| The picture below shows larger front and back views of this 1869 - 1969 Golden Spike Centennial Railroad Advertising Gold Plastic Token Coin. We do not know how this coin was acquired. It could have been from the site at the anniversary, or as a prize or premium, with a product such as cereal. This token coin has an image of steam locomotives and tender cars meeting of the Central Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad, at a spot where the golden spike was to be driven to join the tracks together. The other side has a map of the United States of America with Utah shown, and a golden railroad tie spike. It is marked on the two sides as follows: CENTENNIAL
1869 - 1969
CENTRAL PACIFIC
UNION PACIFIC
COMPLETING THE FIRST
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
© GOLDEN SPIKE CENTENNIAL
NATIONAL GOLDEN SPIKE SOCIETY This old gold plastic token coin measures about 1-1/2'' wide. We are not coin graders, and conditions can be subjective, so please see the picture(s) to judge for yourself. To us it appears to be in mint condition as pictured. Below here is some information that was found online about this event: “On July 30, 1965 Golden Spike National Historic Site was created for the purpose of establishing a national historic site commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States.” “Some 690 miles east of Sacramento and 1,087 miles west of Omaha, Golden Spike lies in the northern reaches of the Great Basin Desert and ranges from 4,300 to 4,900 feet above sea level. Located at the site of the driving of the last spike of the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, its paramount purpose is to illustrate the social, economic, and political impacts of the transcontinental railroad on the growth and westward development of the United States.”
“The paramount historical significance of the first transcontinental railroad lies in its effect upon the Far Western frontier. It made the first serious and permanent breech in the frontier, and established the process by which the entire frontier was to be demolished. As the site where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific united to inaugurate cross-country rail travel, Promontory Summit best illustrates the historical meaning, as well as the dramatic construction story, of the first transcontinental railroad.”Robert M. Utley
Special Report on Promontory Summit, Utah
February 1960 |
