I found an 1864 Indian Head cent (I think) in my old jewelry box, and have been trying to identify it. It has the date stamped "beside" the right ear and not under the neck like all the coins I have been looking at. On the back, there isn't a little shield at the top but has a huge crest-like shield in the center. Am totally confused about what coin this might be as I can't match it to anything I can find on the Internet. Does anyone here know??
Welcome to CT MEocean. You might have a Civil War token as many of them resembled Indian Head Cents, or it could be another type of token or medal. We definitely need a picture to help you with an ID. Bruce
I have been trying to take pics of this coin to no avail - not very good in that department. The back has a large shield in the center with 2 horizontal rows of stars (13 total) at the crest of the shield and 6 raised vertical bars in the main body of the shield. Also, the word "Liberty" is around the edge of this side of the coin, to the right side of the shield. There seems to be more printing on the edge of this side, opposite the word 'Liberty' which has an M or W in it, but not sure. On the face side, the headpiece looks like 'tulips' instead of feathers, with a fine bead of dots on the face, all around the edge.
That sounds like you have a Civil War Token Ocean. If the date 1864 is at the base of the Indian Head portrait it's probably a Fuld die #55 or #56. As far as the shield side goes, I can't even guess without a pic or at least a detailed description. Can you tell if it's copper, brass, or some other medal? Possibly it's something other than a Civil War token, but can't tell for sure by the description you've provided. Robbudo's right about scanning it if you can. That would give us a decent enough image so we could take a stab at identifying it for you. Bruce
At this point, even a bad image would be better than nothing, unless of course its really bad. I've seen a few of those. But I agree it sounds like a Civil War token but pics are needed for identification.
I don't know Ocean, the token is in such bad shape it's hard to tell what it is. It looks similar to some Civil War tokens, but it doesn't match any dies that I'm familiar with. It would help if I could read all the motos and get a better look at the devices...so much pitting. The only thing that I can say is that it's either an undocumeted CWT or a non-contemporary token issued after the war for some unknown reason. I'll keep looking, but the pictures don't give me much to go on. Good luck. Bruce
I think part of the problem is the coin image has been enlarged enough that it is pixelated, but it is showing evidence of being one token struck over a different one. OK I think I've got it. It is a 51/342A over a 46/339 with the 46/339 flipped over and rotated about 90 degrees.
