"sprinkle dollars" -- a historical, important part of an early coin collection

[michael]

do you want a "sprinkle dollar"??

 

they are a really rare and important part of pre 1835 american coinage and extremely historical...................

 

in the wheeling west virginia newspaper --the register-- sometime in 1895

 

the famous but highly unknown to even advanced collectors or early american coinage "SPRINKLE DOLLARS"

 

continued here as per below..................

 

the person who put tem into circulation most likely had a private silver mine the whereabouts still unknown or lost to time and forgotten

 

it was somewhere located in the NE part of kentucky near the ohio or west virginia line the product which this individual used as money much as the well known higley coppers were used by higley in conn. well over 200 years ago

 

a man living in grayson carter county kentucky received in payment for a horse sold to an old farmer living near the lewis county line $46 among the monry were three of the infamous "SPRINKLE DOLLARS" of the early 1830's after many decades ofn these sprinkle dollars not being seen as such

 

and the producer of these sprinkle dollars was a stange individual named josiah sprinkle..... and helived in the most roughest primevil forest sections of lewis county during the late 1830's and one day he appeared in the county seat of washington in kentucky with a buckskin pouch of his silver dollars

 

the weight was more than the early federal mint dollars and also were of pure silver

he spent themfreely in the town and assured everyone that the purity and content was more than any of the federal issue coinage of silver dollars

 

and he admitted thsat he and not the usa mint had minted them

 

when he was asked where he got the silver well he was really coy

 

the inscriptions on the coins crudely outlined but no attempt was made to imitate any federal silver coin........

 

they were amatureishly outlined on the one side with what looked to be an owl the other side was a 6 pointed star and these coins were much larger than the seen federally minted silver dollar and thicker as well and as sprinkle came to town he spent them on many occasions eventually he did voluntee that he discovered a silver mine in the hillsand no one ever found this old farmers secret mine

 

finally the federal govt agents came to arrest sprinkle and brought him into court but the dollars when essayed contained pure silver without alloy and worth slightly more than a dollar each in silver and after quite a highly publisised and watched trial he was acquitted and prompted stood up and proceeded to pay his attorney in sprinkle dollars for his fee

 

after this sprinkle continued to make his dollars and until his death they were accepted at par for one dollar for the goods and services he purchased and no one ever knew where his silver mine was located

 

 

THIS important sprinkle dollar is truly an important necessary part of any early dollar collection in regards to the circulating dollar coinage severely lacking after the final draped bust silver dollar of 1803 and before the liberty seated dollars of 1840

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael]

and this is important as this is one of the first times the federal government took a person to court for minting and using coinage in the usa other than the federal coinage of the land in the usa. and again all this took place in the 1830's

 

more to come later tonight my coin pets

 

 

[MikeInFL]

What the heck are you talking about?

[bsshog40]

I know right??? He had to leave us hanging!

[jesbroken]

Not to ruin your story, michael-here is an addendum to it in regards to a Shire Post Story-

This coin was made by Shire Post Mint to emulate the famous "Sprinkle Dollar" coin that has become legendary in Kentucky since the middle 1800s. Interestingly, while many ear(n)estly tell the tale of the legendary coin, not one single example of the real article has ever been authenticated to exist! The tale is far too complex to reiterate here, but can be found by searching on "Sprinkle dollar" (or Jacob Sprinkle) In all seriousness it is considered likely that the "real" Sprinkle Dollar (if it ever truly existed) was in all likelihood a zinc counterfeit of a Mexican 8-reale piece. But still, it's fun to play around with it. Here is a coin that matches the legendary tale exactly. . . an owl on one side and a six pointed star on the other, and while it may not be the true article of legend, it IS truly one full ounce of .999 fine silver and is about the size of a silver dollar.

 

 

I sure would like to have one, maybe as much as a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel!

[michael]

great informatoin my friend\

 

i wonder waht a real onre made in the `1830's would be worth??

 

with original substancing documentation

 

 

 

 

[jesbroken]

I would bet that the fed has them stored in some little cubbyhole somewhere-no way that none survived at all. Tell the whole story Michael-I didn't mean to ruin it for anyone. It is quite interesting and I'm to suppose true. It would be unbelieveable what an Uncirculated specimen would bring-collectors out of the woodwork for one. Please do tell the whole story.

