Mr. Conroy and his eagle

[reeltackle]

I was fortunate to acquire this marked - CONROYS MAKERS N.Y. - German silver 3 3/16 inch reel with the owners name and town, H.B. BELT - KIRKWOOD MO., on the back plate. The reel also had an eagle logo under the CONROYS MAKERS N.Y. name. The eagle intrigued me and I could not remember seeing it on a Conroy reel before. My Dad collected coins and I though I remembered a similar eagle on some of his old U.S. gold pieces. A quick search on Google and the eagle popped up wearing a stars and stripes shield with symbolic arrows clutched in his talons.

I also contacted Steve Vernon who sent me photos of a brass, ball handled Conroy reel with the eagle stamp and a Clerk, Green & Baker reel with the eagle stamp that he speculated might have been made for Clerk by Conroy (photos below). Steve also sent me some images of an eagle on some Civil War era artifacts that closely resemble the eagle on the coins as well as the Conroy eagle.

Does anyone have any knowledge of the history of this eagle on Conroy reels? Or any info on the artist who designed the coins? This eagle seems to have gotten around a bit in his day.

Pictures of the reel I found - Note - I also Googled H.B. Belt and he was quite an interesting guy.











Pictures of the vintage U.S. Gold Pieces -





Pictures Courtesy of Steve Vernon -

[Steve]

The Great Seal of the U.S. was designed in 1782 with an eagle, which became a symbol for the U.S. and the Union, especially, during the Civil War. Variations of the eagle pose showed up on everything.

Charles Thomson's original sketch (allegedly) and the first die for the Seal.

[Steve]

The eagle helped to proclaim D.C. throughout the land.

[oc1]

Mexico uses the golden eagle instead of the bald eagle in their iconography. The eagle standing flat-footed on the reel looks more Mexican to me.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... xicana.svg
-steve

[Steve]

The eagle standing flat-footed on the reel looks more Mexican to me.

The bald eagle isn't stupid enough to stand bare-footed on a cactus plant. And besides, his wings are raised.