This is a first a series of posts about these interesting Lincoln pieces. The 1864 presidential election was one of the most remarkable events in our history. It marked the first time that a government had held an election for the head of state during a civil war. In previous times no country in such a time of national peril would have taken such a step. Even more remarkable was that fact that Abraham Lincoln strongly advocated the election although there seemed to be a very good chance that he would be defeated. Many people in the North were very displeased by the course of the war. Today we know that the South was on the verge of collapse, but that was not readily apparent for most of 1864. Following the major Union victories at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Union offensives had stalled. General Sherman’s drive into the southern heartland had been halted outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Further north Grant’s Army of the Potomac had begun a protracted siege around Petersburg, Virginia. The war looked endless, and the number of dead and maimed soldiers was huge and growing every day. Many people were convinced that a negotiated settlement was the only solution, and they knew that Lincoln would not give in to that. Lincoln quickly secured the Republican nomination for President in June 1864 by calling in all of his political favors. To attract like-minded Democrats who supported the Union, the Republicans renamed themselves the National Union Party, and they selected Tennessee governor, Andrew Johnson, as Lincoln’s running mate. Johnson, a Democrat, had remained loyal to the Union throughout the darkest days of the war. His loyalty, if not his qualifications for office, were unquestioned; but then no one thought that he would ever be president. The Democrats nominated former Union general George McClellan as their presidential candidate. Although McClellan personally supported the war effort and the reunification of the country, the men who wrote the Democratic Party platform did not. In it they declared that the war had been a failure, and they blasted Lincoln for suspending civil liberties during the conflict. The Democratic platform called for an immediate end to hostilities and a negotiated settlement. Today the party platform is not of great importance. After a candidate has won the nomination, he or she is free to take their own positions on the issues without regard to the platform statements. But at a time when presidential candidates seldom campaigned or even made public statements, the peace planks of the Democratic platform would seriously damage the party’s chance for victory in November. In August Lincoln was convinced that he would be defeated for reelection. In an effort to save the Union, Lincoln asked his cabinet to sign a letter without knowing its contents. In it Lincoln acknowledged that he would probably be defeated. Given that probability Lincoln pledged that he and his cabinet would give their full support to McClellan to restore the Union. Given the peace planks in the Democratic platform, Lincoln doubted that the new president would be able to save the Union once he took office. Fortunately the nation never had to face that possibility. In September, Sherman took Atlanta, Admiral David Farragut captured Mobile Bay in Alabama and General Philip Sheridan routed Jubal Early in the valleys of Virginia. These Union successes turned the election around, and Lincoln easily defeated McClellan in November Fuld Numbers 124 and 125 Fuld varieties 124 and 125 are basically the same variety. The difference is that 124 is an early die state of 125. The difference is that there are beads around the border on 124. They are missing from 125 because the dies were polished which removed them. I have never seen an intermediate die state with only some of the beads missing. Both of the varieties in my collection have the "FREE - DOM" reverse. This was a subtle anti-slavery message. Lincoln still had to soft peddle the issue during his re-election bid. I have not been active in the market for these pieces for many years. Both varieties are quite scarce. These are very scarce varieties. Back when I was active the price for EF-AU pieces was in the $200 to $250 range. It's got to higher today. 124 / 294 125 / 294 Fuld 126 I have never seen a well-struck example of this variety. Lincoln's portrait is always softly struck with very little hair detail. This variety features the slogan "The right man in the right place." This slogan appeared on several other Lincoln pieces. Once more the "FREE - DOM slogan appeared on the revere. This variety is a bit more common than the previous two. Fuld 127 Fuld 127 is by far the most common Lincoln Civil War token that was issued during his lifetime. The piece is very common, and during my time as a dealer, easy to locate. During the 1990s, when I took a booth with a couple of other dealers at the FUN Winter show, a retired dealer showed up with two and half rolls of this variety, a total of 125 pieces. Back then these pieces sold for less than $20. I'm sure the price is much higher today. Some people, who probably didn't care for Andrew Jackson, have attributed the "O.K." term to him. Citing his a lack of education, they claimed that he wrote "Oul Korrect" on documents that rated his approval. Fuld 128 This is one of my favorite Lincoln CWTs. It features an attractive portrait of the 16th president and a very nice reverse featuring the Federal eagle. The full variety number is Fuld 128/289 b, for brass. It is rated as a fairly common variety, but I had a great deal of trouble finding one that had not been damaged with solder. The ugly stuff was always on the reverse, and, of course, could not be removed from the piece without damaging it further. My theory is that many of these pieces were mounted on stick pins and sold as memorial pieces after Lincoln's assassination. I have a second example of this design with a different reverse. It features the same slogan, "Lincoln and Union," but in a simple form without the eagle. This one was made for collectors, probably in the mid 1860s and is gold plated. It's variety number is Fuld 128/290. The gold plated piece is rare, but the variety without the plating is fairly common. I'll be back with more Lincoln CWT varieties later.
