What can I say, I had a good day!

[Don]

Becky may have beat me yesterday but today was a different story.  The first house I knocked at is one that we drive by every time we got out to our property and I have been trying to find the land owner home to ask permission for almost 2 years now.  Well he was finally home and he gave me permission.  I spent about 45 minutes at this house that was built around 1920 and for all my effort I got a pouch full of junk and about 10 hot wheel cars.  I left the cars with the owner (my collection of these is already huge).  The next house I went to is one that Becky and I found yesterday but we didn't have time to detect it so I came back to it today.  The house was a nice 2 story farm house near town that was 105 years old.  The guy that answered the door was very friendly and said sure go ahead.  He was late 50's or early 60's so he was sane enough to know what I was asking and didn't have a problem.  I wasn't 5 minutes into my hunt when this CRAZY lady pulls up in her mini-van, almost into the grass where I am detecting and starts yelling at me "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIGGING IN MY YARD?"  I explained that her husband had given me permission, I wasn't making a mess and was filling my holes.  She asked me what I had just recovered and I showed her the freshly dug Memorial Cent.  She still said she didn't want me digging in her yard so I packed up, went up to the door and explained to the guy that his wife would rather I not so I told him about the 2 memorial cents, he chuckled and off I went.  I guess the Metal Detecting Gods felt bad for me because the next yard I stopped at was well worth the trouble of the first 2 places.  I never find Buffalo Nickels and today I found 2, I got my silver, a bunch of wheaties.  One of the last coins I dug I would have sworn it was a Half dollar (by my detectors display).  When it came out of the ground I said Shoot!  It was all dark in color so I was sure it was a Clad Half.  I wiped it off a little on the back as clear as day it said ONE CENT.  I started thinking to my self they stopped making Large Cents in 1856 so it had to be older than that, I couldn't believe it.  I didn't look at it too closely until I pulled away from the house and got about 2 blocks down the road.  I washed it off and could see the date 1827.  I have no clue what this coin was doing in this yard but who cares, I will take it.  The town was founded in 1833 and the house I was at was near the center of the town so it could have been lost in that period of time or some kid found in his parents or grandparents collection and then lost it.  All in all I had a great day detecting.

[Don]

I didn't notice it before but it looks like something is stamped around the head of the Large Cent.

[sovuser]

That is an awesome find Don!! It sure does have something stamped,maybe someones name?

[Roger]

Great find Don !

[Don]

Here is a better scan of the Large Cent.  It is stamped, E.B. THOMAS, MO H 22 I THINK

[Hawkeye Jim]

Don - what a GREAT find..................I'd give my two front teeth to find a large cent like that................interesting stamping also, will make quite a story if you could possibly find out more info!

WTG --- sincerely, STILL WAITING FOR HIS OWN LARGEY JIM.  :D :D :D

[Becky]

Has anyone ever seen a coin stamped like this?  Why would you stamp it with your name?

[Chris J]

I am just taking a wild guess here, but it could be a homemade Picker's Check.  From the 1830's - 1940's farmers would pay their crop pickers with tokens worth $X amount per quart/pint/bushel, etc.  (I have one for 1 Quart posted below)  That was good in town at the General Store for the pickers to buy provisions and food.  This one may be stamped with the farmer's name and location and my guess was worth One Cent in buying power way back when One Cent was worth something.  No matter what......GREAT find!!!

[Johnny Ringo]

Looks like it all worked out in the end!!! 1833??...Sounds like westport! Hopefully you can get a positive on that stamped LC. Glad you got the bragging rights back..

[Don]

Looks like it all worked out in the end!!! 1833??...Sounds like westport! Hopefully you can get a positive on that stamped LC. Glad you got the bragging rights back..

I was in Tuscumbia, MO on Saturday and Eldon, MO on Sunday.  I have looked every where I could think of online and can't find any reference to E.B. Thomas anywhere.  I am still pretty happy with it even if I don't figure out its history.

[Roger]

I am going to guess from looking at other stamped coins you are going to figure out the persons initals are E.B. and that he was from (Saint) Thomas, MO.  I think it is in Cole or Osage county.

Just my guess.

[Don]

I am going to guess from looking at other stamped coins you are going to figure out the persons initals are E.B. and that he was from (Saint) Thomas, MO.  I think it is in Cole or Osage county.

