A Continuing Thread ~ Post Your Tokens, Medals, Exonumia Acquisitions

No Griffin, I don't think it came from you. This Constellation came from Maryland.
Thanks for letting me know it will get me on the ship in Baltimore Harbor. They'll have a harder time getting me off if they want to take it from me. LOL

Nice medal jbuck-ster! Can you imagine being in that Mercury capsule all alone? Or in "The Eagle" hoping for a successful landing and even worse ... liftoff? Or how was it for Collins in the Apollo 11 waiting for them to return from the moon by himself?

Thank you. I am sure over the years I have imagined all of that stuff many times.

Excellent additions, TNG.

Unknown maker to me, half dollar sized with some weight.
Stonewall Jackson Medal dated 1863 but certainly a much more recent modern medal.


Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 - May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and the best-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee.
Jackson played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the Eastern Theater of the war until his death, and played an important part in winning many significant battles.



Battle of Chancellorsville Virginia

On May 2 1863, Jackson took his 30,000 troops and launched a surprise attack against the Union right flank, driving the opposing troops back about two miles. That evening, he was accidentally shot by pickets. The general survived but lost his left arm to amputation; he died of complications from pneumonia eight days later.

Military historians consider Jackson to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history.
His tactics are studied even today. His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy, affecting not only its military prospects, but also the morale of its army and of its general public. Jackson in death became an icon of Southern heroism and commitment. His daring military exploits, often while at a numerical disadvantage, play a prominent part in Confederate lore. Jackson has become a mainstay in the pantheon of the "Lost Cause".

"Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."
Stonewall Jackson ~ last words

TNG, There are a few different states/important men medals in that series. I do not know if there was one made for avery state, nor who minted them, but I have seen alabama, california, and I think mississippi. Ill check my ebay sales later and try to find some pictures.

1999 William T. Sherman
20 GRAMS .999 Round
AMERICAN MINT

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign concluded successfully on September 2, 1864. This success made Sherman a household name and helped ensure Lincoln's presidential re-election in November.
In August, the Democratic Party had nominated as its candidate George B. McClellan, the popular former Union army commander, and it had seemed likely that Lincoln would lose to McClellan.
Lincoln's defeat could well have meant the victory of the Confederacy, as the Democratic Party platform called for peace negotiations based on the acknowledgment of the Confederacy's independence.
Thus the capture of Atlanta, coming when it did, may have been Sherman's greatest contribution to the Union cause.
After ordering almost all civilians to leave the city in September, Sherman gave instructions that all military and government buildings in Atlanta be burned, although many private homes and shops were burned as well.
This was to set a precedent for future behavior by his armies.





Franklin Mint American Heritage Sterling Silver Medal
1815 - Jackson Triumphs at New Orleans
Proof finish, .925 sterling silver medal.
Measures 38.6 mm in diameter, weighs 32.9 grams.

On January 8, 1815, the British marched against General Andrew Jackson's lines of defense. The Americans had constructed three lines of defense, the forward one four miles in front of the city, was strongly entrenched at the Rodriquez Canal, which stretched from a swamp to the river, with a timber, loopholed breastwork and earthworks for artillery.

Robert Butler, in his official report to General Jackson, which claimed that in the space of twenty-five minutes, the British lost 700 killed, 1400 wounded, and 500 prisoners, a total loss of 2600 men; American losses were only seven killed and six wounded. After the battle was over, around 500 British soldiers who had pretended to be dead rose up and surrendered to the Americans.




This Proof Boston Tea Party Silver Medal was designed and commissioned by the National Commemorative Society and struck by the Franklin Mint of 0.925 Sterling Silver and possesses an actual silver weight of 0.77885 Troy ounces.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston on December 16, 1773. The demonstrators, some disguised as Indians, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution. The Tea Party became an iconic event of American history, and since then other political protests such as the Tea Party movement have referred to themselves as historical successors to the Boston protest of 1773.

John Adams and many other Americans considered tea drinking to be unpatriotic following the Boston Tea Party. Tea drinking declined during and after the Revolution, resulting in a shift to coffee as the preferred hot drink.





Franklin Mint American Heritage Sterling Silver Medal
1775 - Paul Revere Sounds the Alert
Proof finish, .925 sterling silver medal.
Measures 38.6 mm in diameter, weighs 33.4 grams.

Paul Revere was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, and Patriot in the American Revolution. He is best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord.
He did not cry "The British are Coming!"
Rather he spread the word to almost every house along the way from Charlestown to Lexington that "The Regulars are coming out."

Picked up two different compositions today of the same medal I had been chasing.
I never expected to find the scarce "Nickel Silver" one but got it from the same seller as the Sterling proof I got.


"The Great Mississippi Steamboat Race The Robert E. Lee & The Natchez"



In the summer of 1870, Robert E. Lee won a famed steamboat race against Natchez, going from New Orleans to St. Louis, Missouri, a distance of 1,154 miles in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes.
John W. Cannon, the captain of Robert E. Lee, ensured victory by removing excess weight, carrying only a few passengers, and using prearranged barges to increase the speed of refueling.

Natchez finished the race with the speed of 3 days, 21 hours and 58 minutes, but had been delayed by fog for six hours, and had numerous passengers to weigh it down.
Noted steamboat captain and historian Frederick Way, Jr., disputes this version of history somewhat. He cites Johnny Farrell, second engineer of Natchez: "This old idea about the two boats preparing for days for the race, tearing down bulkheads, putting up wind sheaves, and a lot of other stuff, is not true. When I went aboard Robert E. Lee, all they had done was to move the coal bunkers a little forward... On our boat there was absolutely no preparation whatever. There was no such thing as colors flying, bands playing, and the decks of both boats crowded with ladies and gentlemen."
Way also writes that at Vicksburg, both boats took fuel flats in tow and emptied them under way. In addition, both vessels advertised before the race that they would accept freight and passengers.

To this day no commercial boat has beaten the speed record set by Robert E. Lee during the race.

mintage 500 Nickel Silver Mint Quality

mintage 7507 Sterling Proof Quality

I'm getting kinda lonely in here. Let's see your medals please.

Chiming in to say TNG that if you aren't aware the Franklin Mint struck a massive set titled "History of the United States" which may offer you some different designs too.

For example, the above set for 1815 features Jackson on a horse with a battle in the background

Image is from an ebay listing



http://www.franklin-mint-silver.com...s-medals.htm is the go to site for researching almost anything the Franklin Mint produced.

-MV