NC Transportation Museum – Lincoln’s Coffin

Although not directly related to our documentary, we learned a lot this weekend. In particular, one of the items was Lincoln’s coffin. Along with our own pictures, a bit of Googling gave us some more information. 

The Great Rivers Lincoln Coffin was 6ft 8 inches long with black leather and silver trim. It had 8 silver bullion handles, more than 1,000 silver tacks, and an inscribed silver shield on the lid: Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States; born February 12, 1809; died April 15, 1865.

Also, all the newspapers at the time said his coffin was mahogany but in the 1940s, the National Archives found a receipt for his coffin and according to the payment records, it was made out of walnut and cost the government $1,5000.

I know I don’t keep my tax receipts for that long. It’s kind of amazing what little things give us information to build a more full and more accurate historic picture.