The Wizard of Oz as a Gold Fable

Metcalf, William E. America's Gold Coinage Metallic Panaceas: Gold
Bugs, Silver Crusaders, and the Wizard of Oz by Walter Breen, ANS, New
York, 1990.

Main Author: Breen, Walter.
Title: Metallic panaceas : gold bugs, silver crusaders, and the
Wizard of Oz / Walter Breen. Extent: ill., ports.
Subject Info: Bimetallism. Silver question.
Host Publication: America's Gold Coinage New York, 1990. Coinage of
the America Conference. Proceedings. no. 6 p. [33]-54
Year: 1990

Hugh Rockoff of Rutgers University, ‘The “Wizard of Oz” as a Monetary
Allegory,’ Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, 1990, pp. 739-760.
I. Introduction The Wizard of Oz is perhaps the best-loved American
children's story. The movie, starring JudyGarland, Bert Lahr, Ray
Bolger and company, is an annual television ritual. The book on which
the movie is based, L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
however, is not only a child's tale but also a sophisticated
commentary on the political and economic debates of the Populist Era.1
Previous interpretations have focused on the political and social
aspects of the allegory. The most important of these is Littlefield
([1966] 1968), although his interpretation was adumbrated by Nye
(1951), Gardner and Nye (1957), Sackett (I960), and Bewley ([1964]
1970). My purpose is to unlock the references in the Wizard of Oz to
the monetary debates of the 1890s. When the story is viewed in this
light, the real reason the Cowardly Lion fell asleep in the field of
poppies, the identity of the Wizard of Oz, the significance of the
strange number of hallways and rooms in the Emerald Palace, and the
reason the Wicked Witch of the West was so happy to get one of
Dorothy's shoes become clear. Thus interpreted, the Wizard of Oz
becomes a powerful pedagogic device. Few students of money and banking
or economic history will forget the battle between the advocates of
free silver and the defenders of the gold standard when it is
explained through the Wizard of Oz.

http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v04n34a09.html
The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 34, August 19, 2001, Article 9

BRYAN MONEY AND THE WIZARD OF OZ
The new book by Fred Schornstein devotes a one-page section to the
parallels between the gold and silver issue of the 1890s and the L.
Frank Baum novel of 1900, The Wizard of Oz. The novel was made into
the popular film in 1939. Some of the parallels a

OZ = ounce, abbreviated oz (of gold)
Yellow Brick Road = gold standard
Wicked Witch of the East = eastern financial powers
(the witch wears silver shoes in the book, but
these were changed to ruby red for the movie)
Scarecrow = western farmer
Tin Man = factory worker
Cowardly Lion = William Jennings Bryan
Emerald Palace = The White House

In his bibliography, Schornstein cites an article titled "The
Wizard of Oz as A Monetary Allegory" by Hugh Rockoff in The Journal
of Political Economy
(Vol 98, #4, August 1990).
Was Walter Breen was the first to discuss these parallels in
numismatic circles? His paper, "Metallic Panaceas: Gold Bugs,
Silver Crusaders, and the Wizard of Oz" was published in the
Proceedings of the November 4-5, 1989 Coinage of the Americas
Conference by the American Numismatic Society. Baum's book is
discussed as a political allegory on pages 50-51.

In turn, Breen cites an article titled "The Wizard of Oz: Parable
on Populism" by Henry M. Littlefield in American Quarterly 16 (Spring
1964), pp47-58.

Breen wasn't mentioned in Schornstein's notes, but I wonder if
Rockoff cites him. COAC Proceedings are (or at least were) notorious
for being published long after the conference itself; it may be that
Breen's paper didn't go into print until after Rockoff's 1990
article.

Does anyone know if the Wizard of Oz parallels were written up in a
numismatic context prior to the 1989 COAC, by Breen or anyone else?
Anyone know of a reference anywhere before Littlefield's 1964
article?

Wayne Homren, Editor
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http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v04n36a09.html
The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 36, September 3, 2001, Article 9

BREEN'S WIZARD OF OZ THEORY

Concerning Walter Breen's "Metallic Panaceas" article in the 1989
COAC, Mike Hodder writes "I can support in part Bill Bischoff's
comments about the timing of Breen's use of the analogies between the
Wiz of Oz and the gold vs. silver fracas. I remember working with
Breen to edit his paper for oral delivery at the 1989 COAC and
subsequent publication ( I also worked with QDB [Q. David Bowers] on
the paper he presented at the same COAC). As I remember, Breen's
manuscript was a mess. Since the 1989 COAC was held in November (as
I remember), I can substantiate Breen's playing with the analogies by
the summer of that year."

Wayne Homren, Editor
--------------------------
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v09n48.html
E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 48, November 26, 2006:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

ANA MONEY SHOW EDUCATIONAL SPEAKERS SOUGHT

In a press release issued this week, Gail Baker of the American
Numismatic Association writes: "All ANA members are invited to share
their research, creativity and knowledge with fellow collectors and
enthusiasts by delivering a Numismatic Theatre presentation at the
National Money Show? in Charlotte, NC, March 16-18.

Numismatic Theatre is an educational highlight of every ANA
Convention. Consisting of hourly presentations on a variety of
subjects and issues, the program gives members a chance to offer and
discuss their research and ideas with the numismatic community.
Theatre talks already scheduled for Charlotte include Silver, Gold &
The Wizard of Oz and The Coinage of Christianity: From Babylon to
Ethiopia.

-----------------------------------------
Mike M.
Michael E. Marotta
"Ho yea-oh yo-hey-oh!"