Options
Post your favorite Civil War Tokens
Zoins
Posts: 33,917 ✭✭✭✭✭
I continue to be amazed by the variety of Civil War Tokens and the rarity of some issues.
Here's one of my favorites by William Henry Bridgens of New York City. This is a common design in copper, but in rare silver with only 1 in the ATS pops. The way this reflects the light is amazing. It's a treat to look at and rotate in the light. I've also started to keep track of the Hayden inventory number for some of my acquisitions as it is a good additional reference. The photos are by Steve Hayden.
Tagged:
6
Comments
Very nice!
Love CWT's struck over other coins. Here are a couple. Can you figure out the under type?
Here are two of my favorites:
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
This is another good one from Bridgens featuring his own storecard reverse with the famous "Money Makes the Mare Go."
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Here is one I recently acquired:
ANA-LM, CWTS-LM, NBS, TAMS, ANS
Some of mine
Here are a few more of mine:
ANA-LM, CWTS-LM, NBS, TAMS, ANS
1864 General McClellans Political Campaign Civil War Token
I'm not sure if these are still classified CWT's any longer. They were out, then in....maybe now out?
.
.
1860 NEW YORK M-NY-428 Q.DAVID BOWERS COLLECTION NGC MS 65
.
.
By George Hampden Lovett. Obv. Jolly Regency era smoker, NO PLEASURE CAN EXCEED – THE SMOKING OF THE WEED. Rev. Crossed pipes over tobacco box, issued by a famous pioneer numismatist and American Numismatic Society officer, J.N.T. Levick (1828-1909). This token was voted for listing in The 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens book.
.
.
.
1860 NEW YORK M-NY-319 E. HILL NGC MS 66 BN
Very proof like
.
.
.
.
1861 COPPER HARTFORD F-210A-1a ALFRED S. ROBINSON NGC MS 64 BN
.
.
.
.
1861 SILVER HARTFORD F-210A-1F HENRY SOUTH COLLECTION NGC MS 63
**Ex: Virgil Brand Collection 1954 **
.
.
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Beautiful tokens! I'm a big fan of Civil War token overstrikes and have often started thinking of getting some.
The coins and tokens look like:
I'm not sure who did Monk's Metal Signs. Do you know who the engraver / die sinker is? Is there an easy way to look this up? I use cwtoken.com but don't have a great way to navigate that site for store tokens.
Those are great either way! Love the slogan and colors.
What are the reasons for being in or out of CWT classification? Does it have to do with the year, size, or composition? Given the dates of issue, would they have been intended to be used as money due to coin shortage during the war?
Haven’t seen that one before! Does that stand for New York Central Railroad Express Trains?
I do not have any CWT's, but they sure are interesting. Cheers, RickO
Oops. Just noticed this is 1850. So pre-Civil War era but still a store card token. My favorite CWT is one with an elk's head on it.
Check out my iPhone app SlabReader!
Franz Sigel is now a fairly obscure Civil War general. He was one of the so-called “political generals” because he got his commission from his ability to gin up German-American votes for Lincoln and anti-slavery cause.
On paper, Sigel looked like the perfect political choice. He had graduated from the Karlsruhe Military Academy in Germany. A part of the unsuccessful revolutionary movements that swept Europe in 1848, he fled to Switzerland and later settled in St. Louis, Missouri.
At the beginning of the war he enjoyed successes during the capture of Camp Jackson from secessionist forces and at Wilson’s Creek. His greatest success was at the Battle of Pea Ridge where he personally directed a Union artillery attack that decimated the forces under Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn. For this achievement Franz’s brother, Emil, who was a prolific Civil War Token die maker, produced this token, which celebrated “F. Sigel” as “the hero of Pea Ridge.”
After Pea Ridge, Franz Sigel’s military career went downhill. He was transferred to the east where he met up with Confederate General Thomas “Stone Wall” Jackson in the Shenandoah campaign. As you might have guess, “Stone Wall” got the best of him, which was fate of every other Union general who opposed Jackson on a head to head basis. Later in 1864, Sigel’s for lost “the biggest small battle of the Civil War” at New Market. That contest was noted for the successful charge of a group of Virginia Military Institute cadets. Sigel was relieved of his command and resigned from the Army shortly after that.
It is not known if Emil Sigel purposely defaced his Franz Sigel die, but later impressions, which are much more common, had most of the phrase, “Hero of Pea Ridge” obliterated.
Probably at date after the above tokens were issued, Emil Sigel made another Franz Sigel die, this one with stars in place of the Pea Ridge legend. This piece is qute rare with perhaps less than 10 known.
