I just completed a major accomplishment, almost without knowing it

I collect 19th century presidential campaign tokens for the past 30+ years. During that time, I have acquired many scarce tokens, but completing this little group of 1832 Henry Clay pieces is a highlight.

Henry Clay tried to defeat incumbent, Andrew Jackson, in 1832. His big issue was the Bank of the United States. Clay wanted the bank to receive a new 20 year charter from the Federal Government. Andrew Jackson vetoed a bill that would have given it a new charter and vowed to "kill the monster."

Jackson ran on killing the bank, opposing nullification, which would have allowed states to ignore any Federal Government law they didn't like, and his status was a military general and hero of the Battle of New Orleans. These two pieces, which are also listed as Hard times tokens, sum up the Jackson campaign.

"The bank must perish," and The Union must and shall be preserved."



The gallant & success defender of N. Orleans"



Henry Clay issued three known varieties of varieties of medalets during the 1832 campaign. This is the most common variety. This is a classic, 19th century candidate's resume piece. The DeWitt variety is HC 1832-1.



When I started collecting political medals 30 + years ago, this variety seemed to always be available for about $200. I thought that I would look for other things and buy it later. When I got around to buying one, they were no longer available. It took more more than 15 years for me to spot another one. It had a big scratch on the reverse, and I knew I would never be happy with it. I found this one a couple years later.

In the mean time I bought this piece when it became available. DeWitt, who wrote the classic guide to 19th century political pieces, seldom made comments about the rarity of the items he covered. He went out his way to say this one is "excessively rare." The obverse is a reduced version of the previous medal.



The reverse covers Henry Clay's resume and mentions his "American System." Henry Clay system called for a protective tariff that sheltered American industry. The money collected from the tariff was to be used to internal improvements, including harbors, roads, bridges and canals. The idea was that Americans would benefit from the economic growth. This stuck a chord with some Americans, including a young Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was a huge admirer of Henry Clay.

Now I had two of the three 1832 Henry Clay varieties. I never dreamed of getting the third one. DeWitt stated that it was very rare. When the McCoy collection was sold in 1864, it was stated that only two were known in white metal and a third was known in copper that was in the New York State Library collection.

One day when I checking out the archives on the Heritage site, I found that they had sold one example of this rare token 18 years ago. It had one of those "make an offer to the owner" notes. I made an offer, and after some negotiations, ended up with the piece. Usually when an item was sold 18 years ago, it is almost never available.



I don't know if this is the same piece that is plated in the DeWitt book. It has some of the same markings, but the photo in the book is not clear enough to know for sure. I do know that there is one other example of this piece out there. It must be "a monster" because NGC has graded it MS-66. Unfortunately it's not possible to see a photo of it without the serial number on the slab. At any rate, this example is the only one that Heritage has sold at auction. So it must be rare.

This is the first Henry Clay medal that mentioned his "American System." All three of these medals were designed an made by Charles C. Wright. Perhaps he made this one first and was not pleased with it. That prompted him to make the first one, which was distributed to an obviously limited extent. The trouble is, white medal is soft and easily worn or scratch. It also very prone to a nasty corrosion called "tin pest." That is one of these reason way the white metal medals tend to be scarce.

 

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What a great collection! I have been interested in the presidents since I was a kid, and learned them all in order, terms in office, birth and death year. I have often thought of collecting these but I just collect too dang many things already! I have one lonely, common, William Henry Harrison campaign token, but keep thinking of expanding every time you post some!

 

Good job! Congratulations.

 

Congrats! Great stories there!

 

Cool beans. That's why you never say never.

 

I find your campaign tokens fascinating, thanks for posting another (rare) one.

 

If some of you would like, I could post more medalets that were issued for other campaigns. There are 1793 George Washington inaugural buttons. I have only one of those. Beyond a few more common varieties, they are quite difficult even if you have lots of money.

The series really starts with Andrew Jackson in 1824. After they were issued every four years with other years in between, especially during the Civil War.

The celluloid campaign button was patented in 1894, but came into its own in 1896. It replaced the medalets as a cheaper alternative by the 1900 election. Modern tokens and medalets have been made since then, but the artwork is almost always inferior.

 

You’ve made history come alive. Thanks for sharing.

 

I'd love to see more! Thanks for sharing.