A nice example of mid-nineteenth century state pride and national ingenuity. This small disk on one side has the days of the week around the edge and a central small disk that can be turned bringing a column of numbers, from those arranged on a spiral and numbering 1 to 31, into alignment with the day so that knowing the date of a particular day of the week you can determine the calendar for the entire month. The opposite side has “ILLINOIS” at the top and the date “1855” at bottom, all in raised letters and numbers, and in the middle an American eagle with US shield on its chest, holding arrows and olive branch with landscape around it. The eagle holds in its beak a ribbon scroll reading “STATE SOVEREIGNTY / NATIONAL UNION,” the Illinois state motto at the time. At left along the rim is “POPULATION 851,470” and at right, “55,400 SQUARE MILES.”

Illinois conducted a state census in 1855, but the numbers reflect the US 1850 census. The state motto was altered after the Civil War to give National Union priority over State Sovereignty.  [sr] [ph:L]

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