Yearly Archive: 2015

In Brief – Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas”

When Charles Dickens published his career-changing work in December 1843, Christmas was not the major holiday we think of today. In fact at that time it ranked somewhere beneath Easter in importance on the Christian calendar. But a few things…
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Named Union Army Michigan 5th Corps Commemorative Gold Honor Cross

Another exceptional lot brought to Sunflower Auction during the summer of 2007 was this Union Army Civil War honor cross named to William A. Throop. For context see my remarks preceding my post about the Jeremiah Paul (American, ? –…
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The Congressional Philippine Insurrection Medal of 1899

At the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the United States was still a minor player on the world stage. The country’s growing industrial base made it a desirable ally, but the country had not been tested militarily…
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Trinity of Treason and Seditious Libel: The Thomas Spence ‘Conder Halfpenny’ Token

And on the heels of my last post about the anti-Thomas Paine halfpenny Conder token comes this one dedicated to Thomas Spence (1750-1814).  An English radical and advocate for the common ownership of land, Spence was one of the first…
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A Royal Pain[e] in the Neck – The Anti-Thomas Paine ‘Conder Halfpenny’ Token

‘In a sane world the idea and the law will dictate, and we shall have no more use for personal dictators and ruling gangs. The politicians will come to heel when they realize that the wind is setting steadily in…
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