Souvenirs from Century of Progress fair still highly collectible

A: What the reader calls a “gas coin” is actually a souvenir from the 1933-34 World’s Fair in Chicago.

First, we need to address what looks like a misspelling. The fuel was once spelled the way it appears on the medal. 

The 1933-34 Chicago Century of Progress fair remains one of the most collected of all World’s Fairs.  Many souvenirs, such as flags, trays, bookmarks, ashtrays and all sorts of paper goods, were for sale and are collectible to this day. As happens in collecting, some of the most valuable souvenirs are things that were never made to be kept, such as staff uniforms.

Many items, particularly medals made of bronzed metal or stamped brass or coins of differing sizes and types, were handouts free or available for pennies. The reader’s coin from Johnson Gas, probably a free token, is one example.

Companies including Union Pacific, Hoover, Ford, Union 76 gas stations and Safety Glass used marked coins/medals/tokens as advertising. Union Pacific handed out aluminum coins to promote the use of the metal in their new trains. FDR portraits were popular.

Other souvenirs included medals stamped with fair buildings or logos from the event. On-site coins also included a variety of good luck or “lucky” coins.

Coins were so ubiquitous at the event that some contemporary collectors concentrate on just the tokens. On the prices database worthpoint.com we found that a Century of Progress medal with fair logos sold recently on eBay for $15.99. One from the Chrysler exhibit brought $20 and a good-luck medal with a swastika (then considered a good-luck sign) brought $12.99. Ditto for a wooden nickel from the event. The highest result was $22 for a Deco medal with the Research and Industry logo. 

Q: Among my mother’s items, we found a mammy doll dinner bell 6 inches tall. She wears an apron marked “Camp Claiborne, LA.” The bell is in excellent condition. I want to sell it but cannot find any info on this item.

A: Our reader thinks (and no doubt hopes) that his bell could have significant historic value, as it’s associated with a WWII military base. Camp Claiborne, in central Louisiana, was part of the 8th Service Command. Established in 1930 under a different name, it was activated as Claiborne, where the 34th Infantry trained. The camp was deactivated in 1945.

Unfortunately, we have no info on composition of the bell. Knowing if it’s stamped metal, cloth, ceramic or whatever would help. A lot.

Mammy images were popular when Camp Claiborne existed. The potential buyer is a collector of black Americana or someone who identifies with the base or area.

The best way to find those target buyers is online. Checking completed eBay sales, we found several hanging bells decorated with stamped-iron mammy figures. Another type was a figural porcelain mammy bell with differing locations written on her apron. These were souvenir items.

A vintage cast-iron Aunt Jemima with bell to mount on a post sold this year for $34. A repainted version brought $15. A ceramic mammy bell brought $6.50.

(Although some may find this type of memorabilia offensive, it is a legitimate area of collecting.)

Book it: “Wine Antiques and Collectibles,” by Donald Bull and Joseph Paradi (Schiffer, $79.99) uses over 2,000 photos plus solid text to cover every implement, accessory and piece of equipment associated with wine from vineyard to table. The book  spotlights everything from corking and barrel-stamping tools and tastevins (silver wine-tasting cups) to corkscrews, faucets, wine buckets, wine chariots, decanters, labels and paper ephemera.