Lincolns Death Bed

In the old days it was common practise to put pennies on the eyes of dead people. I believe the weight of the pennies held the eyelids closed until rigor mortis set in. Maybe this is what they used on Abe.

Steve

Here is an artical I found on google:

Last week, Jeff Starck of Coin World mentioned that
"... pennies (sorry, cents) were placed over the eyelids
of the deceased." and that "a Chicago museum has cents
it claims were placed on President Abraham Lincoln".

Tom DeLorey writes: "They were not cents, they were Seated
Half Dollars. Joe Scheidler and I examined them here at
the Chicago Historical Society several years ago, and Joe
wrote it up for the Gobrecht Journal. The coins are affixed
to a certificate of authenticity by means of a black silk
ribbon run through two holes drilled in each coin (GACK!
The first slab!) and some sealing wax. One of the coins is
an 1861, and Joe was wondering if it might be an 1861-O.
By very carefully laying coins atop it under the watchful
and apprehensive eye of a curator, I was able to compare
reeding counts and determine that it was a P-mint coin."

[The Chicago Historical Society web site pictures these
coins: "Silver half-dollars were placed over the president's
eyes, and government undertaker Frank Sands arrived to
prepare Lincoln's body for the journey home to the White House."
Full Story

I wonder if the old custom of using pennies (in Britain)
and cents (in the U.S.) changed in the U.S. when the Mint
switched to small size cents after 1857? Are the smaller
cents too small and light to hold the deceased's eyelids
in place? Could that be why half dollars were used
instead of cents for President Lincoln's body in 1865?

Thanks Tim, your brilliant!! now I can rest easy. Man inflation strikes even when your dead.The price of the ferry man must be about $20 by now!!

Two Seated halfs to ride on Styx River? You can't even get away from price gouging when your dead.

They also found a $5 CSA note in Abe's wallet.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tpatna

Here is an artical I found on google:

Last week, Jeff Starck of Coin World mentioned that
"... pennies (sorry, cents) were placed over the eyelids
of the deceased." and that "a Chicago museum has cents
it claims were placed on President Abraham Lincoln".

Tom DeLorey writes: "They were not cents, they were Seated
Half Dollars. Joe Scheidler and I examined them here at
the Chicago Historical Society several years ago, and Joe
wrote it up for the Gobrecht Journal. The coins are affixed
to a certificate of authenticity by means of a black silk
ribbon run through two holes drilled in each coin (GACK!
The first slab!) and some sealing wax. One of the coins is
an 1861, and Joe was wondering if it might be an 1861-O.
By very carefully laying coins atop it under the watchful
and apprehensive eye of a curator, I was able to compare
reeding counts and determine that it was a P-mint coin."

[The Chicago Historical Society web site pictures these
coins: "Silver half-dollars were placed over the president's
eyes, and government undertaker Frank Sands arrived to
prepare Lincoln's body for the journey home to the White House."
Full Story

I wonder if the old custom of using pennies (in Britain)
and cents (in the U.S.) changed in the U.S. when the Mint
switched to small size cents after 1857? Are the smaller
cents too small and light to hold the deceased's eyelids
in place? Could that be why half dollars were used
instead of cents for President Lincoln's body in 1865?

---

Very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

Ben

As a student of Civil War (and 19th century general military history), I have read this story many times and it has been well-documented in the literature by credible witnesses who were there. They apparently were large coins, so either half or silver dollars are possible. I have also heard claims that the Lincoln Death Coins exist in several places including the Chicago Historical Society museum but also, if I recall correctly, a museum in DC (Ford's Theatre? Smithsonian?). After Lincoln died and his eyelids remained closed due to rigor mortis, anything could have happened to the original coins. The mortician(s) could have grabbed them or Lincoln's secretary (John Hay) or any number of persons who would have had access to Lincoln's body after his death. It is equally likely that someone with a sense of history grabbed them or someone with a sense of greed scarfed them up as souvenirs. I'm not certain a provenance can be demonstrated on any of the claimed death coins.

Fred