Is this a Civil War token ?

dcarr

I've seen a lot of Civil War tokens over the years, but I don't remember ever seeing one like this. I assume it is a Civil War token due to the sailor and soldier with Civil War era uniforms. Unfortunately, I do not have a Fuld catalog to look for it.

It is bronze, 18mm, smooth edge, medal-turn orientation.

Thanks for any attribution !

.

PS:
I think the translation from Latin to English is "All that remains - to save the Republic".
.

jesbroken

Yes.....1860s OMNIA RELINQUIT SERVARE REM PUBLICAM SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI CIVIL WAR TOKEN
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1860s-omnia-relinquit-servare-rem-429013664

GoldenEgg

It doesn't look old enough to be a civil war token, IMO. This looks more like the brass medalettes that were encased in copper crosses and stars. The company that produced many of them was Schwaab in Wisconsin. This is very much their style.

coinsarefun

I’ve never seen this one before either but apparently it is as @jesbroken provide in the link

ricko

I believe the translation (Latin to English) is 'He relinquished everything to serve the Republic.' Just doing some quick research, it is a CWT... though I cannot tell if it is an original or reproduction. Cheers, RickO

Insider2

Great Idea for some new D. Carr issues. CWT.

I'd like one of the Merrimac and one of the Monitor w/common reverse. Undated but referencing "2014 150 year anniversary of Hampton Roads battle." Might need to be the size of a quarter though.

sellitstore

Can anyone provide the catalog number for this one?

DCW

I'm going to look this up when I get home. Looks post war to me

EagleEye

It looks like a medallet from the 1870's so it is post-Civil War and not a token. The Society of Cinncinattus honored George Washington for resigning his commission after the war and not establishing a military-style dictatorship. Cinncinatus was a Roman General who did the same thing.

Gluggo

Here is one that sold on Ebay for $102 recently and this one is not as nice as the others.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOCIETY-OF-THE-CINCINNATI-TOKEN-POST-CIVIL-WAR-OMNIA-RELINQUIT-NICE-SHAPE-/392039344002?hash=item5b475da782:g:PlcAAOSwVWpa8nTp&nma=true&si=tAlGR%2B9Gsj2y7mHuYZc%2FN4fuZrA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

jesbroken

Sorry, but not being a civil war token collector, I ASSUMED(my bad) that the tokens did not have a distinction between during the war and after, again my apologies.
Jim

PennyGuy

I have to go with post civil war. It’s not listed in any of the Fuld editions or the Bowers CWT Book or Rualu’s Token Catalog, so I’m not finding a catalog number. With the subject matter related to honoring the war dead and restoring the Union tells me post-war.

Gluggo

Here is what I do know which is NOT MUCH. When it comes to these you almost have to buy the book from the STATE which it originated to find the subject mater. This is where it gets expensive because there are over 50 states = 50 books. Or you can just use this web site and look through the STATE to find the coin.

http://tokencatalog.com/index.php

I clicked on Ohio and there are 646 different pages of coins to look through. Have fun!

RogerB

OMNIA RELINQUIT SERVARE REM PUBLICAM.

"Relinquish everything in service to the public."

RogerB

"All that remains - to save the Republic" would be something like:
"Qui manet Omnia - Ad salvum Republica." (non-specific 'republic' would be "rem publicam."

"He relinquished everything to serve the Republic" would be something like:
"Qui relicto omnia serve Reipublicae."

Latin to English can be very confusing, especially when we have only a few words and little or no context. On this little medal, the context is in the images which support the idea of 'public service' and concordance over 'dictatorship' and individual 'ego or power.'

Maybe someone expert in interpreting Latin medallic inscriptions will help us all.

(As for time scale -- probably post-Civil War, but intended to supply small change just as do thousands of other tokens. Making these things kept diesinkers in New York busy for several years.)

BillJones

With the exception of one series, the Wealth of the South pieces, Civil War Tokens are limited to items issued from 1861 to 1864. 1861 marked the start of the war, and 1864 was the year that Congress passed legislation that barred them from circulation. Restrikes, of course, can slip under the wire.

The Latin phrase on this piece seems to date it at sometime after the Lincoln assassination, which was in mid April 1865. Therefore this is not a Civil War token.

dcarr

Thanks for the info. The Worthpoint link led me to another one described as:
"Medal to the Civil War Union Dead Circa 1860's-1880's"

https://worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mns-medal-civil-war-union-dead-circa-502064825
.

dcarr

@GoldenEgg said:
It doesn't look old enough to be a civil war token, IMO. This looks more like the brass medalettes that were encased in copper crosses and stars. The company that produced many of them was Schwaab in Wisconsin. This is very much their style.

The edge does not show any evidence of having been inserted into, and popped out of, any encasement. That alone doesn't prove this was issued as a stand-alone item, however.

dcarr

@Gluggo said:
Here is one that sold on Ebay for $102 recently and this one is not as nice as the others.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOCIETY-OF-THE-CINCINNATI-TOKEN-POST-CIVIL-WAR-OMNIA-RELINQUIT-NICE-SHAPE-/392039344002?hash=item5b475da782:g:PlcAAOSwVWpa8nTp&nma=true&si=tAlGR%2B9Gsj2y7mHuYZc%2FN4fuZrA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Thanks for the link. I bought mine at a local coin shop for $35 as a speculation. It appears I did well on it.

dcarr

So far, we have four examples referenced in this thread:

Mine (shown above);
Recent eBay listing (https://ebay.com/itm/392039344002);
Worthpoint listing without hole (https://worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1860s-omnia-relinquit-servare-rem-429013664);
Worthpoint listing with hole (https://worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mns-medal-civil-war-union-dead-circa-502064825).

