My old Seated & Barber Dime Love Token date set

I've been a "holey" coin collector since the millennium. In the course of buying holed coins for my famous “Holey Coin Vest”, I came across some interesting love tokens. Love tokens are coins with hand-engraved artwork on them. Many of these were christening gifts for newborn babies, or gifts from one sweetheart to another, which is no doubt where the "love token" term originated. Women kept them on charm bracelets and men kept them on watch chains. The practice began many centuries ago, and continued into the 20th century, but love tokens' heyday seems to have come during the high point of the Victorian era, from the 1870s to the 1890s.

Some of the engraving on these is stellar, and many of these little hand-engraved curiosities are real works of art. The same tradition has carried on with today's "hobo nickel" artists, though they use a variety of coins besides the Buffalo nickels popular as host coins with hobo artists during the Great Depression, and they have more sophisticated tools at their disposal.

I had long been toying with the idea of attempting a date set of Seated Liberty dimes with love token reverses, and in January of 2008 I decided to take my few accumulated pieces and attempt such a set.

The Seated Liberty dime, particularly its Legend Obverse subtype of 1860-1891, seems to be the most common host coin for love token engraving, with the gold dollar close behind.

The wonderful thing about these is that one can collect them as coins AND as one-of-a-kind miniature masterpieces of a lost art. That makes them a great "two in one" collectible. And they pack a lot of bang for the budget, too, considering how relatively inexpensive most are.

Another advantage to collecting Seated dimes this way is that since I was collecting coins that had their reverses (and therefore the mintmarks) removed, I didn't need to concern myself with finding rarer branch mint coins like some of the Carson City issues. Some of the years when dimes were produced in small quantities at Philadelphia only (especially 1844, 1846, 1879, 1880, and 1881) were challenging, however. I found a couple of the 1870s key dates (even cherrypicked one for $7.50 in a bulk lot!) but not the 1840s ones.

I sold this collection around 2013 and did pretty well on them. Always knew I'd pick up and start another collection of them, and as of this writing in June of 2017 I am working on my third love token collection. This was my first serious foray into them.

Though I am a numismatic "jack of all trades", the Love Token Society is the one specialist organization I've seen fit to join. There's some good information on their webpage.

The images were mostly produced on a flatbed scanner, so they're not ideal.

Mintage numbers cited below are the total output of ALL mints combined in each given year.

On some coins with monograms, the order the initials is uncertain, so I just described the letters in alphabetical order.

 

1837
"C", "L", & "M" in monogram. Gift from Greg Capps "savoyspecial", (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 682,500.

1838
"Toler" in script with ornamental border. Ex-Charles Rickard (wcsdeals.com).
Total mintages: 2,398,534.


1839
"WBM" in script initials. Ex-"shelbind" (eBay).
Total mintages: 2,376,115.

 

1840
Monogram with three letters. One is obviously a "K". The others could be "A" and "R" but it's hard to say. Late 2011 acquisition, provenance forgotten.
Total mintages: 2,534,000.


1841
"JNM"(?) in script. Ex-"love-tokens" (eBay).
Total mintages: 3,630,000.


1842
Old English "A" within wreath. Part of a matched pair with the 1855 coin, below. Ex-"zebiak-maritime.intl" (eBay).
Total mintages: 3,907,500.


1843
"H" and "M" in monogram, with ornamental flourishes. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 1,520,000.


1844
Key date. Rare, especially as a love token.
Total mintage: 72,500 (at Philadelphia only).

1845
"X" in ornamental border. Ex-Charles Rickard (wcsdeals.com).
Total mintages: 1,985,000.


1846
Key date. Rare - perhaps extremely rare - as a love token.
Total mintage: 31,300 (struck at Philadelphia only).

1847
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
Total mintages: 245,000 (struck at Philadelphia only).

1848
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
"CFW" in script. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintage: 451,500 (struck at Philadelphia only.).


1849
Fancy "R" initial in border. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 1,139,000.

 

1850
Old English "P" in concentric circles. From a bulk lot purchased on eBay. Total mintages: 2,441,500.


1851
Old English "L" within ornamental border with sunbursts.
Part of a matched pair of clothing studs with an 1853 identical twin which was not displayed as part of this set. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 1,426,500.


1852
"Claribel" in script below lighthouse. Probably from a bracelet. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 1,935,000.


1853
"Minnie" around top hat, with "89" and flourishes below (presumably the latter is the engraving date?) Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 13,273,010.


1854
Old English "D" in fancy star. Probably once mounted on a button or cufflink.
Ex-"pinetreecoinandjewelry" (eBay).
Total mintages: 6,240,000.


1855
Old English "A" within wreath. Part of a matched pair with the 1842 coin, above. Ex-"zebiak-maritime.intl" (eBay).
Total mintages: 2,075,000.


