INDECISION 2016: A FLIPPING COIN FROM LONG-STANTON

Having trouble deciding if you will vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate for President Nov. 8? You could flip a coin. Or to be task specific, why not flip the “Indecision 2016” campaign medal recently issued by the Long-Stanton Manufacturing Company in West Chester, Ohio.

The Long-Stanton “coin,” as the company calls it, shows a bust of Republican candidate Donald Trump facing right on one side, with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton facing left on the other. For those people considering voting for a third-party candidate, you can always hope the coin lands on its side.

According to a statement released by the firm, “To us at Long-Stanton, the real similarity of the presidential race of 1860 [between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln] and 2016 lies not in the issues but in the name of our company’s founder, John Stanton.

“Records show that before Mr. Stanton started Long-Stanton Manufacturing in 1862, he owned a company in Cincinnati that provided the illustrations, made the stamping die and minted many of the campaign coins of the 1860 presidential candidates..."

The Indecision 2016 medal is available on Amazon.com for $9.95 each. There were about 1,000 medals initially made, with a possibility of more being produced later.

Long-Stanton President Marvin Cunningham was quoted in the July 20 Cincinnati Business Courier as saying, “We make stuff for other businesses, not consumer products. It is one of the more contentious elections, and we wanted to take a nonpartisan approach. We really wanted to make a GoPro video showing the coin land on the edge, but I cannot figure out how to do it.”

The Long-Stanton “Indecision 2016” piece follows a long tradition of exonumia political statements and promotions. No matter who wins the upcoming election, its legacy is being recorded numismatically for posterity.

To read the complete article, see:
Flipping coin for Trump or Clinton (www.numismaticnews.net/article/flipping-coin-for-trump-or-clinton)

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web