platte river and Larimer Street (square) that runs through the West side of the downtown Denver.

As they say "you can never go back" and last time I did (2015) I hardly recognized many of the old historic haunts I used to visit, as they had been built over with "progress" buildings of offices, shops, restaurants, apartments and condos.

For those with an interest...Here's a link to a post I made about the 1976 Colorado Centennial medals (struck by the Denver Mint) mentioned by dsking:

- 1976 Colorado Centennial - US Bicentennial


I'll dig out my 1959 Denver medal and post an image soon.

It's all you - not looking to step on your toes. I look forward to seeing your medal,

I love the token, looks more like Auraria than Denver though. From all the photos, well drawings I've seen from the past. Found a couple:
Denver (showing the area known as Auraria in 1859) One of the earliest depictions of Auraria showing the Cherry Creek dividing prospectors looking for gold and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who used the region as a campsite.
Courtesy of Jerome Smiley, History of Denver, Rebecca Hunt Collection.

Auraria, Denver's oldest neighborhood, predates the city's establishment, and its history neatly encompasses the city's founding, its development, and its redevelopment as a modern urban center. Auraria was established in 1858 by a small group of miners organized around the leadership of the Russell brothers, former residents of Auraria, Georgia, a mining town established after the discovery of gold in that state in 1828. 'Auraria' derives from the Latin term aurum, or gold, and reflects the fascination with gold found near the junction of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Not the first city to be imagined near the Platte and Cherry Creek (a distinction owed to the almost altogether unrealized St. Charles City), Auraria is perhaps the best claimant to being the heart of Denver, which it still remains today with great Churches and buildings like the Tivoli Brewing Company building.


Auraia from the sky in 1973. The Tivoli bulding and Metropolitan College Campus stand out.


The Tivoli Building built in 1860 and still standing today. This is a photo from 1985 (while I was still there).

A quick addition to add obverse/reverse images of the privately-struck 1959 Denver/Rush to the Rockies Centennial medal:

@westcoin: Thanks!

The medal's composition is described as nickel-silver. Of course, that means it does not contain any silver - just nickel, copper and (probably) zinc!

Very nice!