JOHNNY HALLYDAY: A fancy 1 Dollar nickel... - Lot 192 - Coutau-Bégarie

JOHNNY HALLYDAY: A fancy 1 Dollar nickel and silver-plated coin, depicting a Native American and dated 1851. Diameter: 37.5 mm. Thickness 2.7 mm. Grooved edge. In the tradition of American show business, novice performers always carry a 1 Dollar coin or bill. It was Lee Hallyday who gave this silver coin to the young Jean-Philippe Smet, slipping it into his cowboy hat on the day of his first stage appearance, June 13, 1956, opening for the Halliday's (an acrobatic duo formed by Desta and Lee) at Copenhagen's Atlantic Palace. Jean-Philippe sang La Ballade de Davy Crockett on guitar, dressed as a cowboy. For many years, Johnny secretly kept this famous Indian-headed silver coin, the talisman of his early days, which has become a veritable lucky charm. After many trips and moves, the coin was nowhere to be found... Until one day, a few months after the rocker's death in 2017, it was found at the bottom of a jacket pocket. A moving memory. This collector's item is, of course, inseparable from one of young Jean-Philippe Smet's first stage hats. After becoming Johnny Hallyday in the spring of 1960, he also kept this hat for many, many years.