1856
"H" and "W" in monogram with ornamental border.
Ex-"mrcrest" (eBay).
Total mintages: 7,030,000.


1857
Floral design in geometric border. Probably once mounted on a hatpin or similar piece of jewelry. Ex-"yoyolz" (eBay).
Total mintages: 7,120,000.


1858
"QP" (or maybe "PP"?) in script with wreath, flourishes, and ornamental border. Original suspension ring. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 1,890,000.


1859
"C", "E", and "P" in monogram, with ornamental border.
Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 970,000.

 

1861
"RWS" with marsh scene and stork. These stork pictorials might have once been christening gifts. Not only do I live in the coastal marshlands, but a stork flew right in front of me on the day I bought this. More amazingly, it has all three of my initials in sequence! Ex-eBay.
This coin has its own discussion thread.
Total mintages: 2,055,500.


1862
"DE" (or maybe "DC"?) in Old English letters. Old center mount- may have been a button or cufflink. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 1,027,750.


1863
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
"J", "K", and "S" (or maybe I,K,S?) in monogram. Old center mount- probably was a button or cufflink. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 171,500.


1864
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
Total mintages: 241,000.

1865
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
Total mintages: 185,000.

1866
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
Total mintages: 143,000.

1867
Semi-key date. Scarce; likely rare as a love token.
Total mintages: 146,000.

1868
Likely scarce as a love token. "C", "E", and "F" in monogram. Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 724,000.


1869
Likely scarce as a love token.
Total mintages: 706,000.

 

1870
Likely scarce as a love token. "B", "B", and "W" in monogram. Ex-Sunday & Sunday Antiques (goantiques.com).
Total mintages: 520,500.


1871
"Dio" in Old English letters, with flourishes & border.
Ex-"lkrarecoins" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintages: 1,246,850.


1872
"JWD" with geometric design and stork in well-executed marsh scene with flying birds in sky. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 2,620,980.


1873
Single masted schooner sailing left in seascape with waves and birds. Ex-"legacycoins_collectibles" (eBay).
Total mintages: 4,431,891.


1874
"J", "O", and "W" in monogram with fancy border and rays. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 3,190,117.


1875
"Will" and two-masted schooner sailing right over textured waves. Ex-"exo" (eBay). While the obverse and reverse were toned differently, the difference was not as pronounced as it is in these poor scans.
Total mintages: 24,065,000.


1876
"Papa" in fancy script below landscape with church scene. Ex-eBay. A very nice scenic pictorial, despite some wear. I was lucky enough to pick it up quite cheaply, too. This 1876 "Papa" piece pairs nicely with the 1887 "Mama" Statue of Liberty pictorial below.
Total mintages: 30,150,000.


1877
"ELB" in inverted horseshoe, with flourishes and border. Ex-"coinsjewelry" (eBay). These "horseshoe" pieces were almost certainly used as "good luck" talismans.
Total mintages: 17,350,000.


1878
"D", "H", and "M" in monogram. Ex-"eirikrtripartite" (eBay).
Total mintages: 1,877,200.


1879
Key date. Rare; exceedingly so as a love token.
"A" and "J" in monogram with ornamental border. This not only had a high grade host coin, but is likely one of only a tiny handful of surviving love tokens on 1879 dimes. Ex-"seanq" (Collectors Universe). Unfortunately I never got good photos of this piece, so we'll have to rely on low-quality scans.
Total mintages : 14,000 (struck at Philadelphia only).

 

1880
Key date. Rare, especially as a love token.
"C", "I" (or "J"), & "L" in monogram with ornamental border.
I cherrypicked this piece in a bulk lot for only $7.50! Not long before that, I had bought a different one for about $125.00. I resold the $125.00 example at cost, and kept the lucky cherrypick. Both were remarkably similar in grade. Both ex-eBay.
Total mintage: 36,000 (struck at Philadelphia only).


1881
Key date. Rare, especially as a love token.
"A", "H", and "W" in monogram, with flourishes. Ex-"Minerscoin" (Collectors Universe). While the key date 1879, 1880 and 1881 dimes had relatively tiny mintages and were struck only at Philadelphia, it was the "golden age" of love token engraving, which lasted from about the mid-1870s until the end of the century. As such, a fair number of these key-date coins got made into love tokens, unlike the earlier key dates from the 1840s. However, when you're talking about such a tiny mintage like the 24,000 struck in 1881, that's not a very big number to begin with. I was fortunate to add an 1881 to this set!
Total mintage: 24,000 (struck at Philadelphia only).


1882
"E" and "L" through "C" in small monogram, below horse's head.
Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe).
Total mintage: 3,910,000 (struck at Philadelphia only).


1883
"PETE" on fence, with chick hatching from egg below.
Ex-eBay. This was a superb pictorial, and one of my more admired pieces. Like the "stork" pictorials, this "chick and egg" theme was almost certainly engraved as a christening gift.
Total mintage: 7,674,673 (struck at Philadelphia only).


