Border Wars - Museum Gallery

November 2024

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Border War during the Mexican Revolution, circa 1916, involving Pancho Villa. It is brass, and measures about 36mm in diameter. I believe it's HK 894D in "SO-CALLED DOLLARS" by Hibler & Kappen (see below), but here its' brass rather than copper. See NGC Census pages for So-Called Dollars for the current reference list. Much of this series is yet to documented in published references.
The obverse depicts a U.S. soldier firing a carbine, surrounded by cactus. The legend states "In Memory of My Army Life on the Mexican Border."
The reverse has the familiar American Eagle with stars and military acoutrements and the words "Trust in the Lord - And - Keep Your Powder Dry [not a big problem in the SW desert].
Tokens like these were given to loved ones who served in the military during this period, including after the U.S. entry into WWI. The Border War lasted from about 1910 to 1919 and featured the pursuit of Pancho Villa by General Pershing's forces into Mexico in 1916-17.
A rare version of a "soldier's token", but quite a bit larger than the other version shown in the Moneta Museum.
So-called dollars are historical U.S. medals that commemorate a person, place or event in the United States history. They are 33mm to 45mm in size.