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American Institute N.Y. - Otis Gold Medallion

9/24/2014

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The reverse of the coin is engraved with the following:

'Awarded to the widow of Wm. S. Otis for a steam excavator 1841'

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The American Institute of the City of New York, or, The American Institute of the City of New York for the Encouragement of Science and Invention was a civic organization that existed from ca. 1838 - ca. 1930.

The Institute was an association of inventors. It organized exhibitions, lecture series and radio broadcasts to inform the public about new technologies, and served as a locus for inventors’ professional activities.

At one time "Guldens Mustard" had a copy of The American Gold Medal Award on the jar label. Medals were issued in gold, silver and bronze for more than 150 years.

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The Otis shovel was the world’s first mechanized steam shovel and excavator. Invented by William S. Otis in 1835, it was literally one of the most groundbreaking pieces of equipment to appear in the construction and mining industries. 

The invention came about when Otis, employed by the firm Carmichael & Fairbanks, was working on a contracting position involved in building the American railroad. Working with strict time constraints, the firm would receive bonuses if it could finish the work before assigned deadlines. The excavation process and poor digging tools were delaying the project’s completion. This gave Otis the incentive to seek out a solution, as the current practices used for digging were very arduous and time-consuming. The traditional wagon-mounted graders and horse-drawn dragpans were not efficient enough.

The invention of steam engines became vital to the production of the Otis shovel. Otis figured that it might be possible to produce a machine using steam technology that could be applied to digging earth. With the help of a friend, Charles H. French, he built the first steam shovel in 1835 in Canton, Massachusetts.

He applied for a patent on June 15, 1836. The first patent described his invention as a “crane excavator for excavating and removing earth,” but was destroyed by a fire at the U.S. Patent Office. The second application was filed on October 27, 1838, and it was granted on February 24, 1839 under Patent No. 1089.

It could slew, crowd, and hoist. The wheels were made of cast iron, which meant that mobility was limited, but mounted on rail tracks, it was perfect for the project. It was mounted on a rail for the purpose of rail-building.

First known as the Philadelphia shovel, Otis put it to work on the American Midwest railroad project in Massachusetts.

He patented the shovel in 1839 and it became the first mechanized steam excavator of its kind, using a mechanized boom and a single bucket to remove dry earth.

Otis did not live to see the how much his invention would contribute to society. He died of typhus fever on November 13, 1839, just nine months after his patent was granted.

Otis Steam Shovel History

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His invention did not go to waste, however. After his death, his wife Elizabeth married a good friend of Otis’, Oliver S. Chapman, in 1844. The union led to Elizabeth extending the patent to the late 1870s. Although other manufacturers couldn't use the invention, Chapman could, and did.

In fact, Chapman made some changes and patented them under No. 63857 in 1867. The patent document described the changes as "certain improvements to the Otis shovel.” One of the improvements involved using a chain crowd mechanism to supply force for the bucket. Chapman altered the name and called it the Otis-Chapman steam shovel.

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1909S VBD Lincoln Cent

9/10/2014

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This is the most famous of all Lincoln wheat pennies.  Designed by Victor David Brenner, the first 484 thousand minted at the San Francisco mint carried his initials on the lower rim of the reverse.  A coin so famous that even non coin collectors seem to know about it. 
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Wheat pennies were made from 1909 thru 1958.  The Lincoln Memorial reverse started production in 1959. 
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George Keppler Pop Out Coins

8/19/2014

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On August 26, 1903 George Keppler applied to have his newly invented stamping die patented. His method for stamping high relief images into flat metal was used to produce what are commonly referred to as pop-out coins. 

Also known as repoussé coins, the image of a face is stamped into the reverse of the coin making the obverse three-dimensional.






Patent Application

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"Be it known that I, GEORGE KEPPLER, a subject of the German Emperor, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Die, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an apparatus for stamping articles from fiat metal stock. It is especially intended for stamping in high relief images and the like on metal plates or disks for jewelry or other purposes.

The invention comprises a die proper shaped according to the image which is to be produced and having at each side a guide, so as to hold a slide which fits over the metal plate constituting the work and holds the edges thereof, the slide having an opening therein, through which the plunger is movable. When the device is used for stamping up images into high relief, as metal disks, a slight cavity is formed around the edges of the die proper, this cavity being of a thickness about equal to that of the disk, and the disk is laid into this cavity face downward over the sunken portion of the die proper. The slide is then placed in position with its opening directly over the center of the disk, this slide serving the twofold purpose of holding the disk and protecting the edges thereof during the stamping operation, which operation is confined to the center of the disk, and also of centering the plunger with respect to the die. When the slide and disk constituting the work have been placed in position, the plunger should be brought down through the opening in the slide, and proper pressure being applied the disk will be stamped according to the form of the die."

A PDF file of the original patent application is available for download:
us775826.pdf
File Size: 261 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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