One hundred and twenty years ago this month, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, NY; this, the result of an assassin's bullet. The vile deed occurred in the Temple of Music at the 1901 Pan-Am Exposition. Elongated Indian cents, rolled and pressed to commemorate the event, later served as souvenirs for those visiting the expo site ....
The funeral train thereafter took McKinley's body to Washington, D.C. where he briefly laid in state. From there, a funeral train took him to Canton, Ohio where he was laid to rest. Here's a seconds-long, contemporary video of the removal of McKinley's coffin from the train in Canton ....
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Along the route, folks would lay coins, mostly Indian cents, on the tracks. Subsequent to a coin's being flattened by the funeral train, it was then stamped to serve as a personal memento. Here are a few of the surviving coins ....
Here's a 1901 Barber dime that was engraved on a planed-off reverse to serve as a memento ....
Finally, President McKinley was memorialized on a contemporary ten dollar bill ....
"The nation experienced a wave of genuine grief at the news of McKinley's passing."[216] The stock market, faced with sudden uncertainty, suffered a steep decline—almost unnoticed in the mourning. The nation focused its attention on the casket that made its way by train, first to Washington, where it first lay in the East Room of the Executive Mansion, and then in state in the Capitol, and then was taken to Canton.[217] A hundred thousand people passed by the open casket in the Capitol Rotunda, many having waited hours in the rain; in Canton, an equal number did the same at the Stark County Courthouse on September 18. The following day, a funeral service was held at the First Methodist Church; the casket was then sealed and taken to the McKinley house, where relatives paid their final respects.[218] It was then transported to the receiving vault at West Lawn Cemetery in Canton, to await the construction of the memorial to McKinley already being planned.[219]"
A contemporary book on the life of McKinley made mention of many folks putting coins on the tracks. I'm guessing that many of those coins were never stamped and simply tucked away as keepsakes.
As an example of how popular it was to place coins on the tracks to be smashed by McKinley's funeral train, the Sisters of Mercy of Baltimore City sold 11x17-inch cardboard posters for a quarter, which had a space at the bottom specifically for a smashed coin to be attached.
Very interesting Thanks! It's been years since I've come across a RR Penny or Quarter. when little I used to line the tracks with them for fun. even the store accepted them from me a few times when buying penny candy.
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Posted 09/16/2021 3:09 pm
