A Pennies Campaign to Save “Old Ironsides”

A tiny metal button is emblazoned with an image of USS Constitution and the words, “Save Old Ironsides / 1797 / 1925.” Mass-produced by the Whitehead and Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey, this novelty button marks a pivotal moment in Constitution‘s history. In 1925, with the ship rotting at its berth, the U.S. Navy turned to the American public to fund a massive restoration of “Old Ironsides.” Specifically, American schoolchildren were asked to donate their pennies in exchange for this very button, sparking a grassroots effort that would capture the nation’s attention.

Souvenir button from the Save “Old Ironsides” Campaign, 1925. [USS Constitution Museum Collection. Mrs. Merton W. Lansky Gift. 252.1]

Though Congress had failed the previous year to take up a bill to fund the ship’s repair, it wasn’t a Congressional rebuff or fiscal desperation that drove the Navy to resort to fundraising. Rather, it was Secretary of the Navy Curtis Wilbur’s belief that a public appeal, the Save “Old Ironsides” Campaign, would not only raise funds but also ignite national pride and awareness about the ship and its role in American naval heritage. What began as a pennies campaign with schoolchildren soon blossomed into a nationwide movement, bolstered by a public-private partnership that leveraged an array of promotional materials, including buttons, artwork, and wooden souvenirs, to drive donations.

A 1925 poster advertising the Save “Old Ironsides” Campaign. [USS Constitution Museum Collection. George Godspeed Gift. 1157.1]

New forms of mass media and social organizations like the Elks Club played a crucial role in spreading the campaign’s message. Syndicated services distributed packaged photo stories and features to small newspapers in communities far and wide, introducing the ship’s story to unfamiliar audiences. The 1,400 local chapters of the Elks Club organized essay-writing contests in schools where students clamored to win national prizes. A mass-produced poster print of the ship by popular commercial artist Gordon Grant sold over a million copies through mail order, department stores, and movie theater promotions. Thousands of wood and copper souvenirs were sold to raise funds and reestablish “Old Ironsides” as an important historic American icon. Perhaps the most telling sign of the campaign’s success occurred after the ship’s massive restoration. After work was completed in 1931, the ship embarked on a three-year tour of the nation’s coastlines, visiting over 70 ports from Portland, Maine, to Seattle, Washington, where millions of Americans flocked to see the vessel they helped save.

The campaign’s success wasn’t solely measured by funds raised. In fact, the pennies campaign fell short of its ambitious goal—with schoolchildren raising just $154,000 of the projected $400,000—largely due to regulations in some school districts that prohibited money collection and outside promotions. The National Save “Old Ironsides” Committee broadened their fundraising efforts with civic group fundraisers and the sale of souvenirs and artwork. In the end, Congress appropriated $300,000 to make up the shortfall between fundraising totals and the final project costs. Despite lower than hoped fundraising, the campaign successfully captured the public’s attention and revived the ship’s historical significance. In doing so, it also galvanized broad public support to secure federal funding in perpetuity for Constitution’s ongoing preservation, ensuring the ship’s legacy.

Decades later, the 1925 pennies campaign inspired another fundraising campaign to purchase new sails for Constitution’s bicentennial in 1997, when the ship sailed under its own power for the first time since 1881. Some visitors to the ship that year fondly recalled how they contributed pennies as schoolchildren to “Save Old Ironsides.”

To learn more, read our publication A Pennies Campaign to Save ‘Old Ironsides.