Benjamin Gastfriend Publishes on Elongated Pieces of the California Expositions (1915-1916)

The 1914 opening of the Panama Canal served as the theme for two expositions: the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915, and the Panama-California (International) Exposition held in San Diego in 1915-1916. Elongated coins, first widely introduced as souvenirs at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, had become a popular feature of expositions, but the details surrounding their production have remained enigmatic. Here, using archival documents, Gastfriend demonstrates that the elongated coins produced at both 1915-1916 California expositions were the creation of the same man, Joseph Weis, who also operated other exposition concessions.

These documents also reveal the legal and financial arrangements between Weis and exposition organizers. Together, this work contributes new pieces of documentary evidence related to early elongated coin production. This research was sponsored by the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (EPNNES), which awarded a Newman Grant to Gastfriend in 2023.

Image: Example of CAL-PPIE-8, depicting the aviator Art Smith. Rolled on an 1892 Indian Head cent. From Stack's Bowers Galleries auction of the Raymond W. Dillard collection, September 2013, lot 4051. Image courtesy Stack's Bowers Galleries.

Link to Elongated Coins from the 1915-1916 California Expositions: Historical and Biographical Context on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/636786