Source: mudwerks
“Pedley-Ryan & Co., Denver investment house, in order to provide a convenient medium for speculation in silver and to increase the use and popularity of silver as a medium of exchange, started a "Buy-an-Ounce-of-Silver" campaign Jan. 5, 1933. Silver at that time was in very limited demand, bar silver being quoted at 27 cents an ounce. Up to that time, the minimum amount of silver traded in on the big markets for actual delivery was 25,000 ounces, and this amount had been sold only since summer 1932.
On Jan. 5, Pedley-Ryan began its sale of round, rimless, plain-edge discs. Size of a standard U.S. dollar, they contained one ounce of silver, 430 grains 99% fine. The slugs were sold three for a dollar and Pedley-Ryan was to redeem them at prevailing market prices of silver. It was believed that thousands of investors throughout the country would purchase the "dollars" and would realize large profits when silver reached the 16 to 1 ratio hoped for by the silver bloc. Silver mining interests in Colorado and elsewhere would, in the meantime, benefit from an in-creased market for silver.
The campaign, which enabled even the smallest investor to speculate, ended in late summer. Sales had not reached anticipated goals. After that, Pedley-Ryan (later known as the Cow Gulch Oil Co.) sold bars of 1,000 ounces only...”
These are often referred to as “so-called dollars”.
Source: so-calleddollars.com
When Yahoo bought Tumblr for more than a billion dollars, a lot of us wondered how it would ever turn a profit. After all, people sharing cat GIFs and monochrome erotica didn't seem like a very effective business model. According to Mashable, however, the social network is going to earn its keep by helping big brands like Coca Cola and Nike understand how they're perceived. That's because Tumblr is hooking up with analytics firm Ditto, which will scour your pictures looking for sneakers and soft drinks in the frame. It'll then pass this data on to the companies involved for a fee, helping them to ensure the teenagers are all praising the right sort of soda at the next box social, or something.
Update: Tumblr's reached out to confirm the deal, a "firehose partnership" with the agency, will go ahead this week.
Source: Engadget
Using these drawings on cardboard for marketing, a tattoo artist in 1937 tried to convince people to imprint their Social Security numbers on their skin. 1937 was the first year Social Security benefits were paid: $1.278 million to 53,000-plus beneficiaries.
Source: candlerarts.blogspot.com
From the WPA Federal Art Project in Philadelphia, a hippopotamus marketing campaign: Visit the Zoo. Original in woodblock, circa 1936.
Source: vintagraph.com