President Kennedy and Pope John XXIII Confession Token Trial Piece

USA240

Going through my box of misc coins/tokens/medals and thought I would share this one.
46.6 grams
Roughly 45MM at its widest point
Looks and feels like lead or some alloy of it
Uniface reverse
I wonder if any regular tokens were produced?

291fifth

Probably intended for use on an anti-Kennedy, anti-Catholic token that was planned but never produced. I've never seen it before. John XXIII was pope from 1958 until June, 1963. It wouldn't surprise me if this was intended for the 1960 presidential election.

JBK

Looks sonewhat similar (but not at all identical) to the "In the Pope we Hope" token issued in the early 1960s.

Agree that it has political connotations of some sort.

johnny9434

A Kennedy and confession in the same sentence. Is that a first?

JBK

@johnny9434 said:
A Kennedy and confession in the same sentence. Is that a first?

MedalCollector

A satirical Robert Bashlow piece. Probably has some value being such.

USA240

@GoldenEgg said:
A satirical Robert Bashlow piece. Probably has some value being such.

@GoldenEgg said:
A satirical Robert Bashlow piece. Probably has some value being such.

I should mention that I purchased this piece, with quite a few other similar items years ago at a collectibles show in Minnesota from a lady who claimed her deceased husband was a die maker.
She had a one table set up in the mid to late 90's or early 2000's, and I think the show was in Roseville MN.
I spent 18 years in the state and never saw her before or after that show. I still have most of what I purchased from her.

JBK

It's a keeper for sure.

CaptHenway

@GoldenEgg said:
A satirical Robert Bashlow piece. Probably has some value being such.

Not so much satirical as bigoted.

ricko

Yes, I recall that being a big issue during the campaign....Unreasonable fear that the Pope would be running America...Kennedy still won easily and the fears disappeared as the political rubbish it represented. Cheers, RickO

Smudge

@ricko said:
Yes, I recall that being a big issue during the campaign....Unreasonable fear that the Pope would be running America...Kennedy still won easily and the fears disappeared as the political rubbish it represented. Cheers, RickO

I thought it was a pretty close race.

ricko

The popular vote was close, but the electoral college was not. Kennedy won a 303 to 219 Electoral College victory and is generally considered to have won the national popular vote by 112,827, a margin of 0.17 percent. Cheers, RickO

JBK

@Smudge said:

@ricko said:
Yes, I recall that being a big issue during the campaign....Unreasonable fear that the Pope would be running America...Kennedy still won easily and the fears disappeared as the political rubbish it represented. Cheers, RickO

I thought it was a pretty close race.

Aha! A history buff...

The electoral college totals don't tell the full story. Close (and some say questionable) voting in Texas and Chicago gave JFK the win.

JFK fought two opponents in that election: the opposing party, and those afraid of the possibility of the first catholic president.