The Flipside with Robert R. Van Ryzin

What's a Trade dollar worth? It depends, of course. For instance, in the 1980s it was worth an IBM Mag Card Selectric Typewriter. In 1883, however, it was, as a song lyric goes, worth only "85 cents on the dollar." The latter is because silver had fallen in value and the Trade dollar had been demonetized in 1876, three years after its introduction. More about the typewriter later.

The story of the once hated, despised, depreciated U.S. silver dollar known as the Trade dollar is an interesting one. Authorized by the Coinage Act of 1873, the Trade dollar was initially intended for use in trade with the Orient. However, the coinage act allowed the coin a limited legal-tender value in the U

nited States.

From the moment of its first coining, in mid-1873, the Trade dollar entered domestic circulation. The coins, which could be tendered only in small payments, but could be minted at the request of any silver depositor, quickly became a drug on the market. With the fall of silver brought on by several factors, including the Bonanza strike at Virginia City, Nev.'s Comstock Lode, Trade dollars depreciated well below their dollar face value.

Those who accepted the coins at face value, often in payment as wages, did so at a significant loss. Soon banks and merchants began refusing to take the coins or offered to do so only at a price near the coin's bullion value.

In 1883, by which time the Trade dollar had been demonetized for seven years, merchants in New York organized a boycott against the unwanted dollar.

"The popular agitation against the use of the trade dollar is being carried on so vigorously that much inconvenience and bickering has resulted," reported the June 30, 1883, issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. "It is probable that the movement inaugurated in New York and extended over the country will drive the clumsy coin from general circulation."

The boycott even had its own surely popular song, "respectfully dedicated to the United States Government"—the last verse and chorus for which went:

Americans will never be later
Than others to greet all that's fair,
But when we are cheated on all hands,
It's time for a change to appear.
We honor the flag we shall all see
At home, at abroad, or at sea.
But now it has come to a standpoint,
No more trade dollars for me.

With eighty-five cents on the dollar,
Paid out to him night and by day,
What shall we do with this dollar?
Just ask what the Chinamen say.

It took until 1887 before the government agreed to redeem Trade dollars at face value, in exchange for standard silver dollars or subsidiary silver coins. However, by that time, many of the coins had fallen into the hands of speculators, and those who earlier had accepted them in good faith had already absorbed their loss.

In the 1980s, short on money and needing an advanced typewriter for use in writing my master's thesis, I traded my Very Fine 1878-CC Trade dollar to a dealer friend. The coin, the rarest regular date in the set, at the time had a retail value of between $300 to $400. Today it lists for more than $1,000.

The typewriter, which recorded each keystroke onto a magnetic card for easy playback and editing, lasted long enough to complete my thesis on the Crime of 1873 before it ended up as scrap metal. But the trade for it was worth it at the time, and a far cry better than anyone who handled Trade dollars in the 1880s ever got.

Today you can add a Trade dollar to your collection for a little over $100 in lower grades. If you're interested in learning more about the history of the Trade dollar, read my feature in the August issue of Coins magazine. There you'll find the story of who was behind its coinage and the rest of the song.

6/15/2007 11:53:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Ezra Meeker's tale needed to be told
Posted by bob

Welcome to "The Flip Side." The name harks back to a newsletter I once prepared for a Wisconsin coin club. The front side of the newsletter related the latest club news, and the back (or "The Flip Side," as I called it) carried my various ramblings—most of which, if memory serves, were related to the history of U.S. coins.

I currently serve as editor of Coins and Coin Prices magazines and have penned a number of articles and three books related to U.S. coinage history.

Although I have nothing against those who buy numismatic items with the intent to someday sell them (hopefully at a profit), I've always been an advocate of pursuing the story behind the coin. My first article for a national numismatic publication reflected my dedication to this. It focused on Oregon Trail-veteran Ezra Meeker's role in the creation of the Oregon Trail commemorative half dollar.

Prior to my article, everyone who told the story of this commemorative, issued from 1926-1939 (with gaps), had complained about its overissue and the blatant marketing that went into selling the coins. True, these articles noted that the money from the sale of the coins was to go toward marking the 2,000 miles of the famous emigrant trail west, but few writers dug any deeper.

In particular, I found in my research that the origin of this attractive coin—oversold or not—goes back to Meeker (shown in the photo here with his dog), who traveled the trail with his wife and one-year-old son in the e

arly 1850s on their way west with thousands of other Americans. His was an inspirational story and one I felt shouldn't be overshadowed.

Meeker's initial journey had such an impact on him that, in 1906, at the age of 76, he set out from his home in Puyallup, Wash., to re-travel the Oregon Trail and mark it for future generations to remember. Employing a prairie schooner, pulled at first by two oxen, and accompanied by his dog, Meeker stopped in towns along the way, where he and townspeople erected monuments to the trail and gave dedication speeches. More than 20,000 people sacrificed their lives in their attempt to begin a new life in the American West via braving the hardships associated with this wagon-trail west.

When Meeker ran short on

money, he had his trail journal printed, calling it "The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail," which he sold in paper- and hard-bound editions. Eventually, Meeker arrived in Washington, D.C., where he met with Teddy Roosevelt and received a pledge of federal support for marking the Oregon Trail.

Meeker repeated portions of the trip in 1912, in 1915 by auto, and in 1926 by air.

On April 26, 1926, at the age of 96, Meeker appeared before the Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency as president of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association. His goal was to secure passage of Public Law 235, which authorized the coining of "not more than 6,000,000" Oregon Trail half dollars. Faced with growing opposition to U.S. commemorative coins (many of which were issued for dubious causes), Me

eker stood firm on the need for the Oregon Trail commemorative and the money it sales would raise.

Unfortunately, the Oregon Trail half dollar did not sell as well as Meeker and his supporters hoped. During the 13 years in which it was authorized, a little over 200,000 coins were ultimately distributed—far short of the 6 million limit and the association's lofty goals.

Meeker, who had spent most of his later life honoring the memory of the great trail west, died in 1928, at the age of 98. He lived long enough to see 150 monuments placed along the Oregon Trail and, more importantly, the minting of the "Ezra Meeker coin."

Today, Americans can still travel portions of the trail and enjoy owning one of his coins. Meeker's various books,

many of them autographed by Meeker, are also available, as are interesting Meeker-related postcards.

It's these kinds of stories that bring extra meaning to collecting and the kind I will probably lean most on here. Again, welcome to "The Flip Side."

5/2/2007 4:31:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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