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Cogswell Commemorative Coin

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Exonumia - Tokens Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Cogswell Commemorative Coin
Adorned with a portrait of Henry Cogswell, several quotations, and Lord Humphrey Cogswell’s coat of arms. Rnd, Al, 36mms. Henry D. Cogswell (1820-1900) was a wealthy San Francisco dentist, businessman, and temperance crusader who was born in Tolland, CN, the son of an architect and builder. In 1849 the young Cogswell was lured by news of the Gold Rush to California as were thousands of others. Settling in San Francisco, it was not too many years before his prosperous dental practice and real estate investments permitted him to retire in 1856 with an estimated $2,000,000 fortune. In his retirement he delved into public philanthropy, founded the Cogswell Polytechnic Institute, and was an ardent supporter of the temperance movement. His charitable acts, however, were often tinged with self-promotion, and in an effort to embellish his humble origins, he adopted the coat of arms of Humphrey Cogswell, a 15th-century English lord, from whom Henry falsely claimed his lineage….Cogswell’s most lasting legacy was the 50 monuments he sponsored nationwide between 1878 and the 1890s [Ref: www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/501178466/].City: San FranciscoCounty: State: CADate: c1865