It looks like a heavily worn example of this token. Measuring the width of your piece should confirm if it is the same issue.
It's one of those tokens that was issued after he left office, probably WELL after he left office. These pieces have been issued from time to time. I collect 19th century political tokens that were issued when the candidates were running for office. This is not one of them. What do you think the error is? He was elected in 1888 and was inaugurated in 1889. His successor was Grover Cleveland, who lost to him in 1888. Cleveland is the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms as president. Here are a couple of Benjamin Harrison campaign tokens. This pretty little token still has its original ribbon for hanging. Like all 19th century Republicans, Harrison supported the protective tariff. He argued to the workers that their wages would drop if the protective tariff were not there. Actually the businesses benefited far more from the tariff. This token argued Harrision's case to labor. This token looks like it's damaged, but it really making the point that workers wages would go down if the protective tariff were removed. As president Harrison raised tariffs to record levels. That resulted in a dramatic rise in the cost of living for wage earners. A record number of Republican Congressmen and Senators lost their seats in the 1890 mid-term elections, including Congressman, William McKinley. Harrison lost his re-election bid in 1892 to Grover Cleveland making the only president who served two non-consecutive terms.
It's a well worn political token of Benjamin Harrison. Someone probably carried that in their pocket for years.
Thank you for the history lesson. No sarcasm. I appreciate it. I wasn't sure if the back of the token was supposed to have anything on it. I wasn't sure if it was a die adjustment or what.
As some else stated, this piece was probably carried as a pocket piece. There, it was carried for probably a couple decades getting gentle, but even daily wear. Here is another little piece of history. As someone else mentioned, Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, who was elected President in 1840. William Henry Harrison is best remembered as the man who was sworn into office on March 4, 1841 and who died a month later. For some reason, some of Benjamin Harrison’s supporters thought that tying him to his grandfather would help him get elected. William Henry Harrison’s best-known campaign symbol was the log cabin. His campaign image was that he lived in an log cabin and drank hard cider although he had lived most of his life in mansions and preferred fine wines. This piece was issued for the 1840 Harrison campaign. During the 1888 Benjamin Harrison campaign, someone discovered that the reverse die for the 1840 piece still existed. They used it to strike what they called the reverse of this piece. The 1840 medal is rated as the scarcer of the two, but neither of them is easy to find. I have been collecting political pieces for over 40 years, and it's amazing what you might locate over that time if you are constantly looking.
