1933 World's Fair
Awhile back, I wrote on here about going through my grandma's things and finding a 1933 World's Fair souvenir coin and an Indian head penny. I still haven't found the penny but I did finally find the World's Fair coin. Normally it wouldn't mean much to me and one can still easily find these for sale on the internet for $10 to $50 depending on the condition. However, it has a deeper meaning thanks to my eldest daughter.
During school earlier this spring, one of her teachers assigned them to read from a selection of books, one of them being Erik Larson's "The Devil In the White City" which my daughter chose. As she started reading it and relaying back highlights, I was intrigued and remembered I had the same book in my to-be-read pile. I pulled it out and read it more or less with her though she finished it well before I did.
For those who haven't read it, it is a non-fiction account of the logistics of building and hosting the World's Fair in Chicago, including the first ever Ferris wheel and also about a serial killer on the loose at the same time as the fair. It is a gripping account and having finished it, I immediately wished I hadn't procrastinated so long to begin it.
So when I found this coin in my grandma's things, a couple things caught my eye. 1933 was the year she was born so possibly why she ended up with it. Her parents, my great grandparents lived in NE Iowa that year but I wonder if they had visited the World's Fair and obtained the coin. Fairly prominent on the back is the symbol we now refer to as a swastika. It has meant many things over the years but here in America, it derived from the Navajo culture and meant "good luck" which was obviously the motif of the back of the coin.
Indeed, it brought luck to my grandma as she lived a long life. Now it remains in my possession and will be added to my cabinet of family history items where perhaps, it will bring me some amount of luck as well.
Intrigued! Placed a hold on the book. 🍀
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the thought, effort and money that went into creating a World’s Fair.
DeleteGood story and thoughts, Ed.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI read that book years ago and loved it! I've only read one other of his, but have several on my wishlist. That's neat about the token.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure our county courthouse has a few "swastika" designs in its floor tiles. I think there might have been talk about what to do about it, but since they easily predated Nazi Germany it was dropped.
I still have his one on Churchhill in my pile.
Delete"The Devil in the White City" is a FANTASTIC book. Glad you got to it! The swastika is interesting. I remember being surprised when I went to India to see a swastika-like symbol displayed in many places -- it has a positive meaning there too, though I can't remember what it is. Anyway, that's a cool coin and a great souvenir.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like it independently developed in several countries over the centuries.
DeleteYou have a nice family treasure that will bring good luck, health and fortune to the holder! Very nice. I will see if I can borrow that book from the library. If it is in audiobook format, it is a definite "read" for me. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure what to do with it though. Right now it is in a silver pitcher that belonged to my great grandmother with all the other coins.
DeleteI loved that book; it read like a novel and made me want to visit Chicago, even though the World's Fair stuff is no longer there. If you haven't read Erik Larson before, he has many excellent books. So does Timothy Egan.
ReplyDeleteI’ve read all of his books but the one on Churchhill. I’ve loved them all.
DeleteI saw several Indian head pennies growing up in Oklahoma. A coin shop might be able to put some monetary value on it and the Worlds Fair token. Very interesting items. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI've found a handful over the years, most of them when I was young enough to be still living at home. I have a box that I keep them in along with a handful of $2 bills. I remember checking once about the Indian Head penny values and while worth more than a penny, it wasn't worth the time to do anything other than toss into a box. Perhaps they will be worth more for the next generation.
DeleteIt would be interesting to know how the coin was designed. It's curious, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I didn't spend much time, I did google that very thing to try and find some history on it but my results pages were filled with pictures of similar coins being sold on dozens of platforms. I quickly gave up.
DeleteI always love things like that Ed. As we go through my parents' stuff, we are finding similar things.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you come up for a better solution for what to do with them.
DeleteI read that book a couple years back. I enjoyed the detail of it as well. Well. The part about the world's fair anyway. I also was fascinated by the building of the first skyscrapers.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by the materials they used. Some buildings were made from a paper mache.
Delete