Got a BIG surprise while searching a sidewalk tear up in St. Paul!

[GavinoGambino]

So i thought i had another beer can when all of a sudden this guy popped out to say hello...


This is called a "Bryan Dollar". It was made by William Jennings Bryan and his democratic party in the 1896 presidential election against McKinley. Bryan wanted a bimetallism government (Gold and Silver) and this coin was produced to show exact scale how large a silver coin would have to be to equal the same amount of raw material as a gold dollar was worth in gold.

Imagine my astonishment when i popped this disk out of the hole to see a face looking back at me. I had no idea what i had stumbled across! Just another example of why we should be digging every signal cause i would have bet my life before digging this up that i had an aluminum can!

 

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[toadspaghetti]

WOW!! Makes a WLH look silly.

 

[digging440yrs]

COOL FIND !!!

 

[greaser]

Awesome dig and piece of history.

 

[mattfink]

Nice find was this tearout on western ave by selby?

 

[lockster99]

Wow, never even heard of one before. History....gotta love it!

 

[GavinoGambino]

Nope, sycamore.

 

[mattfink]

I saw that tearout and didnt think much of it....now i know better

 

[Gold Maven]

Wow, never saw one before, very cool.

Makes me wonder how you could drop, or lose one of those and not know it.

 

[GavinoGambino]

Exactly what i thought. Ive decided in my own imagination that it was thrown in anger after Bryan lost the election cause i dont know how you can misplace something that big haha