Ques. about Civil War Tokens???

savoyspecial

It occurred to me today that all of the CWT that I encounter are from the standpoint of preserving the Union (e.g. THE UNION MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED)

Shouldnt there be some that represent the Southern viewpoint? Civil War Tokens, as I understand it, were used as a proxy currency for a nation that was experiencing hoarding of Federal issued copper and small denomination coinage; privately minted coins that were filling a void to ease everyday commerce. I would have to think that this would be the situation in the south as well as the north and that there may exist CWT's with a Southern slant. I dont know the Fuld# but I do recall one reverse that touted THE WEALTH OF THE SOUTH and depicted agricultural crops produced by southern states: cotton, corn, barley etc. (but I would point out that this is a far cry from promoting outright succession)

So I guess my question is, are there any CWT's that carry a motto or depiction that blatently support succession from the Union? Just curious. I suppose that most of the private mints producing these happened to be north of the mason dixon line but that is just a guess.

Billet7

I can't say I know of any (course I don't look for them all that much.)

I think it all boils down to resources., the north had more funds to produce something like this. I guess that's why we see coins with revaluation marks, they would have minted their own, but they didn't have the resources.

LindeDad

The economy in the south was much more on a barter system then. I seem to hear that theme in most historical shows about the time and area.

savoyspecial

Or perhaps it has something to do with the bulk of copper mines located in the Northeast (East Granby and Windsor CT)......One would have to assume that the majority of private copper mints would be located in this same vicinity

The south boasted gold production during this era: Charlotte, Rutherfordton, NC and Dahlonega, Milledgeville GA

Billet7

<< <i>Or perhaps it has something to do with the bulk of copper mines located in the Northeast (East Granby and Windsor CT)......One would have to assume that the majority of private copper mints would be located in this same vicinity

The south boasted gold production during this era: Charlotte, Rutherfordton, NC and Dahlonega, Milledgeville GA >>



Makes sense...but if this is the reason, why don't we see a bunch of southern gold civil war tokens?

cwt

There were a few Civil War tokens that were anti war or pacifist in nature. Here's an example of one token that appears to have been struck in the South during the War.

EagleEye

The Wealth of the South series of tokens were made during the 1860 Presidential election and some of these featured Southern sentiments.

There were a few store cards tokens from Southern states, but very few that are in the Patriotic series.

coinsarefun

I agree with EagleEye and may be able to add a few things.

The South did not make many tokens and the few they did make, just like all the other Civil War artifacts
like buckles, drums and other items usually bring a substantial price over the North
simply because there were not as much made nor could they afford to make them.




Below is an example of the token you were referring to in your original post.

The image is from NorthEast website.








Another token that commands large money is the Lovett Merchant token although made in the North,
the design is that of the obverse of Confederate Cent.

I think only 12 were actually struck of the real Confederate Cent.
Many were made as restrikes from broken dies.

Link to PCGS info on the only two Confederate coins





Lovett Merchant Token









Actual Confederate Cent Info on the Confederate Cent is here

savoyspecial

thanks Stef! i had no idea there was an obverse in the WEALTH OF THE SOUTH series that read: NO SUBMISSION TO THE NORTH!!


this is exactly the type of coin i surmised must surely be out there......thanks for confirming that

savoyspecial

I''m guessing there is a veiled reference to South Carolina with the presence of the palmetto tree on the obverse. Also the tree seems to obscure a 15th star

jessecarlk

<< <i>The economy in the south was much more on a barter system then. I seem to hear that theme in most historical shows about the time and area. >>



The South was definitely not on a barter system. There were vast amounts of wealth in the South. While Northern investments were in industry, making it easy for that region to be able to produce vast amounts of private tokens; Southern investments were tied up in slavery to produce cotton, tobacco, or sugar, making it difficult to produce many tokens.

Another thing to consider is the rate on inflation that the South encountered. Everything cost so much money in the South that there was no need for small change. Both the North and the South experienced inflation, but the Union only went up to 80% while the Confederacy went to 9,000%. In 1863, a sack of salt was $1.25 in New York City. That same sack of salt would cost you $60.00 anywhere in the Confederacy. Something that cost a Southerner $1 in 1861, cost $46 by 1864. Their issuance of greenback didn't help them at all. Both sides also issued greenbacks, but the North made their into legal tender, while the South never did. This means, without a government backing them, nobody trusted them and demanded more money to buy what used to cost less (inflation).

In short, there was a lack of tokens in the South because nobody needed them. What were they going to do with one cent?

Here's the only picture I had available dating to the Civil War era, though not a token: