~*~*~ Love tokens! LOVE TOKENS! Step right up! Git yer love tokens right here! ~*~*~

Many of you know I've been a "holey" coin collector since the millennium. In the course of buying holed coins for my famous Holey Coin Vest, I've come across some interesting love tokens (coins with hand-engraved folk art). Many of these coins were christening gifts for newborn babies, or gifts from one sweetheart to another, which is no doubt where the "love token" term originated. Women kept them on charm bracelets and men kept them on their watch chains. The practice began many centuries ago, and continued into the 20th century, but love tokens' heyday seems to have come during the high point of the Victorian era, in the late 19th century.

Some of the engraving on these is stellar, and many of these little hand-engraved curiosities are real works of art. Back in the late 1800s, there were probably engravers set up at fairs and expositions who would do the work, but in today's world, it's mostly a lost art.

I'd long been toying with the idea of attempting a date set of Seated Liberty dimes with love token reverses, and in January of 2008 I decided to take my few accumulated pieces and start such a set. The Seated Liberty dime, particularly its Legend Obverse subtype of 1860-1891, seems to be the most common host coin for love token engraving, with the gold dollar close behind.

The wonderful thing about collecting these is that one can collect them as coins AND as one-of-a-kind miniature masterpieces of a lost art. That makes them a great "two in one" collectible. And they pack a lot of bang for the budget, too, considering how relatively inexpensive most are.

Here are some duplicates my collecting has generated. On pieces with monograms, where the order of initials is uncertain, I've listed the initials in alphabetical order. For example, a piece listed with an "L", "M", & "S" monogram could be LMS, MLS, SML, or any combination thereof. Hey, maybe I've got one with YOUR initials, or your sweetheart's?

Love tokens are like snowflakes- no two pieces are exactly alike. By that reckoning, each and every one is "unique" in the true sense of the word.

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Please add a dollar or two for shipping, unless you're buying something else off my Main BST thread.

BUY 3 OR MORE AND TAKE $1 OFF EACH PIECE. BUY 6 OR MORE AND TAKE $2 OFF EACH PIECE.


"FM" on ND (1858-1901) Canadian dime $9

"HW" on ND (1858-1901) Canadian dime $9

"W" on better date 1858 Canadian dime- first year of Canadian Confederation coinage $12

"ACC" on gilt 1892 USA Indian cent w/AU-UNC details $15

"FH" on 1909 USA Lincoln cent $9

"ACF" on ND (1837-1859) USA Seated Liberty dime- fancy script $10

"WGW" on ND (1837-1859) USA Seated Liberty dime $9

"B" & "M" in monogram on ND (1837-1859) USA Seated Liberty dime- nice work $14

"W" on 1852 USA Seated Liberty dime- was maybe used as a button? $12

"M" on 1854 USA Seated Liberty dime $9

"G", "M", & "R" in ornate monogram on high grade 1874 USA Seated Liberty dime $15

"C", "R", & "S" in monogram on 1876 USA Seated Liberty dime- ornate, nice engraving $15

"S" w/other letter(s) in monogram on 1876 USA Seated Liberty dime- "SW"? "SAN"? "SNA"? $12

"E", "G", & "M" in monogram on 1877 USA Seated Liberty dime- great engraving- the "G" seems dominant $15

"E", "M", & "T" in monogram on 1877 USA Seated Liberty dime $12

"A" & "R" in monogram on 1883 USA Seated Liberty dime- high grade host coin w/nice color and engraving $16

"C", "F", & "P" in monogram on 1883 USA Seated Liberty dime- high grade host coin $12

"RF" on 1883 USA Seated Liberty dime $12

"A", "G", & "O" in monogram on 1887 USA dime- handsome "CircCam" host coin & ornate engraving $15

"DHQ" on 1888 USA Seated Liberty dime- fancy script & ornate flourishes $12

"MEH" on 1888 USA Seated Liberty dime $10