The Great Big Baked Potato Medal Find

[Buellride]

Crazy title to a crazier find (thanks to LovestheShiny for the push to post) while RainorShine and I were hunting in Spokane...what we found "shiny wise" is less the point of this post (we found 13 silvers between ourselves, Vs, IHP, plus the 2nd rarest Buffalo Nickel minted) and more about the medal I found for the Northern Pacific Railway. The medal is printed with 4 leaf clovers and Northern Pacific Railway on one side and the reverse says "Member in Good Standing. Great Big Baked Potato Booster Club". The medal is circa 1908-1915 and was given to train passengers that ordered and ate one of their BIG BAKED POTATOS.

The photos I found of the history of the issuance of these medals is hilarious and definitely something I get a thrill out of reading about.

Enjoy the links and pictures.

Medal Example

Potato on Building in Tacoma, WA

"Images of the huge spud appeared on postcards, letterhead, and even in 3D form, when NP mounted a 40-foot-long, three-dimensional Great Big Baked Potato on the roof of its commissary in Seattle. Electric lights caused the butter to glow and the potatoes eyes to wink."

 

[RainorShine]

Great links Paul. That was a fine recovery. Glad we made the trip, and got some shiny during our visit. Seems like every time we're in Spokane though, it snows on us.

 

[Buellride]

Thanks Gale!

 

[LovestheShiny!]

Thanks, Paul, for writing this up! Just wanted to add that some of the food, Dairy & Poultry, came from farms that the NPRR owned in Kent, Washington (just south of Seattle). There is even a milk bottle from Kent WA that features a great Big Baked Potato on the bottle. Here is a cool pic of one of the delivery trucks that served the Northern Pacific Railroad commissary in Seattle.

(thanks to streamlinermemories.info)

 

[hoser]

Very cool little piece of history. I could get right into one of those taters. I love a good baked potato. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Buellride]

Thanks, Paul, for writing this up! Just wanted to add that some of the food, Dairy & Poultry, came from farms that the NPRR owned in Kent, Washington (just south of Seattle). There is even a milk bottle from Kent WA that features a great Big Baked Potato on the bottle. Here is a cool pic of one of the delivery trucks that served the Northern Pacific Railroad commissary in Seattle.View attachment 593817 (thanks to streamlinermemories.info)

And these kinds of finds is why I love detecting so much...with the help of friends ;-) you can find items that you can literally uncover even more history through research. Thanks David

Very cool little piece of history. I could get right into one of those taters. I love a good baked potato. Thanks for sharing.

If you look closely, one of the pics has verbiage that states (and I paraphrase) "Each potato is between 3-8 lbs a piece"....Geez!

 

[Jamflicker]

Really cool and unique find, congrats!

 

[MasonDixonMding]

Cool stuff

 

[Buellride]

Really cool and unique find, concongrats

Thanks Jam...it was researching it

Cool stuff

Very cool indeed

 

[wolf-n-wa]

Outstanding local find!

 

[bottlecap4u]

...and thats why I love relic-picking. Great find, research and story.

 

[Buellride]

Outstanding local find!

Thank you Sir!

...and thats why I love relic-picking. Great find, research and story.

Appreciate it BC4U, looks like you had a good hunt as well!!!

 

[AirmetTango]

And these kinds of finds is why I love detecting so much...with the help of friends ;-) you can find items that you can literally uncover even more history through research.

Agree 100%! Fantastic find, Buellride!! This is exactly why I love token finds so much…the stories and history behind them is a blast to uncover!

 

[Digger RJ]

Crazy title to a crazier find (thanks to LovestheShiny for the push to post) while RainorShine and I were hunting in Spokane...what we found "shiny wise" is less the point of this post (we found 13 silvers between ourselves, Vs, IHP, plus the 2nd rarest Buffalo Nickel minted) and more about the medal I found for the Northern Pacific Railway. The medal is printed with 4 leaf clovers and Northern Pacific Railway on one side and the reverse says "Member in Good Standing. Great Big Baked Potato Booster Club". The medal is circa 1908-1915 and was given to train passengers that ordered and ate one of their BIG BAKED POTATOS.

The photos I found of the history of the issuance of these medals is hilarious and definitely something I get a thrill out of reading about.

Enjoy the links and pictures.

Medal Example

Potato on Building in Tacoma, WA

"Images of the huge spud appeared on postcards, letterhead, and even in 3D form, when NP mounted a 40-foot-long, three-dimensional Great Big Baked Potato on the roof of its commissary in Seattle. Electric lights caused the butter to glow and the potatoes eyes to wink."

Very Cool!!! Congrats!!! I like potatoes