When I was a coin dealer, customers occasionally asked me if there were any pro South Civil War tokens. The answer to that question is yes, but the pro Dixie message on all but one of these is presented in a subtle way. The reason for this subtlety was that during the Civil War southern sympathizes could easily have found themselves in jail if they were indiscrete in expressing their opinion. After President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, suspected southern sympathizers could be imprisoned for an indefinite period without a court trial or even formal charges. “Wealth of the South” The first of the unpatriotic Civil War pieces, the wealth of south tokens, were first issued in 1860 before the war began. These pieces featured a palmetto tree, some bails of cotton, a cannon and pile of cannon balls, the date 1860, and the slogan “No submission to the North” on the obverse. The reverse featured a display of agricultural produces with the slogan “Wealth of the South” above and “rice, tobacco, sugar, cotton” below. Cincinnati, Ohio die sinker, Benjamin True, produced the dies for these tokens which known in several varieties. He also produced dies for the four 1860 presidential candidates. Later True sold these dies to another Cincinnati die maker, John Stanton, who struck addition pieces with them. Collectively hobbyists refer to all of these tokens as the “Wealth of the South” series. The early Wealth of South pieces were purchased and worn by those who supported secession and the southern cause. They usually had holes drilled into them so that they could be worn and displayed. John Stanton continued to strike these tokens during and after the war for collectors. I believe that the holed piece that I am showing here is the real thing. The obverse die is noticeably broken, and this is a rare die combination. I think that it was worn by a southern before or during the war. It still has traces of the original zinc plating that was on the piece when it was new. The second piece may have been made for collectors or made and not used during the war. “Concession before Secession” Before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, there was a peace conference held in early February at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. The hope was that the problems with the South could be patched up and that a separation of the Union and perhaps a war could be avoided. Many observers, including Abraham Lincoln, thought this effort had little chance of success. Subsequently historians believe that the South used to conference to buy time to mobilize their military forces. U.S. Mint Director, James Pollack chaired the Pennsylvania delegation to the conference. Other attendees included former President, John Tyler, who later was elected to seat in the Confederate States Congress and future secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Chase. During this period an unknown die sinker produced a well executed token that summed up the issue. The obverse features a scroll with the opening words of the preamble to the constitution, “We the people of the United States of America” written in script. Above is the word, “Constitution” and below is the date, “1861.” The reverse has the slogan, “Concession before Secession.” This token was struck in several metals, and all of those metallic variations of the piece are rare. The New York City Copperheads Once the Civil War began there were a significant number of people in the North who supported or were sympathetic to the southern cause. A large number of these southern sympathizers lived in New York City. Before the war New York merchants had done considerable business with the southern states. Once hostilities began nearly all of that trade was suspended. New York City mayor, Fernando Wood, advocated at one point that his city should secede from the Union and became an independent country. That way the New York merchants would be able to trade with both sides. Given this political background it not surprising that New York City die makers received orders to produce Civil War tokens that had pro southern slogans. All of the pieces that are listed below were made in the New York City area. Northern citizens who supported the sourthern cause were called "copperheads" One such group called themselves "The Sons of Liberty." The copperhead name came from the poinsonous snake and from the fact that they wore the cut out liberty head from a copper cent on their lapels. Here is an example of such a piece, that was made from a Matron Head large cent. “Millions for Contractors, Not One Cent for the Widows” One way that Civil War tokens used to make their products more acceptable as substitutes for U.S. coinage was to design their pieces to resemble the real thing. This piece features a profile that is similar to the design that appears on the Indian cent. The Indian head design is surrounded by the beginning of the slogan “Millions for Contractors,” The word “Liberty” which was in the Indian cent is replaced by “Fort Lafayette.” This notorious union prison, which was located in New York Harbor, housed many southern sympathizes who had been arrested for their views. The reverse of the piece completes the slogan with, “Not one cent for the widows.” Many people did make vast fortunes by supplying goods to the Union army. This token was designed to undermine the war effort by using class envy. To be sure the benefits paid to war widows were meager, but the purpose for issuing this token was aimed more toward aiding the southern cause than increasing survivor benefits for widows. “Horrors of War” This token, which had religious overtones, was designed to plant questions about the morality of the war and in the process aid the southern cause. It features an angelic looking female face gazing upward flanked by two horns of plenty. These features are surrounded by the slogan “Horrors of war … blessings of peace.” The goal was to appeal to the emotions of the observer which would perhaps translate into opposition to the continuance of the Civil War on the northern side. This design was paired with several reverses. One of them ironically featured an eagle and the slogan, “Union forever.” One variety pairs this pro-southern piece with the 1864 Democratic presidential candidate, George McClellan. McClellan tried to distance himself from the copperhead cause to improve his chances of winning the election. If he knew about the existence of this piece, he probably would not have been pleased. If 1864 Democratic presidential candidate, George McClellan, saw an example of this piece, he would not have been pleased. McClellan tired to say away from the copperhead crowd in an effort to defeat Abraham Lincoln in the election. He lost by a wide margin. “Peace Forever” This design appears on two slightly different die varieties. The center of the piece features a pair of hands clasped in a handshake. It requires a strong glass to see it, but the word “South” appears on the cuff of the left hand and the word “North” is on the right. The message is that peace should be declared and the North and the South should part as separate and equal friendly nations. To muddy the waters a bust of George Washington appears on the obverse flanked by two American flags. The intent seemed to be that advocating peace and allowing the South to form its own nation was, in fact, a patriotic position. Both the North and the South claimed Washington as a champion for their cause. “Live and Let Live” This copperhead token is very rare as a patriotic token, but is fairly common as a Civil War store card. It features two carrots and some other garden products in the center with the phrase “Live and let live” above them. The subtle message was that the South should be left alone to find its own destiny. The obverse of the token features a turkey and an advertisement for the Washington Market Exchange. The exchange was a place where those who traded stocks, bonds, currencies and precious metals conducted their business. Built in 1853, the building covered an entire city block in lower Manhattan, bordered by Washington, West, Fulton and Vesey Streets. In the final analysis the only chance that the Confederate States of American had of gaining its independence would have occurred if the people of the North could have been convinced to end the war. The North had a far greater population and for more industrial strength than the South could ever hope to muster. Therefore, winning the political battle, which these Civil War tokens symbolized, offered the South its only hope for victory.
