MAY 2022 PAN SHOW CIVIL WAR MONEY SHOWCASE

The Inaugural Civil War Money & Memorabilia Showcase event will be hosted at the PAN Coin Show in Monroeville, Pennsylvania from May 19th through 21st. The CW Showcase will feature exhibits, displays and talks -- each featuring collectible items from the era – including coins, paper currency, scrip, tokens, and more.

 

A special theme will involve the unexpected connection between the tragic sinking of the doomed SS Central America and the life of General William T. Sherman before the Civil War broke out. In the mid-1850s, Sherman was in San Francisco – a rising star in banking during the Gold Rush era, said Rick Lank, author and organizer. His banking concern, Lucas & Co., dealt with the prominent assayers who provided banks and the federal government with gold ingots. Gold was shipped east via Panama on paddle-wheelers such as the SS Central America.

Among the speakers being lined up for the Showcase, a featured guest will be Bob Evans – who has been the chief researcher and curator for the SS Central America and its enormous Garden of Gold that was found 8,000 feet under the Atlantic in the late 1980s – the treasure included over 2 tons of gold ingots and San Francisco minted gold coins that were lost at sea in 1857. This loss – estimated at $50 million in today's dollars -- had a tremendous impact on the nation's economy, as it was intended to be a special reserve to stabilize an already rocky banking community. That maritime disaster set off the Panic of ‘57 and indirectly caused the collapse of several banks – causing Uncle Billy the Banker to lose his second banking job and sank his career in finance. Subsequent events then catapulted Sherman to New Orleans, just in time for Louisiana to secede and jettison Uncle Billy Sherman into the War... and the history books.

According to Rebecca Rush (pictured with Abe Lincoln interpreter Dennis Boggs at the October 2021 PAN show) there will be talks about The Treasury Girls of 1862 and roles played by hometown women who raised massive amounts of money through Sanitary Fairs. President Abe Lincoln played many roles in financing the Civil War, including authorizing the printing of our first Greenbacks and three new mints at the height of the War. We will also follow the money in the saga about the Confederate Treasure Train as it trundled from Richmond, Virginia to Georgia in April and May of 1865– dispensing gold, silver, CSA paper money, and bonds along its route. (General Joe Johnston, who surrendered to General Sherman, in North Carolina, converted many silver pesos into CSA mementoes as part of his last payroll.)

An invitation to participate in the Showcase has been extended to the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA.

The organizers represent a 501-c-3 non-profit offering programs about Money Matters of the Civil War called No Small Change. Contributions to the educational mission of the non-profit are welcome. Sponsors for the CW Showcase event are also being sought and sponsors will be recognized on promotional materials.

More details about the activities and participants will be forthcoming.

Contact No Small Change at cwshowcase@no-small-change.org

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