The Civil War Token Mega Thread

DCW · July 8, 2020 4:44PM

This is a thread that is designed to draw attention to that niche of the hobby so many of us already find alluring, tokens and medals that were issued during the American Civil War.
The idea here is to create a virtual museum on the forum, share a little history, and perhaps turn others on to this fascinating area of numismatics.
I'll start with one of the most iconic Civil War tokens in the entire catalog: the storied "Good for a Scent" token.
MA-115E-1a Good For A Scent/ Jos. H. Merriam, 18 Brattle Sq. Boston NGC MS66+RB ex. Steve Tanenbaum Collection

This is the work of Joseph H. Merriam of Boston, a highly skilled medalist and stencil maker of the day. The obverse die is Merriam's business address, and the reverse features a golden retriever with his famous play on words. Merriam used this die on other tokens, but they are all very rare.
Post your Civil War tokens and medals to this thread and let's see if we can keep it going...

To further your understanding about this area of the hobby, please consider joining the Civil War Token Society. The quarterly journal they put out is worth the price of membership, and there are member discounts for reference books and occasional auctions.

http://cwtsociety.com

Sonorandesertrat · July 8, 2020 5:17PM

1863 Edward Schaaf/New York NY-630BK-1do token struck over an 1862 Indian Head cent:

SimpleCollector · July 8, 2020 6:07PM

Besides the history, you have lots of different designs, lots of different pairings, many are raw, many are cheap, you can got towards store cards, patriotics , store cards by state...and what I like most, I always can seem to find something I need/want or didn’t realize I needed or wanted at a fair price. Here are three that I bought raw to show some of the options.

Boosibri · July 8, 2020 6:07PM

Best Good for Scent extant I think is posted above

DCW · July 8, 2020 6:17PM

@Boosibri said:
Best Good for Scent extant I think is posted above

Thanks, Brian. I have never seen its equal. After decades of collecting, Steve Tanenbaum chose to keep this one in his legendary set, so I cannot imagine a finer example out there. There are certainly a number of high grade examples, though, including a MS67BN.
I may send it to PCGS one day to cross and Trueview.

DCW · July 8, 2020 6:49PM

One of my favorite tokens of all time:
MA-115D-2b Good For A Scent/ Merriam & Co. NGC MS63 ex. Wierzba

This one is many times rarer than the standard variety. It uses the dog stock die but advertises Merriam's toad press on the obverse. Most examples are worn, making the toad look like a spring loaded lizard with a pancake on his head. So, it became known as the "salamander reverse." On a mint example like this, you can see the toad is just sitting on his lily pad.
And here is an actual toad press manufactured by Joseph Merriam for comparison:
These are rarer then the tokens themselves.

DNADave · July 8, 2020 7:12PM

I think a West Virginia piece is just about required in a CWT collection. They’re all fairly hard to come by, becoming a state on June 20, 1863. Only three towns are practically available: Wheeling, Glen Easton, and Hartford City. Some very rare pieces can be had from Snow Hill if you have deep pockets.

Zoins · July 8, 2020 10:49PM

Amazing Good for a Scent Merriam tokens @DCW ! The surfaces and strike on those are out of this world! There are civil war tokens and there are Civil War Tokens. Yours are knockouts.

Great tokens from everyone else as well! It's great to see the variety

ricko · July 9, 2020 5:15AM

@DCW....That 'Good for a Scent' is a real beauty....I have always liked that token....never did acquire one though. Cheers, RickO

Boosibri · July 9, 2020 5:41AM

I wish I bought a dozen MS65 and above Good for Scents 10 years ago. The prices today are reflective of the increased appreciation!

Stella · July 9, 2020 6:50AM

Civil War Tokens are great.

Here is one of my favorites:

seanq · July 9, 2020 7:33AM

@Stella said:
Civil War Tokens are great.

Here is one of my favorites:

I am obsessed with this die maker, and this token is how it all began. There are a multitude of tokens that share this same obverse, most for vendors in Cincinnati, many with Vine St addresses, and almost all of them have very bold repunching mistakes. I have given him a nickname, "the Butcher of Vine St," and I have a bunch of his sloppy tokens in my collection.

Here is a picture of another common Cincinnati / Vine St token with bold repunching (the picture was harvested from Google, though I have a couple of examples)

Sean Reynolds

DCW · July 9, 2020 7:51AM

@Stella @seanq
Interesting to note that Carl Haas chose the subject for his token because his name sounds like the German word for rabbit.

Stella · July 9, 2020 7:57AM

I agree, @DCW . Whatever the reasoning, I think it is a fun pictorial type!

Looking forward to see what others have to share as well.

DCW · July 9, 2020 7:59AM

Here is another storecard in which the owner's name influenced the subject matter:
F-225I-1a F.R. BEHR. Detroit, MI PCGS AU53 ex. Bowers

Behr ran a saloon in Detroit which also offered a bowling alley as displayed on the tokens reverse die. If contemporary accounts are to be believed, F.R. Behr was also a part of a Michigan militia known as the "Minutemen," who were to be called to service at a moment's notice to repel a Confederate invasion from Canada.

