Do you own any Civil War Tokens?

Hi, pj...

Yes, CWT's often have a satirical view of political trends and events.

Like similar political decisions made today regarding support of returning disabled American veterans, decisions during the Civil War apparently favored building of railroads and production of war supplies rather than directing adequate funds to care for widows of veterans killed in action or later dying as a result of the war.

Although I have both tokens you mention, one of mine is unique as far as anybody knows. Here it is, in estimated EF-45 condition. Can you see the two errors on the obverse? Can you explain them? Nobody else has yet. : )

 

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Mine isn't in as nice a shape as yours, but it looks substantially the same (as far as I can tell).

The head band seems to read, "Fort Lafaye" on mine, 'though the last letter is a little ambiguious to me.

Please expand on the two features you refered to on the obverse and I'll see if mine matches up.

Thanks.

 

Look for some extra letters at 4:30 and 5:00 near the rim. : )

 

Do you mean what looks like an incused "T" (or maybe an "E") near the "S" in "Contractors"? Mine doesn't have that mark; the field is quite clear in that area.

Do you have any idea where (or what) Fort Lafaye is or was? Maybe a Civil War buff will chime in with info.

Funny, but I never noticed that the headband said "Fort Lafaye"! I guess I just assumed it said "Liberty" and my eyes just skimmed over it!

 

I actually have one, and I hope to obtain more in the future, lol. I will try to post pics tomorrow of it. Nice coins guys!!

Phoenix

 

I did a little research in George and Melvin Fuld's reference book. The craftsman who made the die for the ovberse was Emil Sigel of New York City, NY.

At that time there was a Fort Lafayette in NY harbor. The following is from Wikipedia:

"Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in New York Harbor, built next to Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Construction of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge forced the fort's destruction in 1960; the Brooklyn-side bridge pillars now occupy the fort's former foundation site."

Fort Lafayette was also a Union prison during the Civil War.

So, my guess is that the lettering on the headband represented Fort Lafayette (with the final "tte" presumed to wrap around the back of the headband).

I suppose it's as good a guess as any!

 

PJ...

Yes, the obverse has an sideways, incuse "T" which obviously protruded above the fields of the die. There is also a portion of a similar letter "A" at the rim at 5.30 or so.

Fort LaFayette cannot be seen fully but that is what it is supposed to say. All of the examples I have seen have similar lettering on the headband.

 

Here is all the info I found on my 1862/1961 CSA re strike

 

Odd. That advertising tag/envelope/whatever it is, is very similar to the one usd by Bashlow on his Confederate cent restrikes which were made from transfer dies created from the original dies. Thing is those original dies are 1861 not 1862, and the "1862" dies used for this "restrike" are considerably different from the 1861 original dies. This is a complete fantasy.

 

1961 Restrikes

Conder101,

I noticed the same things. I've attempted (my first attempt) to attach a couple shots of the 1961 Bashlow restrikes from my collection, one in silver and one in copper. The defacing of the dies is very apparent.

I really like CWTs as well, but I'm really a colonial guy. I only have about two dozen CWTs, none of which are significant rarities. I can't help but wonder how my Civil War-era male ancestors, most of whom fought for the Confederacy, would react to pro-Union tokens being called "patriotic."

 

Couple more thoughts

Wanted to add a couple more thoughts/opinions...

I tend to view CWTs as direct descendants of the hard times tokens, the Conder tokens before them, colonial era tokens before them, 17th century trade tokens before them, etc..

It's amazing how each variety reveals so much about the society and culture that produced it. If I were a history teacher, teaching a class about any of these periods, these coins and tokens would be an integral part of every lecture. There's just something about holding a tangible artifact from the past that beats the heck out of simply reading about it. Thanks, Mr. Moran, for starting this thread.

This is a little off-topic, but my friend, HandsomeToad's comment about Lincoln's birthday reminded me of a recent news story about a long-lost Lincoln photograph being re-discovered. It may be the last photo of Lincoln, at least while he was living, ever taken. It's a pretty cool story. (See the link below.)

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/03/11/lincoln.photograph/

 

I have a few cwts sitting around Larry. Nice thread and some nice pics. There are a few cwts that may also appeal to those that collect regular coinage or counterstamps. Here is one such example that I have. This is not a very pretty one, but it is a tough one to find. This Civil War token from a T9 rated town is also a complete town and state collection unto itself.

