Commemorative Key to Independence hall 1787-1987
“We the People 200” a non-profit organization that organized the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution commissioned The Stieff Company to make life sized replicas of the Key to Independence Hall. Casts were made and the keys were produced in both Sterling Silver and in Pewter. The sterling keys were limited to a thousand keys and the pewter were also produced in a limited number, of which I am not sure. Below are examples of both styles.
The Sterling keys came in wooden boxes with an oval on the top, which has an image of the key engraved.
Keys are numbered, this is #188 and weights just under 16 ounces of sterling silver. Jim Stieff tells me that he does not think the full 1000 keys were made.
The Pewter Version
Close-up of the key shows the number A0640 and the
We The People 200 logo on the key
The Sterling version photo does not show this logo
The box lid for the pewter edition
The opening line of this letter indicates that these were “ordered” items and not regular retail stock. Jim Stieff, who’s name appears on the letter has confirmed this. The pieces were shipped directly from the factory.
Labels from the end of the box. I have no idea what F.F.P.I. means but it also appears on the keys as © 1987 FFPI
A personal note:
While visiting Jim Stieff in October 2010 he gave me one of the pewter keys for my collection. My key is un-numbered and was a prototype for the actual production pieces.
Key #141
Key #165
Keys #141 and #165 together
Camera angle makes them look like different sizes, but the are the same
In May 2011, with the price of silver at 49 dollars per pure troy ounce,
this pair of keys sold on ebay for 883 US dollars
A jewelry version of the key was also made, but with out the “We The People 200” logo
