Vermont Farm Machine Co. medallion

[dfxdude]

Boy did I find a strange thing today. Not so much that it is strange, but where it apparently originated from and how it got to an elementary school grounds in Appleton, Minnesota
It is about the size of a half dollar. It VDI's at a solid 83 on my DFX. I had to soak it in reconstituted lemon juice for awhile to make out the lettering on both sides and there is a lot.
Side 1: Says.... GOLD MEDAL U.S. SEPARATOR = top line
Exposition Universelle Internationale = second line on top
Line at bottom says: VT. Farm MCH. CO. Bellows Falls, VT
Picture of a "body" sitting on a "winged" person in flight. At the base of the picture is: VTMCO (for Vermont Machine Company) The year 1900 is to the right of the picture
Side 2: Says.... GOLD MEDAL HIGHEST AWARD = top line
Pan-American Exposition 1901 = second line
Line at bottom says: US CREAM SEPARATOR
There is a picture of a bull and bullfighter in the center.
I did some google searching and found the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 was at Buffalo, NY and the Vermont Machine Company was an exhibitor at that event.
Having a farm background, I am familiar with cream separators........... DeLaval was the separator of choice for most dairy farmers in the Midwest 45 years ago. This medallion has a hole in the top and the round thingy to put a chain thru is still attached. There appears to be some goldish colored gilding on the edge of the medallion which is visible on one side of the coin. It was quite greenish when I took it out of the ground, like the discoloration you see on bronze statues. After the lemon juice bath, I could at least make out the words under a high intensity magnifier.
How in the heck did it get where it was? Sure, Appleton is a rural area and cows have been milked there for years. Was this medallion given out at the Exposition? Appleton is 1,067 miles from Buffalo, NY and 1,437 from Bellows Falls, NY.
Oh, and I know the Vermont Machine company was in business in 1890, but I couldn't find what years(start to finish) they were in business. Maybe they still are. Maybe you medallion gurus can enlighten me.

 

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[SparklyStuff]

Maybe check with the Rockingham museum and see if they still have theirs...
It's probably a reproduction that was used as a sales tool.

It's really cool!!!

http://www.exocoin.com/product1108.html


http://panam1901.bfn.org/farm_implements_stadium/farm_implements_about.htm

In the Dairy Building.

The Vermont Farm Machine Company, Bellows Falls, Vt., show a complete line United States cream separators, dog powers, electric motors, improved milk testers and dairy supplies. G. W. Winton is in charge.


http://www.historyharvest.org/story.php?recid=15

The U.S. Cream Separator proved to be so popular; it was used on virtually every farm in the country, and exported worldwide. This separator became the gold-standard by which all other separators were judged, and because of this it won numerous prizes at the Paris International Exposition in 1900, the Pan-American International Exposition in 1901 and the St. Louis World?s Fair in 1904. Many of these medals along with some of these machines are on display in the Rockingham Free Public Library?s Museum in Bellows Falls, Vt.

 

[JakePhelps]

Great Find!

 

[dfxdude]

Sparkly, thanks for the URL. After a 1 nights soaking in olive oil, the lettering is showing more of the gold tinged look of your link. Hopefully a few days in olive oil will clean it up real nice.

 

[toadspaghetti]

I found one of these today, 6-18-15, in Sturgeon Lake, MN

 

[Tony in SC]

The United States Cream Separator sold by The Vermont Farm Machine Co Was offered from 1904 to 1930. Not much is known about the Company. Tony