[michael]

Not to ruin your story, michael-here is an addendum to it in regards to a Shire Post Story-

This coin was made by Shire Post Mint to emulate the famous "Sprinkle Dollar" coin that has become legendary in Kentucky since the middle 1800s. Interestingly, while many ear(n)estly tell the tale of the legendary coin, not one single example of the real article has ever been authenticated to exist! The tale is far too complex to reiterate here, but can be found by searching on "Sprinkle dollar" (or Jacob Sprinkle) In all seriousness it is considered likely that the "real" Sprinkle Dollar (if it ever truly existed) was in all likelihood a zinc counterfeit of a Mexican 8-reale piece. But still, it's fun to play around with it. Here is a coin that matches the legendary tale exactly. . . an owl on one side and a six pointed star on the other, and while it may not be the true article of legend, it IS truly one full ounce of .999 fine silver and is about the size of a silver dollar.

 

 

I sure would like to have one, maybe as much as a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel!

 

great superb information thanks for sharng it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

there has to be more informatuion but your post is off to a great start

 

i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

oh no ruin at all.............. it is for imformation on here i love new information and also opinions

 

 

 

sounds good to me

 

 

[MikeInFL]

Michael (and Jes!), Thanks for the education...Mike

[Conder101]

I firmly believe that the Sprinkle dollar story is a numismatic myth.

 

You can't find pictures of them. There are no contemporary accounts. The only printed reference anyone ever gives is from a single newspaper accounting some 50+ years after the event, and the specific issue is not mentioned so it can not be confirmed (another version of the story has it appearing in the New York Times.). A court case is mentioned but not the title, attorneys, judge, or even which court the case was filed or heard in is listed. Sprinkles first name varies from one version of the story to another, either Jacob or Josiah. Supposedly he used his dollars over a 20 year period or so, but none exist today. The 1895 article apparently recognizes the three coins that it claims turned up as being rare, but they didn't survive.

 

Sorry unless something more compelling turns up, I'd say they are a fiction.

[bsshog40]

Here's another story!

 

 

Just like the majority of American families, most members of the

Sprinkle family have been good, solid, every-day people. Some

Sprinkles were doctors, lawyers, educators, merchants or large

landowners, but most were farmers and laborers or perhaps

blacksmiths, millers or shopkeepers. Some were pioneers and the

first to settle in a new territory, and we even know of others who

were captured or killed by Indians. Many bravely served in the

military, and Sprinkles fought for both sides during the Civil War.

But we also have some Sprinkles who were not exactly law-abiding

citizens, and some have even spent time in prison. One of the more

interesting of the these somewhat shady characters is the infamous

counterfeiter, Jacob Sprinkle, whom we on the Sprinkle List have

affectionately nicknamed The Silver Dollar Man ("SDM").

 

Articles have been published over the years about Jacob and his

counterfeit coins, including an 1895 article in the "New York Times"

. More recently, Dr. William Talley has found Jacob an interesting

subject and has written several informative and well-researched

pieces. Although some articles erroneously refer to the SDM as

Josiah rather than Jacob, Dr. Talley assures us that the court records

he examined show that the SDM's name was indeed Jacob Sprinkle.

 

What did Jacob do?

Jacob supposedly discovered a silver mine in a remote area in or near

Lewis Co., KY. He used the silver to make his own coins, which were

accepted as currency throughout the community. The coins themselves are

said to have been slightly larger than a silver dollar and had

an owl on one side and a six-pointed star on the other side.

 

Naturally, the authorities weren't too pleased with Jacob's use of

his homemade coins, and in June 1841, he was charged with "knowingly"

and "willfully" counterfeiting silver coin. A trial took place in Clarksville,

Lewis Co., KY; but in the end, Jacob was found not guilty. What did

the SDM do when the verdict was read? It's said that he turned to

his attorney and paid him with fifty of those silver coins.

 

A little more here too:

This coin was made by Shire Post Mint to emulate the famous "Sprinkle Dollar" coin that has become legendary in Kentucky since the middle 1800s. Interestingly, while many earestly tell the tale of the legendary coin, not one single example of the real article has ever been authenticated to exist! The tale is far too complex to reiterate here, but can be found by searching on "Sprinkle dollar" (or Jacob Sprinkle) In all seriousness it is considered likely that the "real" Sprinkle Dollar (if it ever truly existed) was in all likelihood a zinc counterfeit of a Mexican 8-reale piece.

[michael]

superlative information

 

thnaks bsshog (thumbs u

 

glad you enjoyed reading it mikeinfl!! i know you are a history buff

 

i got a contemporary sprinkle to offer you for a rather large adoption fee