St. James's Auctions
Auction 26 5 March 2014
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USA, Panama-Pacific Exposition, 1915, commemorative set in gold and silver: gold octagonal 50 dollars, gold round 50 dollars, gold 2½ dollars, gold dollar, and silver 50 cents, all struck at the San Francisco mint, the rare complete set in original case with certificate of issue, extremely fine or better with some light hairlines, the two 50 dollars lightly wiped, rich gold toning on the gold coins, the silver 50 cents having lovely silvery gold surfaces with rich blue peripheral toning (5)
£55,000-60,000
The concept of a 'world's fair' showcasing human achievement was an idea essentially of the 19th century, even though exhibitions were an age-old phenomenon. In America, the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia was intended both to show off new technical achievements and to celebrate a century of independence as a nation. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 followed. The World's Columbian Exhibition of 1892-93 in Chicago was an even grander affair, where a small city was erected consisting of buildings, canals and parks; its ostensible purpose was to mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World. Not to be outdone, Paris again hosted an exhibition in 1900, and St Louis in Missouri felt a need to express itself and hosted a fair in 1904, where the summer Olympic Games were only part of all the excitement. Its formal name was The Louisiana Purchase Exposition but its purpose was largely as a commercial enterprise to attract tourists who wished to purchase gifts of many kinds for themselves as mementoes, and to be entertained.
The west coast of the United States, however, was a long-distance trip not only for Europeans arriving by ship on the east coast but also for much of the American population. Californians were clamouring for their own world's fair by the turn of the century. Beginning in 1904, a variety of plans and schemes for a festival was being considered in San Francisco, and the goal was to outdo other American exhibitions. The terrible earthquake disrupted plans only temporarily, and by 1911 the organizing council had the approval of none other than President Taft, who embraced the idea of a West Coast fair celebrating both American ingenuity and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1911, which was being hailed as a new wonder of the world. What is today known as the Marina District was filled with land while engineers constructed a variety of buildings meant to be temporary. Included in the plans for this mini city was even a 5-acre reproduction of the Panama Canal!
After 3 years of construction, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition opened on 20 February 1915, occupying 635 acres by the bay. Featuring a vast array of landscape architecture, statuesque buildings, ornate gardens, art of many kinds, clever inventions, countless displays of wares and products, sports and entertainment - the fair showed the throngs of visitors what the world looked like in 1915. Perhaps the most spectacular event of the fair was the first-ever use of electricity to light up the entire city at night.
lthough coins commemorating such fairs had been issued before, at this exposition an entire set of specially designed coins was produced for sale to fair-goers. They could purchase single coins or, rarely, an entire set, as we see in the presently offered lot. Due to the high value of the set, at a time when the average yearly income was about $1500, few sets were purchased. Thus was born a modern rarity, in which the individual coins featured designs intended to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal expressed in Art Deco style. All of the coins were struck at the fair. The half-dollar features the symbolic Miss Liberty scattering flowers which she received from a cornucopia, with the rising sun behind her, an expression of bounty and optimism. The gold dollar depicts a capped labourer, among many who built the Panama Canal. Its reverse features a pair of dolphins, symbolizing the flowing together of two oceans via the canal. The gold 2½ dollars, or 'quarter eagle', reputedly shows Columbia seated upon a hippocampus with a vigilant eagle on the other side said in its day to be warding off war. The huge, impressive gold 50 dollar coins, similarly designed but of different shapes, were supposedly meant to pay obeisance to the fifty-dollar 'pioneer gold' coins of the 1849ers. Each featured a helmeted Greek goddess Athena as a symbol of wisdom and of warfare, as well as of the practical arts, opposed by a large owl alluding to the inspiration of antiquity. It is seated upon a branch surrounded by Ponderosa pinecones, native to California. Dolphins 'swim' around the rim of the Octagonal, emblematic sailors' guardians seen in the open seas on each side of the canal. Each coin also boasts a proud legend of the nation and another indicating its origin at the Exposition. It took massive hydraulic presses to produce these beautiful coins. They are among the finest of all numismatic expressions of the Art Deco era.
£55,000-60,000
The concept of a 'world's fair' showcasing human achievement was an idea essentially of the 19th century, even though exhibitions were an age-old phenomenon. In America, the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia was intended both to show off new technical achievements and to celebrate a century of independence as a nation. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 followed. The World's Columbian Exhibition of 1892-93 in Chicago was an even grander affair, where a small city was erected consisting of buildings, canals and parks; its ostensible purpose was to mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World. Not to be outdone, Paris again hosted an exhibition in 1900, and St Louis in Missouri felt a need to express itself and hosted a fair in 1904, where the summer Olympic Games were only part of all the excitement. Its formal name was The Louisiana Purchase Exposition but its purpose was largely as a commercial enterprise to attract tourists who wished to purchase gifts of many kinds for themselves as mementoes, and to be entertained.
The west coast of the United States, however, was a long-distance trip not only for Europeans arriving by ship on the east coast but also for much of the American population. Californians were clamouring for their own world's fair by the turn of the century. Beginning in 1904, a variety of plans and schemes for a festival was being considered in San Francisco, and the goal was to outdo other American exhibitions. The terrible earthquake disrupted plans only temporarily, and by 1911 the organizing council had the approval of none other than President Taft, who embraced the idea of a West Coast fair celebrating both American ingenuity and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1911, which was being hailed as a new wonder of the world. What is today known as the Marina District was filled with land while engineers constructed a variety of buildings meant to be temporary. Included in the plans for this mini city was even a 5-acre reproduction of the Panama Canal!
After 3 years of construction, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition opened on 20 February 1915, occupying 635 acres by the bay. Featuring a vast array of landscape architecture, statuesque buildings, ornate gardens, art of many kinds, clever inventions, countless displays of wares and products, sports and entertainment - the fair showed the throngs of visitors what the world looked like in 1915. Perhaps the most spectacular event of the fair was the first-ever use of electricity to light up the entire city at night.
lthough coins commemorating such fairs had been issued before, at this exposition an entire set of specially designed coins was produced for sale to fair-goers. They could purchase single coins or, rarely, an entire set, as we see in the presently offered lot. Due to the high value of the set, at a time when the average yearly income was about $1500, few sets were purchased. Thus was born a modern rarity, in which the individual coins featured designs intended to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal expressed in Art Deco style. All of the coins were struck at the fair. The half-dollar features the symbolic Miss Liberty scattering flowers which she received from a cornucopia, with the rising sun behind her, an expression of bounty and optimism. The gold dollar depicts a capped labourer, among many who built the Panama Canal. Its reverse features a pair of dolphins, symbolizing the flowing together of two oceans via the canal. The gold 2½ dollars, or 'quarter eagle', reputedly shows Columbia seated upon a hippocampus with a vigilant eagle on the other side said in its day to be warding off war. The huge, impressive gold 50 dollar coins, similarly designed but of different shapes, were supposedly meant to pay obeisance to the fifty-dollar 'pioneer gold' coins of the 1849ers. Each featured a helmeted Greek goddess Athena as a symbol of wisdom and of warfare, as well as of the practical arts, opposed by a large owl alluding to the inspiration of antiquity. It is seated upon a branch surrounded by Ponderosa pinecones, native to California. Dolphins 'swim' around the rim of the Octagonal, emblematic sailors' guardians seen in the open seas on each side of the canal. Each coin also boasts a proud legend of the nation and another indicating its origin at the Exposition. It took massive hydraulic presses to produce these beautiful coins. They are among the finest of all numismatic expressions of the Art Deco era.