Has anyone seen another electrotype of this token ?

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  • CaptHenway
    CaptHenway Posts: 34,177 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Does the edge indicate that it is an electrotype?

    Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • MWallace
    MWallace Posts: 4,683 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Hi Stef!! Good to see you on here.

  • jonathanb
    jonathanb Posts: 4,155 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    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.

  • Rittenhouse
    Rittenhouse Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭
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    @jonathanb said:
    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.

  • tokenpro
    tokenpro Posts: 940 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    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.

  • jonathanb
    jonathanb Posts: 4,155 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 28, 2026 2:06PM
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    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

  • ambro51
    ambro51 Posts: 14,471 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Electrotypes, or cast, won’t have a sharp ring when dropped. Struck coins will ring.

  • BillJones
    BillJones Posts: 35,946 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Here is an example of the token which is listed with Henry Clay's 1844 presidential campaign.

    DeWitt lists the piece, HC 1844-9 in copper and white metal. I have never seen a copper piece, and have seen seen that many examples of the variety over the last 25 years. I bought this one in 2000 in a Joe Levine acution. He appologized for the the price I paid, but it was okay. They were just starting to get kind of hot.

    The piece in the OP does not look right to me. It appears to be some sort of copy.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?

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