101360 | UNITED STATES. Columbian Expo/Ferris Wheel aluminum Medal.

101360  |  UNITED STATES. Columbian Expo/Ferris Wheel aluminum Medal. Issued 1893. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America and the Ferris Wheel (38mm, 6.00 g, 12h).

 

SOUVENIR MEDAL / WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION CHICAGO, busts of Christopher Columbus and George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., each facing slightly inward; crown and scroll between; in six lines below, THE / FERRIS / WHEEL / DIMENSIONS / HEIGHT 264 FEET WEIGHT 4900 TONS / CAPACITY 2160 PERSONS ENGINES 2000 HORSE POWER / FERRIS WHEEL / GREATEST MECHANICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE AGE, view of the Ferris Wheel, with expo buildings in the background. Edge Plain.

 

Eglit 20; Rulau X65; HK –; socalleddollar.com Unlisted #49. Choice Mint State. Exceedingly brilliant and prooflike, though some lightly scattered hairlines are noted.

 

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States—in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago—and abroad, sometimes for this event or for similar others. The original Ferris Wheel, referred to at the time simply as the Chicago Wheel, was created by civil engineer George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. It was a major attraction at the Columbian Expo, where it stood 264 feet high and had a capacity to hold over 2,000 patrons at one time. Following the expo, it was dismantled and rebuilt in Lincoln Park in Chicago, where it remained for nearly a decade. It was then again dismantled and moved to St. Louis for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase expo, ultimately being demolished in 1906.

 

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