Here is a very nice example of a Dix token. This token paraphrases John Adams Dix, who as Secretary of the Treasury at the outbreak of the Civil War, sent a telegram to the Treasury agents at the New Orleans Mint ordering that: "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." Although the telegram was intercepted by Confederates, and was never delivered to the Treasury agents, the text found its way to the press, and Dix became an early "poster child" hero of the North during the Civil War. Dix had an interesting life, and fulfilled so many different posts that it is almost absurd. During his lifetime he served in the military early in life, leaving as a captain (1825). He then went on to practice law (1828), was Adjutant General of the New York State Militia (1830), Secretary of State of New York (1833), a member of the New York State Assembly (1842), a US Senator (1845), ran for Governor of NY State but lost (1848), and was President of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company (1853). In 1861 he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, and also postmaster of the City of New York. He also joined the US Army as a Major General in 1861. He was president of the Union Pacific Railroad (1863-1868) and would go on to also be Minister to France (1868) and, in late life, he was Governor of New York (1873) and ran for Mayor of New York City, but was defeated in 1876. This particular die pairing is quite common; however, this example is the highest graded example listed in the NGC population reports. The toning pattern on the reverse is quite stunning, and just sparkles in hand.
You're right...no one will mistake the image for anyone else. As a fan of larger (mostly silver) coins, Cu-Ni isn't high on my list of desirable materials...durable, but not lovely. I'm grateful once again for your erudition, and for receiving my comment without umbrage, Christian. The famous (and favorite of millions, myself included) Yousuf Karsh photo appearing on the banknote is iconic in the truest sense of the word, and an excellent choice, IMHO. Redemption is at hand for the Royal Mint!
FYI, I have prepared an exhibit for the Chicago ANA in August called "Penny Potpourri" which contains many of the penny exonumia that I have collected over the years. I have never done an exhibit before and I'm a bit nervous about it, so if you get a chance, please check it out and tell me what you think! And if you like it, perhaps you can even vote for it. ;-)
Beautiful CWT brg...I love these tokens. BTW, in case you didn't know Louis Leichtweis who cut both dies on your token was a New York City sinker who cut a very limited number of Civil War dies...only 11 attributed to him. Apparently, his tokens only circulated in the New York City area. His shop was at 19 Chrystie St. Bruce
Kingdom of Bermania Fantasy micro-nation German silver, M/A 34mm 15.8 grms Michael Marotta wrote an article about micro nation coins in the NUMISMATIST 11/2003