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EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION DOG TAGFebruary is Black History Month, and John Kraljevich published a new Facebook post on this topic often overlooked in numismatics. While the Booker T. Washington half dollar and other mainstream coins are what first come to mind, there is a vast trove of other important material awaiting discovery and publication. John kicks off his 2019 series with a phenomenal item. With permission, here's the complete article. -Editor   American history isn't all about generals and Presidents, dates and battles. It's about telling stories too long untold, and identifying triumphs amid struggle. History is the way we remember the past, and the history I choose to remember is about individuals whose lives exemplified the progress that the American experiment is all about. I look forward to Black History Month every year. I've done history as a more or less full time endeavor since I was a kid, and I learn more in these 28 days than I learn for most of the rest of the year. Collecting is more than my profession, it's my life passion. When I acquired this object last month, I knew immediately it was one of the most important things I'd ever owned. It's a dog tag from the Civil War, depicting President Abraham Lincoln on its face. I've owned dozens of dog tags like this, hand inscribed with a soldier's name and unit, and often with their battle record as well. They're usually not well worn, as they were used for just a few years of wartime and then saved as a keepsake. This one's wear tells a story of a lifetime spent dangling against a man's chest, decades of display of what it said and what it meant. This dog tag was worn by Dennis Addison, an American from Alabama, and the date it records was the day the Emancipation Proclamation made him free. Happy Black History Month, y'all. Go learn something. As in previous years, John's Black History Month articles will be added to the Newman Numismatic Portal. -Editor To read the original post, see: To read previous articles on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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