BS
Broadstruck
Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
A Unique Unlisted Philadelphia Merchant Token Mule Struck From 1874 Memorial Obverse & 1863 CWSC Reverse Dies.
When I first saw this I knew I hadn't seen another and thought it was a J. Henry Gercke 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Token but Sumner is a unlisted die. Then quickly remembered that's not right as Centennial Tokens are 23mm in diameter and the Sumner is only 19mm. So what we have here is the Obverse Die is from a 1874 Charles Sumner Memorial Token and the Reverse die is a 1863 Civil War Token Fuld-PA-750K J. Henry Gercke, Philadelphia, PA R-6. This token variety is completely unlisted and therefore was unknown to exist by Benjamin Wright, Edgar Adams, Donald Miller, & Russell Rulau.
Circa 1874 J. Henry Gerke Watchmaker & Jeweler, Philadelphia, Charles Sumner Memorial Obverse, 19mm Diameter, White Metal, Plain Edge.
Info on the regular issued 1874 Charles Sumner Memorial Token:
This has an immense amount of history and I'll just skim the surface. This token was struck for and distributed by Philadelphia coin dealer John William Kline as it was advertised for sale in The Numismatist available for 50 cents shortly after Sumner's death. Made available in white metal, gilt brass, and copper the later two metal types are quite scarce with the copper variety rarely seen. On the obverse it states "Take Care Of My Civil Rights Bill" which were the final words Sumner uttered to Fredrick Douglas at his bedside and the bill was passed the following year in 1875. Sumner was a leader in the Anti Slavery movement and was nearly killed on the Senate floor in 1856 by South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks the nephew of Andrew Butler. Sumner 2 days earlier mentioned that Butler had a slave mistress in a speech which followed with Brooks seeking him out at his desk and canning him within inches of his life. Brooks not only shattered his cane during the beating (He was sent over 100 new canes by southern supporters) but also destroyed any pretense of civility between North and South of which many factors conspired to cause the Civil War.
Sellers Photos
NGC Cert Verifcation Scan
My Photos
When I first saw this I knew I hadn't seen another and thought it was a J. Henry Gercke 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Token but Sumner is a unlisted die. Then quickly remembered that's not right as Centennial Tokens are 23mm in diameter and the Sumner is only 19mm. So what we have here is the Obverse Die is from a 1874 Charles Sumner Memorial Token and the Reverse die is a 1863 Civil War Token Fuld-PA-750K J. Henry Gercke, Philadelphia, PA R-6. This token variety is completely unlisted and therefore was unknown to exist by Benjamin Wright, Edgar Adams, Donald Miller, & Russell Rulau.
Circa 1874 J. Henry Gerke Watchmaker & Jeweler, Philadelphia, Charles Sumner Memorial Obverse, 19mm Diameter, White Metal, Plain Edge.
Info on the regular issued 1874 Charles Sumner Memorial Token:
This has an immense amount of history and I'll just skim the surface. This token was struck for and distributed by Philadelphia coin dealer John William Kline as it was advertised for sale in The Numismatist available for 50 cents shortly after Sumner's death. Made available in white metal, gilt brass, and copper the later two metal types are quite scarce with the copper variety rarely seen. On the obverse it states "Take Care Of My Civil Rights Bill" which were the final words Sumner uttered to Fredrick Douglas at his bedside and the bill was passed the following year in 1875. Sumner was a leader in the Anti Slavery movement and was nearly killed on the Senate floor in 1856 by South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks the nephew of Andrew Butler. Sumner 2 days earlier mentioned that Butler had a slave mistress in a speech which followed with Brooks seeking him out at his desk and canning him within inches of his life. Brooks not only shattered his cane during the beating (He was sent over 100 new canes by southern supporters) but also destroyed any pretense of civility between North and South of which many factors conspired to cause the Civil War.
Sellers Photos
NGC Cert Verifcation Scan
My Photos
To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
0