Just my guess.

Why would they stamp the coin?  any Ideas?

[Roger]

Probably the same reason some people mark dollar bills, just to see if they come back or notoriety.

[Hugh]

Don, you have returned with a vengeance!!!  Congrats on the finds.    Hugh

[OkieDigger]

Very awesome Don! I'm still waiting to find a LC. That's a nice old date too.

[rebelLT]

Ya know.  I bet if you did some research you would find that there was an "E.B. THOMAS" in company H of the 22nd MO volunteer infantry during the civil war  ;).  BTW that LC is a great find with or without the counterstamp.   

[Don]

Ya know.  I bet if you did some research you would find that there was an "E.B. THOMAS" in company H of the 22nd MO volunteer infantry during the civil war  ;).  BTW that LC is a great find with or without the counterstamp.   

Rebel you might be onto something.  I have cleaned it a little more and you can see the punched letters better.  I read it as E.B. Thomas, M C H . 22

Let me know what you think.

[Roger]

I am going to have to change my statement after seeing your new photo.  E.B. Thomas looks to be the name with what looks like a comma.
Hope you get it figured out.  Have you checked The War of the Rebellion list of names ?

[Bob K]

 Nice one Don It's a keeper.

[Don]

is it possible that MCH 22 could be the abbreviation for March 22?  I have found it written this way in old obituaries.

[Johnny Ringo]

I am going to have to change my statement after seeing your new photo.  E.B. Thomas looks to be the name with what looks like a comma.
Hope you get it figured out.  Have you checked The War of the Rebellion list of names ?

I found E.A, E.C, and E.D Thomas listed in the War of the Rebellion but no E.B.

[Roger]

Don, you may want to check this file for E.B. or E.    While checking you might remember, maybe E.B. was a female.

http://www.familysearch.org/ENG/search/frameset_search.asp

[Don]

Thanks for the info Roger.  I don't think I have enough information to ever figure this out, there are too many unknowns.

[Don]

Don't know if this is the same person or not but it looks promissing.

 A history of northwest Missouri‎ - Page 845
edited by Walter Williams - Biography & Autobiography - 1915
 

E. B. Thomas was born in Virginia, of an old Southern family. His father, Thomas Thomas, a native of Maryland, was a son of John Thomas, who was of English and Welsh ancestry. Thomas Thomas married Julia Creamer, also a native of Virginia. The family came west and located in Lafayette County, Missouri, about 1856, and moved up to Clinton County in 1873. Thomas Thomas died on the farm of his son, E. B., at the age of eighty-five. He was a tailor by trade and followed that occupation for thirty years. His wife passed away at the age of eighty. Both possessed the old-fashioned hospitality so characteristic of Vir- giniariS, and their home was open to friends and strangers, who always found a welcome and good cheer there. Both parents were members of the Methodist church. Their children were: Charles, a resident of Turney; John, who lives in Oklahoma; and E. B.

E. B. Thomas grew up on a farm, had a substantial education, and learned the carpenter's trade, an occupation which he followed for a number of years until turning his attention to farming and stock raising. At the age of twenty-five he founded a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Nannie V. Hughes, a member of one of the noted families of Missouri. Their family came from Kentucky to Clay County, Missouri, in the very early days. Her father, Samuel Hughes, was killed while in General Price's army in 1861. A brother of Capt. Samuel Hughes was Col. John T. Hughes, who made a distinguished record during the Mexican war and served on the staff of General Doniphan, on its expedition into the Southwest, concluding with the capture of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Mr. Thomas has done much to improve his 240 acres of land, has an excellent farm residence and barns, and each succeeding year sees him better placed financially and also in the esteem of his community. He is a democrat in politics; he and his wife are Baptists, and they have a large circle of friends in this county.

[Becky]

Don,

I saw the same info when I was searchiing the other night, but your coin is a lot earlier then this guy moved west.  That is why I discounted it as not a probability.

Becky

[Don]

no telling when he stamped it, he could have stamped it in the 1880's and then lost it.  the coin shows a lot of wear so it could have been in circulation a long time before it was stamped and lost.

[Mick]

What a great find Don.  To me , with that large cent being personalized makes it worth ten fold !! That is really neat.

