Gold Dollar Saloon of Buffalo, NY Open on New Year’s Day

Opening New Year’s Day 1870 in Buffalo, NY, the Gold Dollar Saloon lived up to its moniker, featuring a floor and bar inlaid with thousands of gold and silver coins. Coins continue as decorative items today, featured in objects ranging from toilet seat covers to lucite tchotchkes. Rich Kelly and Nancy Oliver researched the Gold Dollar Saloon and reported their findings in the August 2015 issue of The Numismatist. Said to have cost over a $100,000 at the time of its construction, the bar reputedly contained $50 “slugs” and other desiderata. The New York Times reported on April 18, 1895 that the proprietor was “tired of selling liquor” and was moving to “temperance” format, following a similar movement in Chicago to make bars alcohol-free. A minor theft, not surprisingly, was reported in 1900. The contents of the Gold Dollar Saloon must surely have passed into normal numismatic channels at some point, but no mention is found on Newman Portal or other databases. Link to The Numismatist on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/510969Image: Clip from New York Times, April 18, 1895, related to the Gold Dollar Saloon in Buffalo, NY