I love stories from the old west in the US. While I'm very grateful I didn't live there back in the 1880's, the stories are amazing! Dodge City, Kansas today is a nice quiet place to live. But in the 1850's to 1890's it was a wild town with plenty of gunfights and legendary lawmen. Some of the notable ones were Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and though not a lawman an the time Doc Holliday was there with his friend Wyatt.
Why do I bring up Dodge City? Because it's featured on this silver bar:
About the silver bar:
Composition: 99.9% silver
Mint: Northwest Territorial Mint, Auburn, Washington state, US (no longer exists)
Obverse: Stage coach at full gallop with lettering: Stagecoach Silver, For When You Have To Get Out Of Dodge
Reverse: Divisible partitions to divide the bar into four equal parts
The phrase get out of Dodge means to leave town quickly to avoid a dangerous situation. It's a common phrase still used the US and in movies. And what better way to get out of Dodge than with silver in your pocket? This bar even comes with dividers to break up the main bar into four equal smaller ones. Why anyone would actually do that is beyond me, but to each their own! I love the oxidation on this beautiful bar, it gives it a great patina.
Dodge City around 1875 to 1880
Dodge City started off as a cattle town, where cattle drives would arrive from Texas to be sent by train to their final destination. This turned it into a boom town very quickly with saloons, gambling halls, and brothels popping up all over town. It was also know to have more gunfighters working there than any other town in the old west.
One of the more famous events that took place in Dodge on April 9, 1878 when town Marshall was Ed Masterson. His deputies included Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He had vowed to disarm all men in Dodge to stop all of the violence, but he was murdered by a drunken cowboy he was attempting to disarm him. His brother Bat Masterson then jumped in and killed the cowboy and shot another cowboy who had his gun drawn.
Wikipedia, Dodge City deputies Wyatt Earp seated and Bat Masterson standing
Masterson moved with Wyatt Earp to Tombstone the following year but was called back to Dodge to help his brother Jim after only a few months. It turned out his brother was fine. However after a shootout in the Long Branch Saloon he and his brother "got out of Dodge" to Colorado. In 1883 what became known as the Dodge City War started when the mayor ran Masterson's friend Luke Short of out town and closed his Long Branch Saloon and others in town (and brothels) to try to control the violence. Masterson recruited Wyatt Earp (after the OK Corral and revenge ride) and several other notable lawmen to assist him to set things "right" in Dodge. After the arrival of the group of lawmen the mayor backed down and the war ended without bloodshed.
An iconic photo was taken on the group then known as the Dodge City Peace Commission.
From Wikipedia:
The "Dodge City Peace Commission" June 10, 1883. (Standing from left) William H. Harris (1845–1895), Luke Short (1854–1893), William "Bat" Masterson (1853–1921), William F. Petillon (1846–1917), (seated from left) Charlie Bassett (1847–1896), Wyatt Earp (1848–1929), Michael Francis "Frank" McLean (1854–1902), Cornelius "Neil" Brown (1844–1926). Photo by Charles A. Conkling.
Dodge city was a very violent and dangerous place to live in the late 1800's. Beyond the violence the cattle were an additional danger causing outbreaks of inhalation Anthrax from time to time which were almost always fatal. Not to mention sexually transmitted diseased like Syphilis. It probably didn't smell great either with no air conditioning....not to mention all of the cattle. All of those things would have gotten me out of Dodge. Eventually it transformed itself into the peaceful city that exits today, but the old saying "get out of Dodge" lives on.
References:
https://www.montanararities.com/stagecoach-silver-bar-1oz.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_City,_Kansas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Masterson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Earp
Re-blog lottery
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 37 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:
Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it: 
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!
Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.
Good luck to everyone!
And since I didn't post yesterday today I will do two spins of the wheel, so two winners today!
And the Wheel of Names results:
Congratulations
You will receive 3 HSBI units!
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prize. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
If you have more questions feel free to ask.