Centennial State Diaries – American Numismatic Association

American Numismatic Association
818 North Cascade Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

The history of Colorado is deeply connected with gunslingers and mining – specifically gold and silver. Rich veins of those precious metals sparked a rush into Colorado, catalyzed the growth of massive fortunes of legendary historical personalities (such as “The Unsinkable” Molly Brown), private banks and private bank notes (Joseph Lesher). This evolved Denver into the center of banking and minting in the western US, and uniquely shaped Colorado into the steward of the history private currency in America.

For this edition of The Centennial State Diaries, I had an opportunity to visit the American Numismatic Association and view the temporary exhibit on World War I, personal effects of “The Unsinkable” Molly Brown and relics from the Titanic, relics from the Lusitania, and one of the largest collections of historic coins and currencies in the world today.

World War One Trench Warfare Recreation

One of the most unexpected and impressive exhibits in the Numismatic Exhibit hall is the temporary exhibit on World War I. It housed a recreation of a World War I trench which allows the guest a sanitized experience of trench life during, "The War to End All Wars."

It was a horrifically grueling life of day-to-day subsistence and was a world filled with mud, death, rats, stench, gas, and death. Soldiers developed the attitude in the trench that everyone was going to die.

Yet somehow, amidst all the chaos, rain, mud and endless charges across no-man’s-land, the soldiers found some time to create some incredibly exquisite objects of unimaginable detail and functional beauty while mired in those pits of hell.

The scope of the exhibit devoted towards the artwork created in the trenches is absolutely breathtaking – particularly when one considers the environment surrounding the creators.

Somewhere in the day-to-day monotony of being trapped inside this confined space, between artillery barrages and enemy charges, the soldiers managed to create some incredibly elaborate pieces of sculpture, utensils, and artwork which belie the squalor. From eating utensils fabricated from bullets (set of fork, knife, spoon, and letter opener) to a British soldier’s cap made from an English penny, the exhibit at the American Numismatic Association manages to magnificently pay homage to them all.

Historic Relics and Figures from the Titanic

The R.M.S Titanic and Colorado will forever be linked together in history through Margaret Brown.

Posthumously named “The Unsinkable” Mrs. Brown, Margaret Brown earned her nickname for exhorting the crew in Lifeboat Number 6 to return back to the debris field of the R.M.S Titanic to look for survivors.

At the age of 18, Margaret Brown relocated from Hannibal, Missouri to Leadville, Colorado during the gold and silver rush. It was here Margaret Brown met and married James Joseph Brown. J.J. Brown innovated a new method of using baled hay and timbers to stop mine cave-ins, which allowed the Little Johnny mine (already home to one of the richest veins of gold) to increase its capacity significantly. This made the Brows incredibly wealthy.

While Margaret Brown was touring Egypt with the John Jacob Astor party, she received word her eldest grandchild had become seriously ill. Mrs. Brown immediately booked passage on the first available ship leaving for New York, the R.M.S. Titanic, and forever linked Colorado and the Titanic in the annals of history.

Historic Coins and Currencies

The heart of the American Numismatic Association is the vast collection of coins and currency which span both countries and history. The collection is so incredibly extensive; there truly is not enough blog space to feature even a fraction of what the museum holds.

Coins first made their appearance around the Seventh Century BC in Asia Minor and were formulated from electrum – a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.

Initially, the lumps of alloy had regular weights and lines impressed upon one side, but as minting evolved, the designs of this early coinage gradually transformed into more elaborate designs of animals and geometric shapes.

The first coins which were identifiable came from a kingdom in Asia Minor named Lydia and featured the head of a lion – the heraldic badge of the ruling dynasty. The back of these early coins has a simple incuse depression on the back side of the coin which has created during the minting process.

Gladius and Historic Coins from the Dark Ages

By the end of the Middle Ages, new sources of silver were discovered, trade volume increased significantly between Italy, the Middle East and Africa and a demand for a more sophisticated coinage system arose. Governments centralized political power by claiming the exclusive right to mint and produce coins.

More sophisticated minting techniques arose and the patterns and legends of the coins became much more sophisticated. The designs reflected the increased role coinage assumed in government propaganda and the increased focus on national pride. As minting and metallurgy techniques evolved and improved, the quality and sophistication of coins grew and evolved.

In addition to the historic coinage from multiple countries throughout the world, the American Numismatic Association holds the distinction of housing one of the most complete sets of US Gold Double Eagle coins in the world, some of the rarest and most valuable Continental Silver Dollars, and the rarest Liberty Head Nickel ever minted (only five known pieces). I even managed to pick up two Zombucks coins - The Currency of the Apocalypse.

The Association also holds one of the most complete collections of paper currency, obsolete paper currency, and private currency in existence.

German Emergency Currency Circa World War I

Obsolete Towanda Bank Note

Federal Reserve Note

Much like the coin collection, there is not sufficient blog space to do this collection justice. The private currencies alone were s extensive it has inspired an upcoming piece on the history of private currency in the United States, with additional photos from the museum.

The next time you find yourself in Colorado Springs, be sure to check out this incredible lesser known treasure of Colorado.