1893 Chicago World's Fair Commemorative Medal

We could talk about the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and how it celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World, but instead let's talk about murder! In 1885, a gentleman by the name of Herman Webster Mudgett moved to Chicago under the alias Dr. Henry H. Holmes and took up work in a pharmacy. A masterful swindler and charismatic con artist, Holmes quickly found the money to purchase the lot next door to the pharmacy. There he commissioned the construction of a three story labyrinthine building complete with shops on the first floor and his private quarters and small apartments above. From the outside, Holmes' new building was quite unassuming to passersby, however inside lurked something much more sinister. Secret passages, booby traps, sound proof rooms, disorienting hallways and trap doors were just some of what awaited unfortunate guests in Holmes' macabre edifice dubbed "Murder Castle." In the basement, vats of acid, pits of quicklime and