[Don]

What a great find Don.  To me , with that large cent being personalized makes it worth ten fold !! That is really neat.

10 Fold?  Does that mean it's worth about 10 cents?   LOL only kidding

[Don]

OH MY GOSH!  I THINK I FOUND IT!

Hon. Elihu B. Thomas, the father of Augustus Thomas, the well known playwright, died in St. Louis, April 25, 1910. He was born in New York, March 22, 1827, and has lived in St. Louis since 1845. He was a captain in the Mexican War, and nt the establishment of the St. Louis Dispatch was its pubJisher. He was a member of the Missouri Legislature, of the House of the Twenty-second General Assembly in 1862.

[Becky]

that is cool.

Can you post a link of where you found it?

[Don]

that is cool.

Can you post a link of where you found it?

http://books.google.com/books?id=j_4TAAAAYAAJ&dq=Elihu%20b.%20thomas%20missouri&pg=PA332&output=text

Missouri Historical Review page 331-335

I was ancestry.com searching for anything and everything related to e.b. thomas and came across the first name of Elihu (no wonder he went by E.B.)  With the first name I type it into the search window of books.google.com and came up with this.

Here is his picture

[Roger]

Excellent research Don !!!  What a great and historical find.

[Hawkeye Jim]

Don - that would make an excellent story for W&E magazine - better get a typing...............Jim.

[Bob K]

   I knew if any body could fine out, It would be you. You are great. Very   
reseach.

[Don]

Becky was able to find a very interesting book by Augustus Thomas (Elihu's Son).  I have uploaded it to my website for you to download and read http://www.dvickers.com/The_print_of_my_remembrance.pdf  .

The Plot thickens, read page 13!  Elihu was friends with John Wilkes Booth

Don

[Don]

One more post on this and then I will leave it alone.  I don't know if anyone else noticed or not E.B. Thomas Died April 25, 1910.  I found this on April 26, 2009.  1 day past the 99th anniversary of his death.  What a coincidence.. 

[julesjunk]

Wonderful find Don!
I agree with Hawkeye. It's definitely magazine worthy.
Old coinage is fun to find, but when you find something "personalized", and especially if you can successfully research it........ that's what the hobby is really all about.
Congrats,
Jules

[Don]

I wrote and submitted the story to W&ET but still haven't heard if they are going to use it or not.  If I don't hear from them by time I do the next newsletter it may end up in there or on here somewhere.


To give an update on finding a living family member:  Becky and I have found a partial family tree for E.B. Thomas but still have not found any living relatives.  I have actually registered on Ancestry.com in hopes of contacting the person that created the family tree we found but still haven't heard back from them yet.  I plan on setting up a small display at this months meeting showing what research we have currently done and showing the Thomas Family tree.

Hope to see you Sunday and the meeting.

[Don]

I received the long awaited Obituary today of the man whom I believe owned this coin and inscribed his name and birthdate on it.  The copy was in poor condition so instead of scanning it in and posting the image I typed it up word for word and pasted it below for you to read.  

Becky and I are still trying to track down a living descendent so we can present the coin to them but so far are not having much luck.

Here is the text from the Obituary:

Copied from the 25 April 1910 St. Louis Post – Dispatch, page 4

DR. E.B. THOMAS, FATHER OF THE PLAYWRIGHT, DEAD

   Dr. Elihu B. Thomas, aged 83 years, father of Augustus Thomas, the noted playwright, whose latest play, “The Harvest Moon,” is the current attraction at the Olympic Theater, died at 8:50 a.m. Monday at his residence, 3673 Finney Avenue.

   Dr. Thomas – veteran of two wars, legislator, orator and editor – was closely connected with the stage in earlier years, and it was largely through environments that his son developed into one of the most successful and famous of modern playwrights.

   During the Civil War Dr. Thomas was manager of the St. Charles Theater in New Orleans, then owned by Ben De Bar.

   De Bar was an old – time actor and manager, and after the war he established in St. Louis the Ben de Bar Theater, on Olive street, between Third and Fourth streets.

De Bar Old Actor
   Later he established a theater on the site of the present Grand Opera House on Market street, where the drama flourished until De Bar’s death in 1877.

