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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cwtokenman, post: 198893, member: 2100&quot;]Most of the counterfeit Civil War tokens that I possess &amp; have seen are of common tokens. Most are cast, and rather crudely done, often with a copper wash that has mostly washed away. These were not made to fool collectors, but to use in commerce at the time. I would suspect that the extreme shortage of coinage contributed to the fake pieces having circulated, as many of them show wear, some reverting wholly back to the color of the base metal. A cent (or token of equivalent value) was the most commonly used denomination back in that era, and had considerable purchasing power. For instance, a cent could mean the difference if you walked between towns or got to ride.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I said, most fake cwts were of common merchants. That would make sense, as a token that was never/seldom seen would more likely attract scrutiny than one that was very common. Benjamin and Herrick are probably in the top 10 cwt issuers, maybe even in the top 5. That means that there were many of that merchant&#039;s tokens around and circulating in commerce, equating to a high acceptance/recognition level.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another thought I have had is that someone producing fake tokens back in the day would probably have little to nothing to worry about. Private issues of money were not illegal, so who would really care about tracking down someone faking private issued money?</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not saying that your token is positively a fake, but I have considerable suspicion that it is. I will have to check out your auction though, as I do not have a B &amp; H fake. Notice the blotchy/streaky color of the token? That is often an indication of a &quot;wash&quot; that is wearing off, or perhaps just did not take well. The base metals were usually darker than the copper. Look very carefully at the outer edge, magnification may be helpful, and see if there is either a &quot;seam&quot;, or file marks where a seam was removed.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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