I picked up three Civil War tokens today and would like to know more about them. The first says "Army & Navy" on one side and "1863" along with a bust of a woman on the other. The second says "1863 The Flag of our union" on one side and "If anybody attempts to tear it down Shoot him on the spot Dix" on the other. The third says "union forever" with the U.S. shield on one side and has an Indian on the other.
Like Kasia says Hiddendragon, because of the hoarding of small change and other problems as a result of the war these tokens were issued by merchants so they could make change. By late 1862 most regular coinage had disappeared from commerce and as a result these tokens were issued by private parties to help alleviate the shortage. Because they were actually made of a metal (nearly all were brass or copper) people generally accepted them as money. Bruce
I do not have my books with me but I believe they are all common pairs. They also have some issues. (Cleaning or corrosion). Kasia was correct in stating they are "Patriotic" token vs "Store cards" (Merchant advertising) or "Sutler tokens" which is really a kind of store card but they are specifically for a sutler that was like a supply clerk or merchant who followed the union army around and supplied them with goods. You might be able to find your tokens (and therefore identify them) at Steve Haydens website. http://www.civilwartokens.com/
I believe the Dix token was made by a button manufacturer in Connecticut, if you google Dix, you will find some interesting stuff about this General. I have a Dix token error that says "Shoot him on the SPOOT" Still laugh about that one! Joe
