CHRISTMAS COIN CARDS ON THE NEWMAN PORTAL

Giving the gift of a gold coin is an old holiday tradition, and today a variety of gift cards that survive from the turn of the 20th century serve to remind us of this delightful practice. The Eclectic Numismatic Treasure collection, a world-class grouping of primarily American numismatic exonumia, contains several examples of these vintage holiday cards. As a coin by itself is somewhat plain, the addition of a card personalized the gift and made for a more artistic presentation. Some of these cards were additionally inscribed by the presenter, creating even more of a personal connection. One such example illustrates Santa bearing a 1915 U.S. $5 Indian gold piece, while another is strictly promotional on the part of the Lansing (MI) State Savings Bank, reminding the receiver where the coin might be deposited. Of course, who would mind a bit of a “commercial” upon the occasion of finding a $20 gold piece in their Christmas stocking? Newman Portal acknowledges the Eclectic Numismatic Treasure collector for sharing these images, and Lianna Spurrier for image editing.

Link to Eclectic Numismatic Treasure Christmas card collection on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollection/511173

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