I just did my 32,000 post so here's the one I was holding onto unto now. This is a 1863 Civil War Token. The obverse is the flag of our union and the flag has 25 stars. To my knowledge there were 2 versions of this token. I'll find the other one someday soon I hope. The reverse is the interesting part on this token. The obverse reads THE FLAG OF OUR UNION. The reverse reads IF ANYBODY ATTEMPTS TO TEAR IT DOWN, then go to the inner circle and it continues SHOOT HIM ON THE SPOT. DIX is in the center. The Secretary of the Treasury at the start of the Civil War was James DIX. DIX sent a telegram to the Treasury agents in Louisiana with the motto that is on the reverse of this token. This patriotic token was privately minted in the early days of the Civil War and it was used as currency in parts of the country. At this time, the early 1860's, there was an insufficient number of government issued cents. The United States Congress passed a law on April 22, 1864 banning their use. There are numerous sub-varieties of this token and noted numismatist George J. Fuld has identified a wide variety of dies used to make these tokens. This is one of the two main ones. If you look at the reverse tou will see the main difference. The word SPOT is misspelled. On my coin SPOT is spelled SPOOT. This makes it very interesting. There is a lot more to be said about Civil War Tokens but this is one of the sought have ones.
We could really use those today couldn't we? If our coins and paper money had more designs for liberty and freedom and if Liberty was on them instead of dead presidents this country wouldn't have half the problems we do today.
Congrats bud!!! Cool token. But could you imagine if you created the die and misspelled a word and it is still around for 157 years!!! Talk about never forgetting!!!
I have the misspelled version: I like the misspelling. It's a reminder that someone set the type by hand, and made a mistake (probably got distracted by the double O in "shoot").
My first thought. But, I was trying to be politically correct and not "offend" anyone. Like hand them out at NFL games.
Today, a misspelled political pronouncement isn't as likely to be preserved for 157 years (I hope). In compensation, it's immediately visible to millions (billions?) of people.
Maybe it's an instruction on where to shoot the person... does anyone know just where "the spoot" is? That would require clarification... "If you come any closer, I'll shoot you on the spoot!" "No, please, I would prefer to be shot on my elbow!"
There are lots of varieties and Die pairs for this token. I personally don't consider the misspelling a variety. It's just neat and I'm looking for the correct spelling. Now you have to find the incorrect one. Lol, glad you liked it.
