Truman Museum Research Paper

For my final week at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum I spent the majority of my time scanning more Lincoln Coins like I mentioned during my last reflections. I completed scanning and TMS Re-Entrying two more boxes that contained approximately fifty to seventy-five coins a piece. Needless to say, the Museum has a lot of these coins. When I left on Thursday, there were still six more boxes that no one had begun scanning. As a personal highlight of the internship, on Tuesday, I was able to oil an authentic 13th-century Japanese wakizashi (Samurai short sword) that was crafted by the legendary Japanese swordsman Masamune. It is perhaps the most precious artifact that the Truman Museum holds as there are only about a dozen of Masamune swords left in the world. On Thursday, I finished my last box of Lincoln Coins, was given an exit interview after lunch and then left the building. Besides its historical rarity, oiling the wakizashi was an incredibly unique experience for me that I will likely never be able to duplicate. The Museum had an authentic sword kit that was donated to the Museum from a modern day Japanese …show more content…
Some new coins included a memorial service coin that was given twenty years after his death. From my modern perspective, it seemed weird that people in 1865, would essentially be awarded a fancy coin for attending a memorial service for a dead President. In addition, I also found my personal favorite campaign slogan on an 1865 campaign coin that I somehow never saw in the last few weeks. It reads “no cents for slavery, millions for freedom.” I did find the coins that were printed after his death to be interesting as well. Some, as if knowing how modern folk perceive Lincoln today, said something of the lines of “An equal to Washington was tragically lost today April 15,