1864 Sanitary Fair Artifact from California. Very Fine.Constructed from two Liberty Seated silver dollars, dated 1842 and 1843, that have been attached by way of a soldered oval silver piece of equal thickness of the dollars. The coins are worn to Good or Very Good condition, the 1842 with scratches. These were clearly fairly well-circulated by the time this piece was put together. It was made as part of a fundraising effort on behalf of the United States Sanitary Commission and, remarkably, it is specifically mentioned in a contemporary source: <em>A Supplement to Contributions to the Sanitary Fund, Received and Forwarded by Rev. H.W. Bellows, D.D., President of the Sanitary Commission, During His Residence in California, from April 30th to Sept. 23d, 1864</em>.<p>It was reported therein that on June 26, 1864, the citizens of Eureka North, in Sierra County, California raised $600 in funding for the Sanitary Commission. It was further noted that of this total, a certain amount was raised by a single action: "$350.25, from sale of two silver dollars joined." And there it is, a contemporary reference to this precise Civil War-era artifact relating to the Sanitary Commission, in the state of California. The piece of silver joining the two silver dollars is neatly engraved SANITARY FUND on the obverse, and EUREKA NORTH / 350 25/100 on the reverse, with ornamental flourishes. A curious form, but one with a very clear history!
