Congrat's! I'm still looking for one but in the ground metal detecting. Now, that would be a treat full of history.
Yes. Definitely cool. I too recently picked up an "IOU" CWT, at the FUN show. It's in my giveaway inventory. Come and get it!
Look at all the die cracks on that one! Maybe I am mistaken, but I'd suspect it odd to see cracks like that for these tokens.
This variety with the "Good for a Scent" dog design has become super popular. When I was a dealer, you could get them for $125 to $150 in mostly red Mint State. Now, even the most common ones bring over $3,000 in auctions. The Salamander variety is high on the list for anyone who collects New England area Civil War Tokens. There is something like 20 known. There are salamander presses which were made by Merriam and Co. I do have a lion press.
I dunno. I don’t think quality control was necessarily quite as tight at the private mints as it was at the government’s official one. I’ve seen a lot of interesting quirks (die breaks, repunching, clipped planchets, etc.) on Civil War tokens.
Amazing high end tokens, I've come across the top token but the one with the salamander is new to me and that lion press, that is beyond cool!
The quality of Civil War tokens is all over the lot. Some of them are poorly made and primitive looking. Others, like the "Good for a scent" token I posted above, are as good anything the U.S. made. Joseph Merriam was as talented as anyone who worked at the U.S. mint. William Key, who made dies for a number of Philadelphia area Civil War tokens and other pieces, was hired by the Philadelphia Mint after the war. Jon Marr, who made a great many of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin tokens was also outstanding.
