Slide, Glass - "Coin" Harvey
Object number2017.016.09
Date1896
Associated LocationArkansas
MediumGlass, Metal, Paint, Ink
Dimensions3 1/4 × 4 × 1/8 in. (8.3 × 10.2 × 0.3 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
DescriptionA glass slide from the Chicago Times Herald, depicting a political cartoon of William Hope "Coin" Harvey. The slide is divided into two scenes. The scene on the left shows Harvey standing, giving a speech to bystanders and he is holding a book in his hands titled, "Coin's Financial School" in 1895. The scene on the right depicts Harvey in 1896 approaching a bank teller holding a slip that reads, "Give Me All My Money in Gold." The two scenes are divided by extracts from Coins Financial School: "There should be a law making it a forfeiture of the debt to discriminate in favor of one form of national currency as against another....Gold must be given to understand that it is not indispensable to the currency of the country...If necessary, fire a man bodily into the street to teach him his place. Gold needs that lesson."William “Coin” Hope Harvey was born on August 16, 1851 near Buffalo, Virginia (present day West Virginia) and he was admitted to the bar in 1870. He stared his law career in West Virginia, but moved to Gallipolis, Ohio where he met and married Anna R. Halliday on June 26, 1876. They went on to have four children. Harvey and his family spent of much of their time on the move, going where Harvey found work. During the economic decline of the 1890s, Harvey turned his attention to the free silver issues, which he became a vehement supporter of. He went on to write “Coin’s Financial School” in 1894, a book supporting a silver standard over a gold standard, which saw great success and earned him his nickname “Coin.” In May of 1901, Harvey opened the doors of his Hotel Monte Ne in Benton County which saw success until the increase of automobile travel. By the 1920s, parts of the Hotel Monte Ne had been sold and others foreclosed. Harvey divorced Anna in 1929 and married May Leake. He passed away on February 11, 1936 and is buried in Monte Ne.
Status
Not on view