Has anyone seen another electrotype of this token ?
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Thoughts??
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Comments
Does the edge indicate that it is an electrotype?
Hi Stef!! Good to see you on here.
That sure looks like an electrotype to me, even without seeing the edge.
I haven't seen an electrotype of that specific medal. Electrotypes were "a thing" in the 1800s. I wouldn't be shocked to see an electrotype of basically an US medal that was originally produced before the Civil War.
Electrotypes were a thing since Franklin Peale made the first documented US piece in 1840 until 1886 when the mint got legislation passed and they were banned (along with altered dates and other fabrications). Electros of mint medals aren't common, but they do exist in number. Peale was making them for diplomatic sets as a way to reduce wear-and-tear on the dies. Attached are a couple article and mint recs for those interested in the history of US numismatic electros.
Have I seen an electrotype of this token? No.
Is the one in the OP an electrotype. Most probably not.
Have I seen the token before? Yes.
What is it then? It's a shell card formed from two embossed (struck) thin metal discs which are then fit together. Of course electrotypes are not struck.
Is the date important? Yes, in two distinct ways.
1. The date helps pin the shell to the Presidential election of 1844 and relates it the the Nativist movement that was strong in certain sections of the country. The Nativist movement of the time is very similar to several current movements in multiple countries. The Nativists mostly backed Henry Clay in the 1844 election in a losing cause.
2. The date 1844 coincides with the first extensive use of shell cards in political campaigns similar to 1896 which saw the first extensive use of celluloid pinback buttons in the McKinley -Bryan election.
Is it listed somewhere? It is not in the DeWitt-Sullivan "bible" of political items (at least I couldn't find it) although there are a number of shell cards listed for Polk and Clay. As should be expected, DeWitt is not 100% complete especially for the minor/splinter parties.
Where did I see it? I don't recall exactly as I probably saw it in one of the many political auction catalogs from Presidential, Al Anderson, Ted Hake, Tom Slater, Tom French, etc., etc. There is a strong possibility that I saw it in one of the late Rex Stark's numerous illustrated fixed price lists issued over many years. I am 99% sure that I have not seen it in person but I know I have seen it published at least once and possibly more than one time.
Not a shell card. It's a copy of some sort, if not strictly an electrotype. If anything, the porous surfaces and the lack of detail (especially on the flag side) point towards a non-electrotype copy of some sort. The mostly-filled hole over BEWARE is something you see on copies. This is what a struck original looks like: https://historical.ha.com/itm/political/a/1080-344.s.
Several others: https://archive.stacksbowers.com/?q=3147cd36-6fd6-4e14-8ebb-ffbd5030caca
This is HC 1844-9
Electrotypes, or cast, won’t have a sharp ring when dropped. Struck coins will ring.