All four have the same obverse (sailor-soldier) die. But there are two different reverse dies.

My example and the Worthpoint without hole both have the same die crack running from under the plow to just above the "A" in PUBLICAM. The eBay piece is also from the same dies, but there is no evident die crack (although it could be an earlier die state and the crack might exist on that one but not seen in the photo).

The Worthpoint with hole example was struck by a different reverse die than the others. It does not have the die crack and there are numerous subtle differences in the engraving, such as:
The plow handles are longer and curve more horizontally;
and the upper right house window is partially cut off by the circle.

I suspect that the cracked die was eventually deemed unsuitable and a new replacement die was engraved and put to use.
Not of major importance, but interesting anyway.

Zoins

@GoldenEgg said:
It doesn't look old enough to be a civil war token, IMO. This looks more like the brass medalettes that were encased in copper crosses and stars. The company that produced many of them was Schwaab in Wisconsin. This is very much their style.

Amazing! You are a scholar! This was indeed shipped encased by Schwaab in 1898 for the Grand Army of the Republic. So it's related to the Civil War but not from that era.

Schwaab still exists (https://www.schwaab.com/pages/our-history) and was created in 1881 by Albert Schwaab. It was renamed to The Schwaab Stamp & Seal Company in 1888, as seen on the back of the piece below.

Zoins

The sailor and soldier motif was also used in 1898 for the Spanish American War Peace Jubilee medals.

Here's one of mine:

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/12562972

Zoins

@ricko said:
I believe the translation (Latin to English) is 'He relinquished everything to serve the Republic.' Just doing some quick research, it is a CWT... though I cannot tell if it is an original or reproduction. Cheers, RickO

Good find!

The National Park Service indicates OMNIA RELINQVIT SERVARE REMPVBLICAM means "He forsook all to preserve the public weal" and was the motto of the Society of the Cincinnati and it just so happens that the 1898 GAR encampment was in Cincinnati. See below (emphasis mine).

https://www.nps.gov/saga/learn/historyculture/the-shaw-memorial.htm

The Shaw Memorial remains one of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens' most stirring and celebrated masterpieces and is considered by some to be America's greatest public monument. It also took him the longest sculpture to complete; 14 years until the unveiling in Boston in 1897.
[...]
On the memorial's background, Shaw's father suggested using the motto of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization formed after the Revolutionary War for officers and their descendants, and of which Robert Gould Shaw was a hereditary member. The motto, OMNIA RELINQVIT SERVARE REMPVBLICAM (He forsook all to preserve the public weal), was indeed used.

The following Google's snippet from the following page on the Shaw Memorial by Augustus St. Gaudens:

Across from the State House resides a notable and significant bronze sculpture. It is a memorial to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment. The 54th was the first unit in the Union Army made up of free Black soldiers in the Civil War. They fought with great honor and bravery, as did so many in that conflict. Their story was told in the movie "Glory" with Mathew Broderick. The bronze work is by the famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It is inscribed in the field, "Omnia relinquit servare rempublicam," which translates to "He relinquished everything to serve the Republic."

http://www.celebrateboston.com/sites/shaw-memorial.htm

Zoins

Here's some info on The Society of the Cincinnati, whose motto was used on the medal (emphasis mine).

https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/

The Society of the Cincinnati is the nation's oldest patriotic organization, founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army and their French counterparts who served together in the American Revolution. Its mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of the achievement of American independence and to foster fellowship among its members. Now a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the principles and ideals of its founders, the modern Society maintains its headquarters, library, and museum at Anderson House in Washington, D.C.

George Washington was one of the first signers:

https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/about/purpose/institution

A publication by the Society uses the translation "He left all to serve the Republic".

https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/pdf/downloads/exhibition_NewJersey.pdf

kaz

Great post, Zoins. Thanks for the images and for putting the medalet into historical context.

CaptHenway

Excellent detective work!

Zoins

A bit more info. While the token is from 1898, the obverse design is from the 1866 Grand Army of the Republic medal.

RFagaly

I have both the bronze and brass examples and based on the above posts, I'm going to assume they were associated with the 1898 GAR encampment, which was held in Cincinnati. What most people don't realize is that the city of Cincinnati was named for the Society of the Cincinnati https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org
What I find interesting is that the reverse design is quite similar to the L’Enfant's 1783 drawing of the Society of the Cincinnati medal https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/the-society-of-the-cincinnati-diploma/. The legend on the reverse of the token and on the Society diploma "OMNIA RELINQUIT SERVARE REM PUBLICAM" is best translated as "He gave up everything to serve the republic". This is legend also appears on the Society of the Cincinnati Eagles https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/the-society-of-the-cincinnati-eagle/.

If anyone has any additional information as to why the reverse of this token uses Society of the Cincinnati elements, I'd be interested in finding out more

sellitstore

There is a strong parallel between Washington "giving up everything" (role as sovereign leader) and the sacrifice of giving up one's life as Lincoln and the sacrificed soldiers did during the War. They, too, gave up everything. I think that's the connection to the Society of Cincinnati.