   Dr. Thomas returned to St. Louis in 1865.  He and De Bar were fast friends.

   “Gus” Thomas was then 7 years old and so much of the stage atmosphere did he absorb that he begun his career as a playwriter when he was 14 years old.

   Thomas was in St. Louis recently to visit his father, for whom he always expressed great admiration and affection.  His father, he says, was a close student of Shakespeare and  an orator of considerable ability in his younger days.

Was in Mexican War.
   Dr. Thomas was born in New York City March 22, 1827.  He learned the printer’s trade in Chicago and came to St. Louis in 1845.  The next year at the outbreak of the Mexican War, he joined the St. Louis Light Artillery, and was with the celebrated Col. Doniphan on his march to the Gulf of Mexico.  After the war he went to New York, but returned to St. Louis.  In 1853 he married Miss Imogene Garretson.  Of six children, three sons and two daughters survive

   Dr. Thomas raised a company in St. Louis and participated in the Civil War on the Union Side.  After his return from New Orleans he was elected twice to the State Legislature as a radical Republican.  For two years in the early ‘70s he was publisher of the St. Louis Dispatch..

   In 1882 he became a homeopathic physician.  His death was due to dropsy and old age.  The body will be cremated.

[Don]

I am finally getting responses to the many emails I have sent off concerning this coin:

Your countermarked coin is a unique, 'personal' piece, made with individual letter stamps (as opposed to a single punch for all the letters).  There are thousands of unique pieces, which we do not consider to be advertising pieces.  We list these in the Brunk book, see my book list.  With such a common last name, it is always difficult to assign a specific person to it, but with the date, it seems highly likely!



Happy Collecting!

Rich Hartzog
AAA Historical Americana - World Exonumia
POB 4143 Rockford IL 61110 (815)226-0771
http://www.exonumia.com hartzog@exonumia.com

[Don]

Thanks for everyones interest!

[Don]

I just got an email from someone on Treasurenet who has been helping me track down a living relative.  She has made contact with Elihu's Great, Great, Granddaughter.  As soon as I get specifics I will let you know.

[Don]

I just got off the phone with Elihu's Great, Great Granddaughter Karen.  Karen lives in Oklahoma and can't believe our story.  She is very excited and is currently on our message board reading the whole story.  Because of the holiday weekend we will not be able to travel to Oklahoma to return the coin until next weekend. 

I cleaned the coin for the meeting on Sunday but haven't posted a new picture yet so here it is.

[Don]

This was also posted on Treasurenet and I wanted to give AnneMarie credit for helping me locate Karen so here is a link to the post on treasurenet  http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,244564.0.html

[Holly]

Awesome!  Thanks for the update. 

[comfortablynumb]

What a cool outcome.  Thanks for sharing it!!!

[Don]

Just to let everyone who doesn't already know:

My wife Becky and I will be leaving next Saturday (May 30th) around 5am to present the coin back to E.B. Thomas' descendents.  The presentation is going to take place at The Great Southwest Historical Museum in Ardmore, OK around 5pm.  We will take lots of pictures and also get any newspaper articles that make it to print.  3 different newspapers have been invited.

[Don]

Becky and I have prepared the webpage listed below for anyone that wants a condense version of the story.  We actually made business cards with the link on it to passout to anyone at the presentation that wants them.  I am sure other family members across the country are going to want to see the story and pictures so that is why I created this.  I will add the video of the presentation next week.

here is the link to the page:  http://www.dvickers.com/thomas

[Don]

I may have one less coin in my collection but in return we have a bunch of new friends.

[rustypoptab]

This is an amazing story!

[birdlady]

They say if its too good to be true, it is.  But I found out that sometimes its not.  When Don notified me about finding my ancestors coin, I thought at first it was just too amazing to be true.  Then I read the story through this website.  And many more of my family members have checked it out too.  Don said that some of you probably feel as if you know me by now.  Well, reading and re-reading the search, I feel as if I know all of you too.  Besides that, this is a very interesting site!
I can't thank Don and all of you that helped, enough!  I have been reseaching E.B. Thomas for several years, but never could I have imagined that there was a coin just waiting to be discovered.  And discovered by a man willing to spend his time and money to see that it got back home to its family.  Don and Becky, you're the greatest.  Karen

[Don]

Karen, welcome to our message board I hope you stop by often.  I may have been the one who found this coin and returned it but if it weren't for Becky pushing me to dig a little deeper and continue with the research even when it appeared to dead end this never would have happend.

