By STEVE HATHCOCK
Special to the PRESS
Ulrich Weisse, a resident of Rancho Viejo was browsing the wares of an estate sale in Brownsville this past week and stumbled upon an unusual coin that featured a stylized image of the Queen Isabella Causeway on one side. Sensing it may have some historical value he bought it for $2.50 and then phoned the offices of the Port Isabel Press to see if we could give him any information.
After a brief search through the Press’ archives, I was able to gather the following information.
According to an article published in the Sept. 5, 1974 issue of the Press, the coin was produced to commemorate the opening of the new (current) Causeway in 1974. The design featured a “sculptured view of the Queen Isabella Causeway arching over the Laguna Madre at Port Isabel with a skyline of high rise buildings on South Padre Island in the background and an approaching shrimp boat in the foreground. On the reverse side is a simplistic map of the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico flanked by the Port Isabel Lighthouse, palm trees, citrus and shrimp.”
The article went on to include, “The medallions are one and a quarter inch in diameter and one eighth of an inch in thickness.
The silver coins were packaged in a black presentation box while the pewter medallions were packaged in a Lucite case.”
The silver medallions, of which only 500 were struck, has the words 1-6-B Sterling embossed on the edge of the coin and were “available by preorder at $25.”
The pewter version sold for $5; I’m not sure if the pendant was available in both silver and pewter but newspaper accounts state it sold for $6.50.
Though delivery of the coins was set for the end of September 1974, they actually did not arrive until Jan. 2, 1975.
According to the Aug. 3, 1975 issue of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, there were a limited amount still available for sale leading up to the second Queen Isabella Days.
The value of the coin would lie between $125-$175. It would be a great addition to the new Historical Museum of South Padre Island scheduled to open sometime late next year and perhaps Ulrich may decide to dither sell, loan or donate it for the causeway display.
Editor’s note: Autographed copies of Steve Hathcock’s book, “Old Indio, Last of the Karankawa Indians of Padre Island and Other Short Stories” is available at “Coffee Karma and Books” on South Padre Island and “The Unruly Cactus Books and Coffee located just before the entrance to the Causeway in Port Isabel.
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