103753 | UNITED STATES. Satirical aluminum "Bryan Dime."

103753  |  UNITED STATES. Satirical cast type metal "Bryan Dime." Issued circa 1896 as a campaign commentary on the McKinley–Bryan presidential race (43mm, 12h).

 

UNITED SNAKES / * OF AMERICA *, eagle, with back facing and with head of a donkey, standing slightly right within wreath composed of snakes // BILLY BRYAN'S / * FREE SILVER *, ONE / DAM in two lines. Schornstein 356 (rare); Zerbe 56; cf. Kagan (ANS 2020.3), p. 39, fig. 20 (reeded edge) = ANS 1946.2.1. NGC AU-53. Pale gray surfaces, with a good deal of original brilliance remaining and great overall quality of the metal. One of just four observed for the type across both major services.

 

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 and other denominations, such as dimes like the example here. 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.

 

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Upload: 5 November 2026.