[John Hutchison]

Amazing Story Thats What this is all about i love to hear of great research and completion of the story.
You and Becky should be very proud to have completed a long valuable history.
John Hutchison

[Becky]

This was so much fun to research and even better to see the faces of the family as they got to hold the coin for the first time.  It has been a month long quest that I will always remember.

Becky

[Hugh]

Don/Becky  Thanks for all you did making this a story with a fantastic ending.    Hugh

[julesjunk]

Don, you look rather Dapper in a Tie. Or should I say Mr. Vickers?  :D
Great stuff Don and Becky. I don't think it gets much better than this.......
Kind Regards,
Jules

[Don]

I got a newspaper in the mail today.  to see the text goto http://www.dvickers.com/thomas/news1.jpg and http://www.dvickers.com/thomas/news2.jpg

[Johnny Ringo]

That will be nice for the ol' scap book. Well done again Don.

[Don]

Watch for this story to appear in an upcoming issue of Western & Eastern Treasure magazine.  I got word 2 days ago that it was going to be published.  Thanks to everyone that suggested I write a story and submit it.  This will hopefully bring a lot more publicity to our club and to the FMDAC just before the convention.

[Becky]

I can't wait to see it.     

[Don]

They still haven't told me when it is going to be printed.  Dick Stout put it in the October issue of the club news and views.  I hope the full story is out before then.

[Don]

Well the place I work heard about this story and wrote a story for their newsletter.  This is the copy the reporter sent me.  It will be in the Federal Reserve Banks September issue of "Bank Notes".  I am still waiting for it to show up in Western and Eastern Treasure magazine (should be in the next issue) and then maybe this post will finally fade away.


Don Vickers, treasure hunter: Story behind found coin is real discovery

Story by Bill Medley

Usually Don Vickers’ metal detector will lead him to a lost quarter or a miniature toy car. But in April, the ASC Help Desk employee found a true treasure.
During a visit to Eldon, Mo., just southeast of Jefferson City, Don found a coin called a “large cent,” which was last produced in 1857.
The coin had a mint date of 1827 and an inscription reading “E.B. Thomas MCH. 22.” The inscription made the coin of little monetary value to collectors, but Don was fascinated. He asked fellow hobbyists via an Internet message board for help identifying E.B. Thomas.
Extensive research led Don to conclude that E.B. Thomas was probably Elihu B. Thomas, who was born on March 22, 1827. Thomas was a Civil War veteran, a former publisher of the St. Louis Dispatch and a two-term state legislator in Jefferson City. Thomas’ experience as a printer meant he likely engraved his name and birth date, using the abbreviation MCH for “March,” onto the coin as practice.
“It really puts me in awe because it’s so rare to find out who the original owner of a coin is,” Don said.
After some additional online sleuthing, Don found one of Thomas’ living descendents, Karen Brookey, and made arrangements to deliver the coin to her and her family at a museum in Ardmore, Okla.
“She thought for sure it was some kind of scam,” Don said. “She couldn’t believe I was giving it away.”
Brookey, amazed and touched by Don’s efforts, told a local newspaper that the discovery “really takes the cake, because as many years as I have been searching for my family roots, this is the first time that my family roots have come searching for me.”
The coin is now on display at the museum, but one question remains: How did the coin end up in Eldon?
Don sees two possibilities. Thomas may have lost it while traveling, or perhaps he gave the coin to someone who spent it or lost it.
“There are some answers we’ll never know.”
For more information on Don’s discovery, visit his website at www.dvickers.com/thomas.

[Don]

I have been published!  The story of this coin can be found on page 46 of the November 2009 issue of Western and Eastern Treasures

[Don]

Sorry, I had to post this:   http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/soldiers/details.asp?id=S310438&conflict=Civil%20War&sType=unit&txtUnit=13th+Regiment+E.M.M.&selConflict=Civil+War&offset=1200#

There is a PDF attached at the bottom of this post that you can click on to open.

[prezdan]

THAT IS STILL COOL.