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 9:15AM

My first CWT courtesy of @DCW .

Charles A. LuhrsF-630AR-1do overstruck on a 1859 Indian Cent PCGS MS65
Ex. Q. David Bowers,

An amazing overstrike! Struck over a copper nickel 1859 Cent, A lovely Gem grade beauty with colorful toning on both sides. The pictorial of the beer glass has always a popular motif with crossover appeal to collectors of breweriana.

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 9:21AM

Also purchased on PCGS BST from Dennis Wells (DCW)

This token was personally owned by Q. David Bowers. He had his collection of civil war tokens certified by PCGS in special labels with his likeness on the back of the slab and his facsimile autograph. It is also pedigreed back to R & T, which is the firm of Rossa and Tanenbaum. This was placed into Rich Rossa's personal collection long ago, and Dave had first pick.
It has been taken care of for 156 years!

C. Bahr/"Erinnerung" (Remembrance) of 1863, New York, NY overstruck on an 1863 Cent PCGS MS63

In Civil War tokens, there are two categories: Patriotics and Storecards. They both served the general purpose of providing small change during the conflict which saw the general hoarding of all precious metals, including copper cents.
The difference between the two categories is pretty simple: while patriotics utilized imagery of flags, cannons, eagles, etc.,

Storecards had advertising info for specific merchants. In this case, C. Bahr, a liquor dealer in NYC had his merchant info on the back of a stock die 1240 "Erinnerung an 1863" German for "Remembrance of 1863."
His business location was the Corner of Cliff and Frankfort St.

This particular token may well be unique, because rather than have been struck on a normal planchet, it was overstruck on a copper nickel 1863 Cent (with great detail at that.)

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 9:24AM

NO DATE TOKEN F-630L-4DO COPPER-NICKEL PE BROAS BROS., STK OVER 1863 1C NY MS65

This one is unique and also previously owned by Q. David Bowers. Also purchased from Dennis !!

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 9:26AM

This one is also unique and owned by a friend of mine that I recently turned on to CWT's. Again from Dennis.

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 9:28AM

1863 TOKEN F-630BK-1DO COPPER-NICKEL PE ED. SCHAFF, STK OVER 1858 LL 1C NY MS65

POP 1 for the grade.

mosjcoin · July 9, 2020 11:31AM

Back in the day oops was said a lot.

calgolddiver · July 9, 2020 11:37AM

@DCW said:
One of my favorite tokens of all time:
MA-115D-2b Good For A Scent/ Merriam & Co. NGC MS63 ex. Wierzba

This one is many times rarer than the standard variety. It uses the dog stock die but advertises Merriam's toad press on the obverse. Most examples are worn, making the toad look like a spring loaded lizard with a pancake on his head. So, it became known as the "salamander reverse." On a mint example like this, you can see the toad is just sitting on his lily pad.
And here is an actual toad press manufactured by Joseph Merriam for comparison:
These are rarer then the tokens themselves.

LOVE THIS !

Zoins · July 9, 2020 6:01PM

1863 A. Killeen - Tradesmen Currency - William Henry Bridgens - F-330A-5e White Metal - Ex-Fuld, Rossa, Bowers

Here's a white metal Tradesmen Currency piece. I have a fascination with the Tradesmen Currency die so I enjoyed picking this up.

This was previously owned by George Fuld, Rich Rossa and Dave Bowers.

Anyone know Killeen's full first name?

PennyGuy · July 9, 2020 7:28PM

As a long term copper collector I was drawn to CWT’s specifically Michigan Store Cards. Focusing on assembling a Michigan towns & cities collection I was able to acquire the Saranac token below to complete the set.

DCW, in his post below, suggested I add a bit of history on this token.

Of the 55 Michigan towns and cities where Store Cards were used, those from Saranac are considered to be the most difficult to obtain. The work by Brian Kanzinger rates the town of Saranac as a 9+, the highest rankings possible. The book US Civil War Store Cards by George and Melvin Fuld lists three known varieties. Since that book was published a fourth variety was discovered by Q David Bowers in his own collection. The now four varieties have a total population of seven pieces. The token shown here is the 3a variety, is a Rarity 9 with two known, and is the finest known at AU-53, and is the Fuld plate piece for the 3a variety. This token is Ex. Alan Bleviss, and Steve Tanenbaum as well.

The manufacturer remains unknown to this day. A close examination shows that the dies used were produced by hand as each letter and element show differences. Research by Q David Bowers unveiled that a co-tenant of the boarding house where Walter Darling lived was a gunsmith which makes him a possible source of the primitive dies used to strike the Saranac tokens.

DCW · July 9, 2020 7:34PM

@PennyGuy That is one tough piece! Congrats on the big pickup

coinsarefun · July 9, 2020 8:11PM

I tend to like the pictorial Merchant CWT’s
.
.

