An Iowa man visited the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and purchased quite a souvenir collection: 200 Columbian Half Dollar coins, two Isabella Quarters, and several souvenir medals. The hoard of Columbian Exposition collectibles recently hit the market, as described by Coin Week’s article “Man Attends World’s Fair 130 Years Ago and Leaves an Incredible Coin Inheritance.” The half dollars sold at the Fair for $1 each and the quarters for 75¢, meaning the visitor spent $201.50 on his coin collection, or roughly $7000 in today’s money.
When sales of the Columbian half dollars failed to match expectations, a model of the Treasury Building in Washington made of the souvenir coins was installed in the rotunda of the Administration Building. [Image from private collection.]