102400 | UNITED STATES. Satirical cast type metal "Bryan Dollar."

102400  |  UNITED STATES. Satirical cast type metal "Bryan Dollar." Issued 1896 during the McKinley–Bryan presidential race (63mm, 75.85 g, 12h).

 

Mimicking a "Morgan" dollar, but with "BULLION VALUE" on the obverse and "SIXTEEN TO ONE" and "WE DONT THINK" on the reverse. Edge: Slight beveling and a few minor marks as made, otherwise plain.

 

Zerbe 118; Schornstein 852. Mint State. A few light marks, with some mottling of color, but great overall quality for the type.

 

The debate between the gold standard and the free and unlimited coinage of silver played out in large part during the 1896 presidential campaigns of William McKinley, the Republican, and William Jennings Bryan, the Democrat. Known for his famous "Cross of Gold" speech, Bryan was mocked and derided for his stance on bimetallism by those in Republican and business circles. As such, a number of campaign items were produced during the campaign expressing this derision, with many poking fun at bimetallism's feasibility through oversized "silver" dollars such as this. For more information on this fascinating period and its numismatic connection, check out The Cross of Gold: William Jennings Bryan, Bimetallism, and Gilded Age Economic Equality, by Helena Kagan in ANS, vol. 19, no. 3, 2020, pp. 28-41.

 

Upload: 1 May 2023.

 

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