Posted 11 years ago
aghcollect
(2304 items)
- 1970 "Rugged American Series" bronze token / Husky Oil Company
- Minted by the Franklin Mint for the Husky Oil Co. / (13 in series)
- "Geronimo" / (1") in diameter / bronze / uncirculated condition
- Obverse: Geronimo / Reverse: The Apache Tribe - Eagle symbol
- In 1970, Husky Oil Co. would give out these "Rugged American" tokens upon purchases made at their gas stations. - Also provided was a cardboard game board with cut-outs so these could be pressed into the corresponding slots.
** Geronimo ("one who yawns"; 1829-1909) was a prominent leader of the Bedonkohe Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a battle with Mexican soldiers. After a Mexican attack on his tribe, where soldiers killed his mother, wife, and his three children in 1851, Geronimo joined a number of revenge attacks against the Mexicans. During his career as a war chief, he was notorious for consistently leading raids upon Mexican provinces and towns, and later against Anglo settlements across Arizona, New Mexico and Western Texas. In 1886, Geronimo surrendered to US authorities after a lengthy pursuit as a prisoner of war. At an old age, he became a celebrity; appearing in fairs but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed that the US government had broken promises it made to secure his surrender. Geronimo died in 1909 from complications of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
