PAUL CUNNINGHAM ON TWO 1876 CENTENNIAL ITEMS

The first looks to be a post-Centennial Expo piece, perhaps homemade.

The second really grabbed my attention! It was obviously was a centennial for the U.S.O., the United Service Organizations, an umbrella organization of six charitable organizations, including the Y.M.C.A. and the National Jewish Welfare Board! Oops! It couldn’t be a centennial of the USO because it was founded at the request of President Roosevelt early in 1941.

Still, it was obviously a centennial for something. With a figure (crossed cannon and bomb) that anyone would associate with the military, maybe it was for a 100 year celebration of a Revolutionary War fort. There are known tokens from eight locations in the U.S., namely Pine Bluff in Arkansas; Benicia in California; Rock Island in Illinois; Aberdeen in Maryland; Picatinny, Raritan and Rockaway in New Jersey; San Antonio in Texas; one in Tokyo; and one maverick, which used tokens. Three had pictures on the tokens of a flaming bomb (Rock Island, Tokyo and the maverick) and the Rock Island also had the crossed cannon pictured.

The Rock Island token is the only one which pictures what is on Mr. Schenkman’s token. I have seen a design like that on the token but I can’t place it. Perhaps a military insignia or shoulder patch?

A location not on the list offers a tantalizing twist: Ft. Adams in Rhode Island was originally formed as what I had called a “fortification” in the town in 1776! That knowledge is merely a coincidence in the context of these comments but, on further study of Ft. Adam’s history, it is reported that in recent years the fort had in operation an Ordnance Department! Could it be that a Company G (the countermark) at Ft. Adams decided to celebrate 100 years of apparent continuous operation of a Revolutionary War fort?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Query: Two Unusual 1876 Centennial Items (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n47a23.html)

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