To complete the circle, here the political token that was issued starting in 1860 (These pieces were restruck in later years) for forme vice president, Southern Democratic presidential candidate and Confederate general, John Breckinridge. Breckinridge commanded the forces that defeated Sigel's command at New Market. This is also a scarce Civil War token.
@BillJones Great background on Franz Sigel. Love the stages the token design goes through and that it was issued by his brother. I never knew about either. Franz does have a fairly substantial Wikipedia page, however, it doesn't mention Emil or his token. I wonder if it would be good to add it there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Sigel
Here's a photo from Wikipedia:
Nice storecard @DCW. Here's my Bridgens storecard paired with a Fuld 37. Unfortunately, when I looked up 189 William St. on Google Maps, it looks like it's been torn down and replaced with a large modern building, though the other side of the street still has small, older buildings. This one is ungraded and could use a visit to our hosts.
Here's a pair of favorites, both issued by my Great-Great Grandfather, Wm. Perkins, Sr., Detroit, Michigan. The Perkins Hotel was opened in downtown Detroit in 1847 at the Corner of Grand Ave., Cass, and Middle Street. The Perkins Hotel token is struck in copper; the Wm. Perkins, Jr. Grocery & Provision Store is struck on a copper nickel planchet and is unique.
I have examples of both tokens struck in Brass, White Metal / Tin, and Copper Nickel and my collection is complete by issuer.
....
....
....
Photos courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
That is great family history @WDP!
Do you know who the die sinker / engraver was for those tokens?
Have you thought about getting them all PhotoVisioned or crossed with TrueViews? It would be great to have a great set of photos memorialized for such a meaningful collection!
@Zoins wrote, That is great family history @WDP!
Do you know who the die sinker / engraver was for those tokens?
Have you thought about getting them all PhotoVisioned or crossed with TrueViews? It would be great to have a great set of photos memorialized for such a meaningful collection!
_
Thanks @ Zoins. All of the Detroit CWTs are in NGC holders except for a few that are still "raw." Someday I would like to get them photographed, but will wait as I still upgrade examples now and then. Easier to do it all at once, if that is possible!
I'd actually like to write a book with information on each issuer someday. I've written a fair number of articles on the various Detroit merchant issuers for TAMS and the Civil War Token Journal. I cataloged a large Detroit CWT Collection years ago for Heritage. This sale allowed me to complete the collection. I have done a lot of research over the years. We'll see if I have time....
The die sinker was John Stanton of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Thanks again.
W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
Since I only own 4 CWT's they are all my favorites
This is my most favorite as it's not small cent dinky and actually 5mm larger in diameter than a silver dollar
1861-62 Henry Cook - Coin Dealer “Civil War” Store Card, Boston, Miller MA-BO19 / Fuld F-115Aa-1a, 43mm Copper Planchet, Dies by George H. Lovett.
This is one of only 4 copper examples which has come to market since 1989 and although examples struck in white metal are rated Rarity-8 in copper composition it's seen less frequently. Previously considered a U.S. Trade Token this has just been assigned a Fuld number F-115Aa-1a and is included as a new Civil War Token in the 2014 fall release of the new reference book on the series. This is the second example I've owned and is very visually pleasing with balanced slightly faded red proof-like surfaces and beautiful deep blue patina which appears when rotated under a light source.
The method of usage with store cards was that when any merchant gave change one was substituted in exchange of a penny. All other merchants would also accept them as face value of 1 cent and this was a good way to advertise at the time. However most all store cards were struck on cent sized planchets for ease of commerce, earlier ones the diameter of a large cent. By the time Cook had this struck other dealers such as John Curtis, Edward Cogan, William Idler, etc had switched to Indian Head Cent sized small cent store cards. So although Cook decided to go gigantic in diameter at 43mm these didn't function well for the advertisement route of store cards. It’s the largest of any merchant advertising cards ever stuck, as large is considered 32mm. Cook might have very well had a good amount of these re-melted as the copper weight far exceeded the face value intended.
