1861 Jefferson Davis - Death to traitors medal

I was wondering if anyone could share any information regarding this medal, including some possible insight to the stamp on the reverse, thanks!

 

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http://books.google.com/books?id=DnN2GYhpkAMC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=civil+war+token+death+to+traitors&source=bl&ots=yjMnDyZCbV&sig=nWVC4fMYdQDSBiveIjvjxLGQJLM&hl=en&ei=rRW5TPpIg4GUB7yZ4OkN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=civil%20war%20token%20death%20to%20traitors&f=false
Anti- Confederate civil war token. It is a really interesting piece. Decker on the reverse is a counter stamp, perhaps somebody else can weigh in on this one. Is it a recent pick up for you?

 

The stamp is actually "Becker" not "Decker" Yeah this is something I picked up today while browsing an antique store.

 

Great pickup! Hope you got a good deal at an antique store! Some of the antique stores that I've been to I've been able to get some really good buys but usually not if the store is a tourist trap. That medal is a beauty!!

 

All of the coins they had at this antique store were overpriced imo, and this token was sitting among other civil war items/tokens/buttons(some were obvious repros)...bu to make a long story short I got out the door with this for 8$...not bad I think. Hoping someone might recognize the counterstamp, or be able to provide more info about the token.

 

Steal of a deal for 8 bills! Like I said the closer an antique store is to the tourists trade the more they will ask for their coins and everything else for that matter! happy hunting

 

Nice token USMoneylover. I'm not familiar with the counterstamp, and it's not listed in any reference I have. It appears as though the stamp was added sometime after the 1864 date on the piece. The style of the lettering is not typically found on Civil War-era stamps. It's not a prepared stamp, each letter having been punched seperately, so it may very well be unique. Counterstamps on Civil War tokens are relatively rare, so you have a nice find there.... Now, if we could only figure out who Becker was!

You might want to contact the Civil War Token Society at www.cwtsociety.com. They may be able to help you. I think it was $8 well spent. Congrats!!

 

That's a stunning piece!

 

Thanks for all the comments and compliments. I've looked at the stamp under a highpower lighted loupe and it looks as though its been there a while, not something added anytime recently anyway. I'm gonna take your advice brandm and contact the civil war token society, thanks for that web adress.

 

I did a bit of research since my earlier post, and came up with a little information for you. Apparently this isn't considered a Civil War Token per se, though dating from that period. It seems that it's considered a medal more than a token. There's no listing for it in the Civil War Token Society's 5th Revised Edition of Patriotic Civil War Tokens. A search of the internet, however, turned up several examples that were auctioned in the past 2 or 3 years. They were all 24mm and either of brass or white metal. Interestingly, one example sold in 2007 also had "Becker" counterstamped in the same location yours is. I don't know if this is the same piece you recently bought, but the picture looks different (depending how accurate your pic is). Heritage Auctions sold an AU-50 just last month (without "Becker") for $322. Another example, I believe it was graded XF, was sold by J. Kern Coins in 2007 for $577 ( also without "Becker"). Apparently, there are two types of this token / medal.

That's all I could find out so far, but will keep looking for you.

 

I also saw the medal similar to mine which was on the j kern coins website. Could you post the link to the one which was counterstamped "Becker"? On a side note the medal I have here measures 23mm not the 24 you stated above, not sure if that is important or not?
I sent an email including pictures to the Civil War Token Society also, hopefully ill receive a response in the near future.

Thanks again for your help its greatly appreciated.

Hunter

 

I am going to pull out my copy of Numismatics before the civil war, and see if Sage collected a specimen or if there is any reference to it. Nice medal.

 

Hunter / The listing was on e-bay, but I'll have to look for it. Apparently this medal is listed in the Sullivan-DeWitt reference as 1861-13 and, I think, 1861-14. If this is the case, then there must be two varieties, with and without "Becker". I don't have this reference, so maybe a medal guy will come on and help you out. Good luck, and I'll keep looking.

 

becker means that it is a copy.

 

Treashunt is right, it is a cast copy. David Schenkman did a story about this piece in 2004 that was published in The Numismatist. He said they're commonly offered on e-bay.

 

See, it's true , you do learn something everyday. Thanks treas!

 

Talk about the highs and lows of collecting! Well it was an exciting adventure while it lasted! Thanks to everyone who took time to help me with research and information, its very much appreciated...It was mentioned that this medal was discussed in a 2004 edition of the numismatist, did they happen to estimate the year they thought these replicas were made? I would at least like to document as much info as i can before i stick it in my collection. Again thanks for everyone's help

Hunter

 

After I read Treashunt's post about it being a copy, I looked again and found the reference to Schenkman's article on Google / Books. Unfortunately it only showed a snippet view, not the entire text. I didn't get much out of it, just the facts that I posted earlier. The article appeared in one of the 2004 editions, but it didn't say which one, unless I missed it.
I would contact the ANA and see if you could get a copy of the issue, or at least the article. It might be worth spending a few bucks (if they charge for it) just to see what he found out about the piece. If you do, please keep us posted.

Bruce

 

Hey Hunter, I didn't want to give up so easy, so I went back to work. Found an index for all issues of the 2004 Numismatist online. The January, 2004 Issue (Vol. 117, No.1) has an article in it (pg. 69) by Dave Schenkman titled "Fakes Flourish Online". I'm sure this is the article that discusses the "Becker" issue. You know, you might be able to get a copy of the magazine either at your library, or through the Inter-Library Loan program through them. I've borrowed a lot of books that way. Good luck!

 

Bruce, thanks for going the extra mile on the research. I'm gonna try and get my hands on a copy of that issue of the numismatist to complete the research for this token. Hopefully the effort exerted here will save time and/or money later for someone else, and if not, it will at least be a learning experience for everyone involved. Again, thanks for all the help!

Hunter