1884
"J.J.T." above river scene with boats and the Brooklyn Bridge. A nice companion to the 1887 "Statue of Liberty" piece below. Both this and the coin below date within a year of the dedication of the New York City landmarks they portray. Ex-eBay, 2011.
Total mintages: 3,930,474.


1885
"WJH" in banner across inverted horseshoe.
Ex-"love-tokens" (eBay). Another "lucky horseshoe" piece.
Total mintages: 2,576,187.


1886
"P. L." below lighthouse and seascape, with partial ornamental border and scroll above. Ex-"rarecoinsgallery" (eBay). I have a pet theory that the incredibly intricate engraving here was done in advance by one craftsman, then the initials were added later (perhaps at a fair or similar venue) by a less-competent engraver. Note the spur projecting from the curve of the "P", which appears to have been the result of a slipped tool. Contrast that seemingly sloppy work with the exquisite craftsmanship on the rest of the engraving.
Total mintages: 6,583,208.


1887
"MA-MA" with Statue of Liberty scene and rope border. Like the "Brooklyn Bridge" piece above, the host coin dates to within a year of the opening of the New York City landmark. Though the work is simple, it is effective, making this topical love token a very special pictorial. In addition to being one of a pair of "NYC landmark" pieces I had, this 1887 "Mama" could also be paired with the 1876 "Papa" church scenic above. Ex-Heritage Long Beach Tokens & Medals Auction #110, Lot 29116, 09/2008.
Total mintages: 15,737,679.


1888
"Ivy De" or "Joy De"(?) in script, with parachute (!) and ornamental border.
Ex-"engraved" (Collectors Universe). Andy, whose username was "engraved" on Collectors Universe, was my love token mentor. He always seemed to have the most interesting pieces. This wonderfully whimsical piece was one of many I bought from him. Initially I was surprised to see a parachute shown on a love token whose host coin was struck 15 years before the Wright Brother's first airplane flight, but it turns out parachutes have a much longer history than powered aircraft, and date back at least as far as the Renaissance. It's uncertain what is dangling from this one, but it looks like it could be a little stick-figure man hanging on for dear life!
Total mintages: 7,215,655.


1889
"FHI" or "FHJ" in script with flourishes and fancy borders. Very intricate.
Ex-"rarecoinsgallery" (eBay), 04/2008.
Total mintages: 8,352,678.

 

1890
"SPL" (or SPI?) monogram on high grade host coin. Ex-"oscarsaab" (eBay).
Total mintages: 11,334,027.


1891
"CEB" script initials, with flourishes above and below. Ex-"mrcrest" (eBay). Total mintages: 23,046,116.


Barber Dime Love Tokens
By the turn of the century there were more branch mints producing dimes, but fewer got made into love tokens. By this period the fashion was probably starting to taper off a bit from its late-Victorian era peak. It did continue well into the early 20th century, however. A large number of the new, first-year 1892 Barber dimes (and quarters) got made into love tokens and saved, so high-grade host coin details are not uncommon.

When Seated dime love tokens were my exclusive focus, I had reluctantly passed up some lovely pictorials (like seascapes) because they were on Barber dimes. I later regretted not picking them up. While Barber dime love tokens are obtainable, they're certainly nowhere near as commonly seen as their Seated counterparts from the "golden age" of the 1870s and 1880s.

Since I rather belatedly decided to add the Barber dimes late in the pursuit of this collection, I did not get very far with them.

1892
"DF" in fancy script. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 16,952,410.


1894
"E", "F", and "M" in geometric style monogram with ornamental border.
Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 2,050,000.


1899
"A", "C", and "P" in monogram with ornamental border. Ex-eBay.
Total mintages: 24,097,493.


(Somewhere I had a 1904 Barber dime love token, too, but have lost the pictures.)

Thanks for looking at this old collection! It took a while to transfer it all over from the old Collectors Universe thread, but this was a really fun collection, so it was worth it to me to archive it here even though I sold the coins a few years ago.

I subsequently went on to collect many other love tokens; not just dimes. Some of those had really fascinating backstories. Do please check out some of those stories. (As of June, 2017, I have put an index link in my signature line here on CoinTalk to lead to all of my "better" content.)

 

*Whew!*

OK, so there they all are, reposted.

Thanks.

 

This was just my first love token collection. Things got even more interesting with the second, and I'm now starting a third.

Check out the link in my signature line for individual articles about some of the other pieces with interesting art and backstories. I started researching the backgrounds of some of the former owners when that information could be found.

 

That "Pete" piece was one of the most popular.

We have a cat named Pete.

Pete & the Giant Toadstool
All this rain has had some big toadstools popping up overnight. Here's Pete the cat checkin' one out. Looks like he took a big bite out of it, but that chunk was already missing.