 

I was unaware of this one, Ed. What is it? Where is it from?

It looks like a counterstamped Indian Head cent.

Tell us more about this one. : )

 

Do I own any civil war tokens?

Yes, luckily I do.
And you and cwtokenman are to blame for that, Larry.

When I see nice numismatography of really cool tokens with some history attached to them to boot, I tend to think "how can I live without one of those". (I wonder what PT Barnum would say about that.....)

I like the tokens with reference to events, persons or buildings - I guess that would be Patriotic tokens most of the time - or this historic vessel; the Monitor.

 

Hi Larry, yes, it is a counterstamped Indian head cent. I just posted it another thread, so I don't want to say too much about it at this point in time, but if you have your Kanzinger's handy, look up LA-670A-1do. I had to pay about a third more than list to win this one.



I wasn't aware that the cwt bug had bitten you svessien. Larry's tokens and photos can get one's desires worked up though, no doubt about that. Very nice monitor token you have there, I don't think mine is as nice.

Technically a pre-Civil War token, but you might find the Marshall House token (of Alexandria, Virginia) of great interest. That is where the first casualty of the Civil War fell, and there is an interesting story of how that came about. The token is dated 1859 and is Rulau id Va 103. Listed values range from $15 in VG to $60 in Unc.

 

That's a beauty, Svessien : )

That is one terrific Civil War Token, buddy. : )

I have four Monitor tokens, which are two MS-63's and I have two Choice AU's. The Monitor tokens are key among CWT's, in my mind. Yours, of which I only have one, would appear to be 241/336a, in possible MS-65 BN condition or so. They don't come much better than yours, imho.

Also, your photos are really nice and I'm not surprised. : )

It's nice to see you latch onto such a nice example. : )

I am glad that we played a part in helping you find out more about Civil War Tokens. : )

 

That is one amazing CWT artifact : )

Hi, cwtokenman...

I don't have Rulau except the small Hard times Token version. I have the Patriotic and Store Cards books and have plenty to do just collecting tokens from the years of the Civil War. ; )

I looked up the 2002 value in Kanzinger and it's rather astronomical in any grade. : )

Are you referring to Kanzinger, or does the big Rulau book also have values listed? I am a Civil War Token enthusiast, and no expert like you are. Heck, I did not know much about the Civil War until the tokens led me in that direction. Your variety was unknown to me, but tonight I learned about zouaves, Marshall House, Col. E.E. Ellsworth, James William Jackson, and more.

VA103 is one of the few Civil War Tokens from a southern state, and the only one from Virginia according to Kanzinger and Fuld catalogs that I have handy here.

Here are 'the last words' of Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth:

'MY DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER,- The regiment is ordered to move across the river tonight. We have no means of knowing what reception we are to meet with. I am inclined to the opinion that our entrance to the city of Alexandria will be hotly contested, as I am just informed a large force has arrived there to-day. Should this happen, my dear parents, it may be my lot to be injured in some manner. Whatever may happen, cherish the consolation that I was engaged in the performance of a sacred duty; and to-night, thinking over the probabilities of the morrow and the occurrences of the past, I am perfectly content to accept whatever my fortune may be, confident that He who noteth even the fall of a sparrow will have some purpose even in the fate of one like me. My darling and ever-loved parents, good by, God bless, protect, and care for you. - ELMER.' "

I still don't understand the connection with the counterstamp by J.B. Schiller though. But I am listening... : )

 

I am fascinated by how much this Civil War Token resembles a one centime piece from the French Revolution era:

 

That's true, Collector1966...

Many CWT's and Lovett token and its restrikes do resemble the French Liberty Cap version(s) issued earlier. : )

Patriotic obverse dies 1 through 29 and store card reverse dies 1001 through 1006 bear a similar bust known as the Turban Head. The cap reminds me of many U.S. Liberty cap-designs on coins.

Here's my best of the Turban Head varieties. A wonderful lady dealer gave me this one for Christmas. As luck would have it, after receiving it, that evening I won an auction for another of her uncirculated tokens.

Here's my surprise Christmas gift in before and after photos: with direct lighting, and then with axial lighting:

 

Niiice token, Larry.

And pics, of course.

Here's a question; I've got this New York token which is bigger than all other cwts I've seen. I believe it's around 23-24 mm. Were there many tokens made this big, or would this one be one of a few?