Henry Cook who would become one of America’s first rare coin dealers was born in Maine in 1821, a seventh-generation Mayflower descendant. He moved to Boston when he was 16 years old and gained employment with a company in the export trade. At the age of 21 he was sent to South America to handle the firm’s interests on the west coast there. Later he served as mate aboard a sailing vessel which traded along that coast and with islands in the Pacific. By the 1840s he was an avid coin collector. In the 1850s he relinquished seafaring for the security of an on land occupation in Boston, and entered the boot and shoe trade at 74 Friend Street. He was fond of looking through copper half cents and cents in circulation and picking out scarce dates which he displayed in a counter in his shoe shop. It seems that he was active in the rare coin business by the mid-1850s. Circa 1861-62 he commissioned a selection of patriotic medals to be struck from his own designs with dies cut by George Hampton Lovett. Another smaller 28mm copper Cook store card exists muled with the reverse die from a circa 1850's Haviland Stevenson & Co. Druggists from Charleston, South Carolina, Miller SC-3. It was written about in the pages of The American Numismatic Journal in July 1889 and April 1892 by Horatio Storer who stated these had not been struck to the order or knowledge of Mr. Cook. In the September 1880 Jenks sale is was mentioned Mr. Cook has no information and never having heard of it before and it's believed that not more than two or three were struck. Now it isn't uncommon for merchants to have forgotten about their store cards as some Lyman Low interviewed couldn't provide any valuable information either. So this may very well be a tentative non completed prototype for a token design Mr. Cook rejected. In 1866 still located in his shoe shop with coins at 74 Friend Street, Cook advertised as “Numismatist and Antiquarian” rare and antique coins, medals, autographs, books, bought, sold and exchanged with cabinets arranged and cataloged for public sale in Boston or New York. Also purchases made at all the coin and book sales in either of the above mentioned cities on commission. On April 6 of the same year he was elected treasurer at the founding meeting of the New England Numismatic and Archaeological Society. In 1869 Cook issued a 12-page listing coin and medal circular containing a few remarks on the American series of Coins and Medals.
1863 M.L. Marshall, Oswego, New York, 19mm Diameter, Copper, Fuld-NY695A-2a, Adams/Miller-NY-1014, Rarity-1
This variety is excessively scarce with even trace red as most all survivors are fully chocolate brown.
Morgan L. Marshall was the proprietor of a fishing tackle and coin shop located in New York's Finger Lakes region of Lake Ontario. Morgan whose nickname was “Blunt” born in 1822 in Oneida County. He developed an interest in the outdoors particular fishing and his general store emphasized sports equipment but stocked other dry goods as well. He served as president of the Oswego Horticultural Club. He was important in the Oswego Leather Stocking Club a group that was prominent in the suppression of illegal fishing and the taking of game. His numismatic activities have been recorded but lightly as he was active in an era before any regularly issued publications in the hobby. The advent of the American Journal of Numismatics did not occur until May 1866.
1862 M.L. Marshall, Oswego, New York, 29mm Diameter, Copper, Fuld-NY-695A-1, Adams/Miller-NY-1011, Wright-668, Rarity-6
The scarce Civil War issue struck from the 1860 tired dies after the last digit in the date was re-cut along with the addition of a second smaller tree in left obverse field.
1863 W. Jaxon - Grocer "Bully For You" Jackson Hall, Jackson, Michigan, Fuld-MI-525D-2a, Rarity-3
I was bullied into adding this to my collection as I don't generally like small cent sized tokens, but have always liked this reverse pictorial die. "Bully For You" in the 1860's was a saying which meant "Good For You". As these are crudely struck most all encountered are fully brown without even trace red and the reverse center weakness is common for the 1863 Jaxon. The 1864 Jaxon's come a bit better struck in central reverse and I saw the so called only RB MI-525D-4a at Stack's lot viewing 3-4 years ago yet wasn't enamored with it. This pop 1 RB for the 1863 issue is nearly fully lustrous mint red on the reverse and total eye candy. Provenance wise this was formally in the collections of Steve Tanenbaum & Marion Emrick along with also being the Plate token in George Fuld's 3rd & 4th Edition CWSC books.
Sorry Zoins, I haven't checked this thread in a while. I'm not sure, but your guess makes sense.
Here is a new one just joining my group!
a tough issue in white metal.
These would be the most famous tokens about the civil war would they not?
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Not sure. They are famous, but I don't think they normally get classified as Civil War tokens. They weren't released during the Civil War and they weren't used for trade like tokens are. Some consider them patterns and others consider them fantasy coins.
I agree with you then, no proof or even a real theory that they were issued or connected to any government or on behalf of any officials.
I had never heard that a token had to be used for private commerce. I just thought privately issued. Interesting thanks
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I think these are interesting. They still have a mysterious origin. It's part of what keeps our hobby interesting.
If a piece isn't used for private commerce, it could be a medal or a medalette, but who's keeping track
I only have a handful of CWT's and these are not rare, but I bought them because of their beauty both in toning and design. I also found a couple of cool error tokens. But then I got into Conder tokens and decided it had to be one or the other, so I decided to go with Conder tokens. However, I and still happy I kept these little guys.
https://thepennylady.com/
Those are beautiful @ThePennyLady ! I've always thought you had a great eye for coins and this just proves it once, okay 9 times, again!