In One Ear: 'A hatful of coins'

A morsel from The Daily Morning Astorian, June 28, 1888:

“About three months ago at Oak Point, Washington Territory, about a hatful of old coins, medals, etc., were disinterred from a spot where they had long been lying. Some of the coins go back to the time when George III (1738-1820) of England was king.

“Three of the medals were of the kind struck off during the famous ... hard cider presidential campaign of 1840, when William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was elected, to the tune of “Van, Van, you’re a used up man” (referring to the incumbent president, Martin Van Buren) and “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too” (Harrison was a hero in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe; John Tyler was his running mate).”

Note: Oak Point is an unincorporated area approximately across the river from Port Westward, which is just east of Clatskanie.

According to Encyclopedia Virginia, the reverse side of Harrison’s brass campaign medal was trying to project him as a common man, by using “The Peoples’ Choice” slogan, along with depicting a log cabin and a barrel of hard cider.

As is typical in politics, the image was false, as Harrison grew up in a famous, wealthy Virginia family, and had to remove the corn distillery on his farm due to one son’s alcoholism. Yes, he won anyway, but he was the first president to die while in office, just one month after his inauguration.