DCW · July 9, 2020 8:17PM

@coinsarefun I was wondering when you were going to show up! Nice smokers

coinsarefun · July 9, 2020 8:20PM

I also fancy the Alfred Robinson’s Merchant tokens too.
The silver is ex: Virgil Brand.
.
.

DCW · July 9, 2020 8:29PM

1861. "I Am Ready"/ All-Seeing Eye token in copper, F-147/228a. PCGS MS65RB

A piece so nice, I had to own it twice!
Struck at the dawn of the American Civil War by John D. Lovett, this half dollar sized token features a pilgrim clad in patriotic attire, steeling for battle. The words "I AM READY." surround him, reflecting the attitude of many who saw the conflict as inevitable. I cannot think of a more iconic piece from the period.
The reverse is the "All-seeing Eye," a much rarer version than the more commonly seen circle of stars struck in silvered brass.

coinsarefun · July 9, 2020 8:34PM

A few Political CWT’s.
.
.

Boosibri · July 10, 2020 5:58AM

jedm · July 10, 2020 6:02AM

jedm · July 10, 2020 6:06AM

Sonorandesertrat · July 10, 2020 6:24AM

We need a Broas Pie Baker, 630M-9a. Common, and frequently seen with die clash marks and/or extensive die cracks

seanq · July 10, 2020 7:17AM

@jedm said:

Hah! The "Butcher of Vine St" made (and repunched in several places) a token for an actual butcher. I don't think I've seen this one before, thank you for sharing.

Sean Reynolds

DCW · July 10, 2020 8:39AM

@seanq said:
I don't think I've seen this one before, thank you for sharing.

Exactly what this thread is about! Nice tokens everyone, let's keep this going.

calgolddiver · July 10, 2020 9:05AM

a most excellent thread !!!!

PennyGuy · July 10, 2020 9:48AM

@DCW Thanks, it was a pretty big deal for me to acquire it.

DCW · July 10, 2020 10:20AM

@PennyGuy said:
@DCW Thanks, it was a pretty big deal for me to acquire it.

You should edit your above post to include a little history. I don't think many people know the rarity of your piece. A fascinating token!

PennyGuy · July 10, 2020 12:13PM

@DCW said:

@PennyGuy said:
@DCW Thanks, it was a pretty big deal for me to acquire it.

You should edit your above post to include a little history. I don't think many people know the rarity of your piece. A fascinating token!

Thanks for the advice and interest, I have edited my post, above, to add some detail.

CWT1863 · July 10, 2020 3:40PM

These two arrived today!

OH 165CY-67b R8 PCGS MS-64

IN 460H-1a R6 PCGS MS-65 RB

DNADave · July 10, 2020 5:19PM

You know you’re a stud when you put it on a token!

Not all cwts were the size of a small cent. This ones in a half dollar holder

kaz · July 10, 2020 6:10PM

excuse me, Mr. Marshall, I'd like some gut leaders and and a bust quarter?

DCW · July 10, 2020 7:39PM

F-NY-630AK-2a Hussey's Special Message Post, New York City. PCGS MS66RB ex. Bowers

George T. Hussey ran a courier service at 50 William St. in New York City, filling the need to deliver important documents between various financial institutions without delay.

kaz · July 10, 2020 7:56PM

jedm · July 10, 2020 8:21PM

This one is not small cent size either, but quarter sized:

coinsarefun · July 11, 2020 9:04AM

coinsarefun · July 11, 2020 9:07AM

Rulau writes that there are "only 2 pieces known" for the Ma-Bo 20 variety.
A specimen of the more common variety with the Constitution obverse exceeded
$2,000 in our (Stack's) July 2008 sale.
From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection.
.
.

BillJones · July 11, 2020 9:23AM

Let's start with the Madison Brewery which was the design appeared on the dust jacket of the Fuld Merchant Store Card book. This is scarce, but not rare.

This Ludwig's smoke shop token was one pictured in Fuld book.

Overall, I think think that John Marr was the best of all of the CWT engravers. His Millwaukee tokens were among the best. Here is a John Marr portrait. His son became a famous artist.

The Bllatz Beer token

The Mossin & Marr store card

The reverse "naked Amizon" was based upon the painting "Liberty Leading the People" in my opinion.

jafo50 · July 11, 2020 10:34AM

My contribution

DCW · July 11, 2020 11:35AM

@BillJones
Nice to see what Marr actually looked like, so we can put a face to the name. It is unusual to be able to do that with most of the die sinkers.
Nice Blatz beer token, too.
The reverse die, for those who are unaware, depicts Gambrinus, the legendary German king of beer.
He also graces the below token, which is a very rare variant of an iconic Chicago card:
IL-150BB-4a J.F. Siehler Boarding Haus PCGS MS62BN, ex. Tanenbaum, Bowers

The Civil War Token Mega Thread

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