"Real" Maj. Gen. McClellan token?

the4x4man

Maj. Gen. McClellan token?

I bought a token back in the 1970's as a kid from a Civil War show in Ashland, Ohio. I have looked for it and have had no luck finding another one. I have found copper ones, but they don't look like this.
This is what I know of it; Maj. Gen. McClellan was running for the presidency and they made these to show support for him. He became a General by the end of the war.

I don't know exactly what it is made of, either tin or lead.

My father has a doctorate in history, and the Civil War is his favorite time period. He bought a replica token (like mine, but smaller, and it did not have nothing on the back) at a Civil War show in the early 90's. He showed it to me and said that there are only a couple real ones known to exist and they were high dollar. I showed him mine and he was puzzled, he asked where I got it, and I told him the Civil War showin the 70's. He said it could very well be real, so if anyone has seen one, or has more information about it, please share. Thank you.

Here is the link to pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Bluewolfinnovations/MajGenMcClellan

StrikeOutXXX

I think it's a presidential campaign medal. Can't find an exact match, but I believe it shares the same obv as this one that ended on eBay:

eBay Link to similar medal

the4x4man

That is what I always find. The front looks the same as some of them out there, but the back is totally different.
Which leads me to believe this could be the "rare one" my dad told me about.
Thanks for your help.

RedTiger

If no help turns up here you might try the Civil War Token Society.

link to CWTS

It may turn out to be authentic. However, my educated guess is that even if it is a rare token (R6, R7 or R8) it would not be of great value because of the hole and the subject matter.

StrikeOutXXX

We're getting closer:

Gen. George B. McClellan "The War of 1861, 1862, 1863, & 1864" Medalet in White Metal. Listed as Sullivan-Dewitt GMcC 1864-8c, measures 34mm. This examples is muled with the type C reverse with all the different dates of the war

Yours has stars, this one leaves, so I would guess yours is another variation of the 8xxxx?

Heritage Link

the4x4man

Quite close. But mine is Maj. General McClellan on the obv. And "The war of 1861 '62 & '63" on the rev. That coin came a year later, he was promoted after the coin was made.
And I'll check out with the link to the historians.
Thanks guys for your help.

the4x4man

I sent an email to the historians. I'll let you know what I find out.
Thanks for the help.

the4x4man

I received an email back from the historian, he thought it might be a dog tag. He wrote this " This looks to me to be intended for a dog tag (still unengraved)". He gave me another person to get a hold of to see what I have.
I'll find out more tomorrow, I hope.

the4x4man

I received word back from the experts.
"It is a real unissued Civil War ID tag. It could probably be called very scarce to rare."
I don't know if there is a market for this kind of rarity. Oh well, I like the history behind it. It has made it 144 years without getting distroyed. It is still one of the earliest dog tags made, which is real cool.
Back the the coins I go.

tmot99

I think I've seen that medal before on an original campaign ribbon. I'll have to check to see if it's the same.

the4x4man

I'm still lost. I found no dog tags that look like this, and I find campaign medals that have the same front but something different on the back. Could it be a limited campaign medal that only a few received. He was a good fighter, but he did not want to get his men kiled, so he was a bad leader. So I still don't know what I have, but it seems to be really rare.