Fun Facts for the year 1860

Sometimes, as a dealer, you wind up buying an item without knowing what it is.  Digging through a bit of history could help you begin to figure out what you’ve got.  History can also help determine relative rarity or value of an item.  If an item has a patent number on it, it can tell you what year an item was made.  Let’s say an item was made in 1860.  With this in mind, what was happening in the year 1860?

Cotton was the nation’s main export, with a whopping $192 million heading to the overseas mills that were based in England.  Just think of all the great clothing that was made out of it.

Late 1860 saw the election of Abraham Lincoln, who beat out John C. Breckenridge to become president.  As we all know, Abraham Lincoln is still a very popular president, and the items that are associated with him are highly sought after.

The Pony Express began its first run from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.

The Indian Head Cent was only a few years old in 1860, and there was a small size and large size cent in circulation at the time.

Finding out the history on a piece is always fun to me.  What kinds of fun history have you found out?