Back in 2001 I contributed an article to HistoryLink about a proposed Congressional bill in April 1918 around minting a 15-cent coin, an idea attributed to Seattle movie exhibitor John von Herberg. In it, I mentioned that von Herberg’s proposal was likely in jest – with 15 cents being the price of an average motion picture ticket, the proposal seemed had a lot more publicity value than practicality. Nonetheless, a Democratic Representative from Rhode Island introduced such a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives, where it died a very quick death.
At the time my sourcing was a single article in the Seattle Daily Times – partly why I viewed it as a mere publicity stunt. (See “15-Cent Piece Seattle Idea,” Seattle Daily Times, 28 April 1918, Section III, Page 1.) And yet, it turns out there was a little more behind that effort than I thought.
According to an article running in Motography, the idea began taking hold a year earlier, in 1917, when the average admission price for theatres nationwide began creeping toward the 15-cent mark, particularly in light of the new “war tax” being levied on theatre admissions that bumped prices up a few cents per ticket. (See “Campaign for 15-Cent Piece Renewed,” Motography, 16 March 1918, Page 506.) The National Association of the Motion Picture Industry eventually submitted a formal brief to Treasury officials advocating for the measure, based on a few key points:
- A 15-cent coin would be a benefit to consumers. (The Association actually drafted two points on this issue, but I combined them here since they basically amounted to “the public would like it, and also the public would like it.”)
- Making change at the box office was inconvenient for both the patron and the venue, and created longer wait times where patrons sometimes had to stand outside in inclement weather. (Again, the Association had two points here that essentially said the same thing: “We hate making change, and nobody likes to wait.”)
- The increase in theatre prices necessitated the minting of a new coin.
- This new 15-cent coin was, somehow, going to raise the overall quality of motion picture entertainment.
Strong arguments? Not really…but Motography tried to sell the idea in an editorial running in the same issue. (See “Coins for Convenience,” Motography, 16 March 1918, Pages 514-515.) It wasn’t just the moving picture men eyeing new coinage – various newspaper associations were agitating for a 2-cent coin also based around increased prices and user convenience. “There is so much logic in favor of both these new issues that the joint appeal to Congress by the newspaper men and the film men should meet with success.”
So how did Seattle exhibitor John von Herberg get involved in this effort? That’s not entirely clear, but a short bit at the end of Motography’s editorial was telling. “This is the exhibitor’s own measure, for their particular benefit,” the trade paper argued. “And every exhibitor can help to put it over by the simple expedient of writing to his congressman explaining the situation as briefly and clearly as possible and making it plain that the new coins would aid efficiency and make the payment of war taxes easier for the people.” It’s just a guess, but it seems that von Herberg didn’t just write his congressman but decided to tap his connection with the photoplay editor over at the Seattle Daily Times, who not only wrote up an article promoting the idea but also gave the exhibitor credit for the whole thing. So free publicity was an element in that effort, but von Herberg was also probably looking to build some public support around the 15-cent coin legislation.
The effort failed in the long run – not the least because movie ticket (and newspaper) prices continued on their upward trend. Perhaps someone needed to take these folks aside and explain the concept of inflation.
