Release: NOVEMBER 11, 2022
Thanksgiving is no more. Other than a parade in New York, the holiday has pretty much faded in the rearview mirror. OK, I exaggerate. But, in truth, the holiday this November 24th is a mere vestige of what it once was. It’s evident in stores. As soon as the pumpkins are gone, Christmas trees and decorations go up....
Gone too are the grade schools plays and pageants celebrating the feast. The song, “Over the River And Through The Woods,” now associated with Christmas, was written just for “turkey day.” Hence the original lyric, “Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!”
Thanksgiving may also have succumbed to the wave of politically-correct assumptions about the Pilgrims and the natives they encountered. It’s true that thousands of the indigenous peoples died after the Pilgrims arrived. However, well over 90 percent of the Wampanoag Indians succumbed due to their lack of immunity to the measles and other diseases the Pilgrims brought – not their guns.
Collectors are particularly aware of Thanksgiving due to the multiple releases by the USPS and US Mint. Just over a century ago, in 1920, the Postal Service helped celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s landing with one-, two- and five-cent commemorative stamps. Those featured the ship Mayflower; the landing of the Pilgrims; and the signing of the Mayflower Compact. Today, those three Pilgrim Tercentenary stamps are worth anywhere from $100 to $500 in top condition.
The same is true for Pilgrim commemorative silver half dollars minted in 1920 and 1921. On the front, the vintage coin features a conceptual portrait of puritan William Bradford in typical Pilgrim clothing with a Bible under his arm. The reverse shows the ship Mayflower. Values for the silver halves now can soar to over $1,500 in the higher grades.
The actual fate of the famous ship has been a question for multiple centuries. The ship left Southampton, England for America in July of 1620 along with another ship, the Speedwell. On the voyage, they had to twice turn back because of leaks on the Speedwell.
Some speculated that after it sailed back to England the Mayflower was dismantled for its valuable lumber becoming a barn on private property. No one knows for sure. As for those who traveled on her to the “new world,” according to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, it’s speculated up to 10 million living descendants are in the United States and possibly 35 million worldwide.
The Pilgrims and their famous ship have continued to be showcased and remembered on additional collectibles including multiple bank notes from the 1860s and 1870s. Those show classic images of Pilgrims praying and giving thanks upon their arrival.
A few years ago, a young man was searching through an old box in a basement with mementos from his grandparents. In it, he found an envelope mailed to his grandmother. The sender was her son, a cadet attending military academy in Indiana in 1917.
At a local bank, that cadet received five crisp, large-size dollar bills with a portrait of George Washington beside an ornate image of Pilgrims landing near Plymouth Rock. Thinking they were especially attractive the cadet folded the banknotes in thirds, placed them in an envelope and sent them to his mother, asking her to save them for him.
A century later, when found in the box, that “time capsule” envelope had with the bills and letter still inside. Today, each of those dollar bills is worth upwards of $150. It’s too bad the cadet folded the bills to fit the envelope. If he had not, in Gem, Crisp Uncirculated condition without folds or creases those bills are today worth $1,000 to $2,000.
That’s eclipsed by a $10,000 bill released just a year later in 1918. On the reverse is a magnificent engraving of the Pilgrims in prayer as they embark on their voyage to America. Of course, $10,000 in 1918 was a lot – almost $200,000 in today’s dollars.
In truth, chances of running across one of those is slim. Folded, creased or otherwise, only five specimens of that bill are thought to exist. Most price guides don’t even list a value for one. However, experts estimate that if one were to turn up it would now be worth in the neighborhood of one million dollars. On any holiday and in any neighborhood, that’s a lot to be thankful for.
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