Encased Cents of the 1901 Pan American Exposition

       

1901 Pan Am Expo - Buffalo, N. Y.

The 1901 Pan American Exposition is thought to be the first time that "encased" coins were made. The encasing of coins in aluminum is thought to have come about at that time due to the availability if aluminum and it's being inexpensive. The early process used for making pure aluminum was time-consuming and expensive. Aluminum makes up about 8% of the earth's crust and is the 3rd most element, following oxygen and silicon. ⁽¹⁾

"Aluminum, that wonderful new metal! Eulogized on medals of the early 1890s as malleable, tasteless, sonorous, ductile, untarnishable, odorless, and one-quarter the weight of silver, it is no wonder that this "discovery" would capture the fancy of a nation...The first significant attempt to isolate aluminum from alumina (aluminum oxide) was by an English electrochemist. Sir Humphrey Davy, in 1807. Convinced that alumina had a metallic base, he named the metal aluminium, later revising the word to aluminum...At $17 an ounce (in 1854) it was worth nearly its weight in gold. In 1886 the price of $8 a pound still made it prohibitive for use in industry. It wasn't until Charles Hall invented his Hall process of reducing aluminum by electrolysis in 1886 that it started coming down. It wasn't until the very late 1880s that numismatic items started to appear. Metalworking firms liked the medal for a wide range of products. Medal makers used aluminum in over 150 different medals for the Columbian Exposition in 1892. "   ⁽²⁾

I believe the ready availability and low price combined with it's malleability made the manufacture of encased coins possible. The coin made the item something to keep and using it as an inexpensive advertising or souvenir piece began. As a pocket piece, it was something a merchant could give away and the customer would keep and hopefully visit the merchant again. As it was inexpensive to manufacture and small enough to be easily carried by visitors to the Expo, it in my opinion was an excellent souvenir. The fact that so many of the pieces still remain is a testament to their being used as souvenirs.  

There are a number of varieties known to exist. The obverse says, "Good Luck / Keep Me and Prosper" and has a horseshoe, a wishbone, and a four-leaf clover on the obverse of the encasement. The reverse says, "FROM THE / GROUNDS OF THE / PAN AMERICAN / EXPOSITION 1901 / 20th CENTURY PENNY" with the phrases inside a chain and the image of a buffalo at the bottom. This piece recently sold on eBay for over $300.

Fred Lavin's "PANorAMa of the PAN=AM" has a complete list of Pan Am encased varieties.

Fred Lavin lists 13 round aluminum encased with die variety making it 23 distinct pieces, 7 round vulcanite (hard rubber), one horseshoe-shaped with three varieties, three wishbone shapes, a frying pan, and a reported buffalo shape. Fred uses "EC" plus a number to designate these encased. All EC numbers below are taken from Fred's book.

Note that the imprint of the four-leaf clover carries over to the Indian cent making it easy to ensure that the coin was not replaced. The stem of the four-leaf clover bends left or right. James M. Lawniczak's article referenced above offers a detailed explanation of the left-pointing stem additional varieties based on the number of denticles. The right has no varieties that are currently known.

The 1901 exposition was held in Buffalo, NY.  This led to the use of the image of a buffalo, (properly called the North American Bison) to be used on all sorts of souvenirs including "encased cents". The image below is another unusual piece. I have seen a couple of examples of this piece although I do not currently own one. Note the image of a "buffalo" on the obverse centered so that the cent is in the buffalo. I'd like to know the significance of the "dustpan" on the reverse. Was it for cleaning up after the buffalo's?? For a better explanation of the "Pan" read Fred Lavin's article. "PANorAMa of the PAN=AM" posted separately.

This piece is interesting and not seen as often as the readily available "four-leaf clover" variety.  It has "Pan American Exposition / Souvenir / Buffalo N.Y." on the obverse and "Good Luck and Prosperity" on the reverse with crossed cornucopias at the top. 

Since the Pan-Am Exposition was often referred to as the "pan" in literature and exunomia related material it is not surprising that "pan" related souvenirs were popular. This "Frying Pan" encased is a really neat piece.  It should have a pin attached to the handle.  Since the exposition was called the "Pan" American several souvenirs picked up on the "pan" as a theme. I believe there are several styles of encased pans out there, but don't see them often on eBay or ever anywhere else. They are often found with the handle broken off or bent without the stick pin as seen here. The complete encased frying pan with the handle and pin in perfect shape with a full red cent sells for over $250.

 

The frying pan above right has the cent held by four small "v" shaped punched out pieces from the pan bottom. While not totally encasing the cent it firmly holds it in place. The frying pan appears to be made of copper and is a thin gauge.

The following piece is perhaps one of the first if not the first horseshoe shape. Note the "buffalo" at the bottom of the obverse. Also of note is the way the bottom is cut out to form the horseshoe.

Pan American Vulcanite Encased

At the Pan American Exposition, a number of encased cents were made using a vulcanite (hard plastic) encasement which had a sticker affixed to the reverse of the piece. Below are a number of examples. It is interesting to note that the color of the vulcanite varied. Fred Lavin listed all know Pan Am souvenirs in his book, "PANorAMa of the PAN=AM" an illustrated guide to souvenirs from the PAN=AMERICAN EXPOSITION of 1901 in Buffalo, NY. I have included the "EC" number Fred used for the encased souvenirs at the beginning of the explanation with each image. I have also included the numbering system James M. Lawniczak in his article from the no longer existent ECI site. They are at the end of the explanation paragraph and are formatted (NY)-BUF-PX-XX. The first vulcanite encased below is not in Fred's book so I am giving it, EC-38 the next number available. I do not have images of EC31 - "WHERE DOES GRASS GROW? / IN MEXICO / YOU'R (sic) A BUFFALO / PUT ME OFF / PAE / EX-PO"; seen with a blue or green rim" or EC37 - "OH FUDGE /FORGET IT /PERHAPS TAINT TRUE /PUT ME OFF AT BUFFALO". If you have these pieces please share an image with me for this page. Email: bdperdue1@netsacpe.net