The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
ClassificationsDecorative arts
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.59
On View
Not on viewThe 1834 medal: Cyrus McCormick Patents His Reaper
The reaper did for the West what the cotton gin did for the South. Wheat grew thick on the prairies and plains but, since it had to be cut within a few days after it ripened, it was a waste to grow more than could be harvested. By hand, an experienced worker might cradle and shock an acre of wheat a day.
Cyrus McCormick's reaper, invented in July 1831, when he was 22, had the essential components of later machines but cut unevenly, and he improved it before taking out a patent in 1834. In the meantime, Obed Hussey, one of his most successful competitors, invented a reaper in 1833.
Hussey was located in Cincinnati near the midwest wheat growing area. McCormick lived in Virginia and his demonstrations on the hilly terrain had little success. Finally in 1841 he sold two machines, and another seven the next year. Receiving an order from Illinois, he headed west in 1843 and saw the level land where the reaper would prosper. Hussey, on the other hand, moved from the midwest to Baltimore and this, added to McCormick's superior business sense and organization ability, spelled his defeat along with that of numerous other rivals.
McCormick engaged manufacturers in the midwest to produce his machines on a royalty basis. But this did not work out well. The machines were often shoddy, hurting his reputation. Besides, the manufacturers sold them for the highest price they could get.
In 1847 he took the business back into his own hands and built a factory in Chicago. McCormick set a fixed price of $120 for his machines, $30 down, the rest in six months. His grasping competitors thought him insane, but 1,000 reapers were sold in 1851; six years later 23,000 were sold. Doing the work of ten men, agriculture was revolutionized.
