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Jeffries-Johnson Fight Token Goldfield Nevada

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Exonumia - Tokens Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Jeffries-Johnson Fight Token Goldfield Nevada
SOLD
2,400.00USD+ (480.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2017 Mar 25 @ 21:21UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Title: Jack Givens, Goldfield - Jeffries-Johnson Fight Token

Description: We are aware of only three of these tokens for this incredibly historic boxing match held in Nevada. This is the finest (or certainly one of the top two) Givens tokens known.

The question is, "How does a Reno Fight merit a Goldfield token?" Well, we are not sure. We do know that Jack Givens was a saloon keeper in Goldfield according to the 1910 census. His home was located at 500 Fifth Avenue. (500 Fifth Avenue is now a vacant lot. It is still a dirt road, as it would have been in 1910.) He was born in 1880 in Missouri. We Find his name mentioned in 1913 and 1915 in the Reno newspapers. On both occasions he is mentioned as running a half-way house between Goldfield and Tonopah. This would put him at 13 miles from Goldfield. Two small communities might fit this area: Klondyke and Ramsey Well. A 1916 article in the Reno newspaper reports that Mrs. Blanche Givens arrived in Tonopah from Ramsey, making Ramsey the more likely location for the half-way house.

That was all we could find about our Mr. Givens. So, the question remains, "How does a Reno Fight merit a Goldfield token?" One can only imagine! Was he a friend of former Goldfield mogul Tex Rickard who was staging this boxing match? Perhaps!

Goldfield was one of the finalist for holding the match? Was Givens part of the effort to bring the match to his home city?

Was Givens in town promoting his saloon to people from all over the country? Possibly

Either way, the boxing match was one of the more important boxing matches in United States history. It pitted the very popular, very white Jim Jeffries against the black, arrogant Jack Johnson. Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, had defeated all white challengers and Jeffires was asked to unretire and take on Johnson. He was the 'Great White Hope.' Reno was busting at the seams for this fight. 30,000 spectators of both races attended the fight. Not only was there a large influx of Californians, but thousands of Midwesterners and Easterners ascended on the city of Reno to watch.

From the beginning is was apparent that the overweight Jeffries was no match for the younger, bigger, faster Johnson. In the 14th round Jeffries was knocked to the canvas three times - the first time in his boxing career. His manager finally threw in the towel and Jeffries lost for the first time in his career.

Fearing racial violence in turn-of-the-century America promoters did not allow the sale of alcohol and firearms were checked at the gate. Although Reno avoided racial violence, the fight set off some to the worst racial violence in American history. There were riots in many cities and hundreds of people of both races were injured and several were killed.

So, we are not sure how this token from Goldfield and this boxing match fit together. But this match goes down in history with Jackie Robinson's first appearance as a Major League baseball player!

Obv.: Jack Givens / Goldfield / Nev.; Rev.: Jeffries-Johnson / pictorial / July 4, 1910. Rd., Al., 23mm.
City: Goldfield State: Nevada Date: 1910 ID# 45429