ATDTDA (2): Colorado Silver Camp exhibit (45.22)

[Tim Strzechowski]

The Archduke had put in an appearance at the Austrian Pavilion, sat through buffalo Bill's wild West Show with a certain amount of impatience, and lingered at the Colorado Silver Camp exhibit" [...] (p. 45).


[...] According to Hibler and Kappen, the first written use of the term "so-called dollars" can be attributed to the late Thomas L. Elder, a New York coin dealer, who used the term in his description of Lot 395 from his Sept. 27 and 28, 1912, auction. The lot was a Theodore Roosevelt medal of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Hibler and Kappen later referenced it as HK-308.

[...]

The monetary issues included those related to the gold and silver controversies of the 1890s – the Bryan dollars, featuring the likeness of William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1896, and again in 1900, with inscriptions referring to his "free silver" platform.

Also included among the monetary issues are the Lesher or Referendum dollars of 1900 and 1901. These pieces were issued by Ohio native Joseph W. Lesher, who was a Colorado silver camp worker, silver mine owner and real estate investor. Lesher issued these souvenir silver pieces from his Victor, Colo., home. [...]

http://www.coinworld.com/news/050106/BW_0501.asp

 

In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit can be expressed either with a certain amount of gold or with a certain amount of silver. The ratio between the two metals is fixed by law.

This monetary system is very unstable. Due to the fluctuation of the commercial value of the metals, the metal with a commercial value higher than the currency value tends to be used as metal and is withdrawn from circulation as money (Gresham's Law). This occurred in the United States throughout the 19th century as the official bimetallic standard became in effect a silver standard.

In the United States, toward the end of the nineteenth century, bimetallism became a center of political conflict. Newly discovered silver mines in the American West caused an effective decrease in the value of money. In 1873 the government passed the Fourth Coinage Act, at the same time as these resources were beginning to be exploited. This was later referred to by Silverites as “The Crime of ’73,” as it was judged to have inhibited inflation. Instead deflation resulted, causing problems for farmers with large mortgages but who could sell their goods for only a fraction of their post-Civil War price. In addition, improvements in transport meant it was cheaper for farmers to ship their grain to Europe, and they over-expanded production until there was a glut on the market. The Panic of 1893 was a severe nationwide depression that brought the money issue to the fore. The "silverites" argued that using silver would inflate the money supply and mean more cash for everyone, which they
 equated with prosperity. The gold advocates said silver would permanently depress the economy, but that sound money produced by a gold standard would restore prosperity. The gold advocates won decisively in 1896 and 1900. [...]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimetallism


Also see:

[...] Many of the events and characters of [Baum's _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_] resemble the actual political personalities, events and ideas of the 1890s. The 1902 stage adaptation mentioned, by name, President Theodore Roosevelt, oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, and other political celebrities. (No real people are mentioned by name in the book.) Even the title has been interpreted as alluding to a political reality: oz. is an abbreviation for ounce, a unit familiar to those who fought for a 16 to 1 ounce ratio of silver to gold in the name of bimetallism, though Baum stated he got the name from a file cabinet labeled A-N and O-Z. It should also be noted, however, that in later books Baum mentions contemporary figures by name and takes blatantly political stances without the benefit of allegory including a condemnation in no uncertain terms of Standard Oil. [...]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/OZ/TinMan.php

http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/OZ/CowardlyLion.php

http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/OZ/RubySlippers.php



Cf:  "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas any more. . . ."

                                                        --GR, p. 279 (Viking/Penguin)