Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Civil War token

Advertisement

Expert: - 11/22/2009


Question
I have an 1863 Dix Civil War token, which is in very good condition, although quite browned - stars, stripes, and waves on the flag are all visible, lettering is easily readable, and coin edges, stars, and dots (or ribs) around the circumference are all very clear.  What might be the value of this token?  I'm not set up here to take a picture to send you, and I don't want to remove it from its protective jacket, where it's been since 1976, but I would appreciate your best guesstimate, sight unseen.  Thank you for any help you can give me.

Answer

Civil War Token
Hi Dave:

You have a Patriotic Civil War Token. They were struck by private mints to help the coin shortage merchant's were facing due to hoarding. During the war, people started to hold gold and silver coinage and then copper coins were taken out of circulation.

There are two types of civil war tokens, merchant, often with the name, address of the business and a design of what the person sold or dealt with, and patriotic, often with a war related theme. Most were made of copper, and exchanged for one cent in merchandise or value. They came in two sizes, large cent and small cent. Many had "Not One Cent" on one side and the design was very similar to the Indian cents struck during that time. Your token is one of the better known Patriotic tokens, and there are several varieties.

Millions of tokens were struck, and there are over 10,000 different varieties and die combinations of these made during our civil war (1863-4). The tokens are ranked in rarity for common, R-1 (over 5,000 remaining) to R-10 (unique, 1 known). Rarity and condition, along with metal type are the determining factors as to the value of your token. Common circulated R-1 and R-2 tokens trade regularly in the $15-$20 range, with Uncirculated examples bringing up to $60-$75.

"Dix" refers to MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN A. DIX. On the election of General Pierce to the Presidency he first selected General Dix for his Secretary of State. But, as is well known, the leaders of the Southern democracy, of the Mason and Slidell school, protested so violently against his appointment that it was never made. The same influence prevented his appointment as Minister to France, which had been offered to him as an inducement for him to accept for a while the local office of Assistant-Treasurer of the United States in the city of New York. On the appointment of Mr. John Y. Mason, of Virginia, to the French embassy Mr. Dix resigned the office of Assistant-Treasurer, and withdrew almost wholly from politics.

Early in 1859 enormous defalcations having been discovered in the New York City Post-office, and the defaulting Postmaster having absconded, President Buchanan appointed General Dix to that office, and urged its acceptance on the ground that the public interests required the appointment of some man of the highest character and reputation for integrity and administrative ability. Mr. Dix yielded to these representations, and accepted the office. In January, 1861, the treachery and dishonesty of Floyd, Cobb, %26 Co., of the first Buchanan Cabinet, having reached their climax, and ended in the withdrawal or flight of those traitors from Washington, and the financial embarrassments of the Government requiring the appointment of a Secretary of the Treasury in whose probity, patriotism, skill, and efficiency the whole country could and would confide, General Dix was called to that high office, and entered on its duties January 15, 1861.

On the 18th January, 1861, three days after General Dix took charge of the Treasury Department, he sent a special agent to New Orleans and Mobile for the purpose of saving the revenue vessels at those ports from seizure by the rebels. The most valuable of these vessels, the Robert McClelland, at New Orleans, was commanded by Captain John G. Breshwood, with S. B. Caldwell as his lieutenant. Breshwood refused to obey the orders of General Dix's agent, Mr. Jones; and on being informed of this refusal, the Secretary telegraphed as follows; "If any man pulls down the American flag, shoot him on the spot!"

There is a specialized group who collect and deal specifically with this type of token. The link:
http://cwtsociety.com/

Another link listing tokens and there prices: http://mysite.verizon.net/resqje2x/classicnumismatics2/id14.html

You may want to check eBay listings in the exonumia category under coins %26 currency from time to time to see if tokens like yours are listed and what they are going for.

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.

    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentMr. Fern, I want to thank you for the great information and advice in your answer. Your timeliness is exceptional. I don't know where you are, but I didn't expect you to respond in the wee hours on a Sunday morning. You're to be commended on your dedication! Once again, thanks for the information. Dave


  • Add to this Answer
  • Ask a Question

Ronald Fern

Expertise

I can answer most all questions relating to US coins, tokens, and currency. I'm not strong on world coins or ancients. Primary field of expertise is errors and varieties. Over 55 years experience in coin collecting. Part time dealer since 1976. Employed by McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for over 34 years as an Industrial Engineer/Technical Specialist before retiring in 2002.

Experience

Worked weekends for "Lonesome" John in the late 1960's to mid 1970's processing error coins, packaging, and preparing orders. Worked with John Devine and Fred Weinberg on several California Error A Rama's in the early 1970's. Served as display judge at annual Error-A-Rama coin shows. Opened and operated mail order coin business DBA "CAL ERRORS" in 1976. Contributer to Alan Herbert's "Official Price Guide To Mint Errors" and Fivaz/Stanton "Cherrypickers' Guide". Worked Saturdays at Huntington Beach Coin Exchange 1980-1999. Had table and sold coins at a number of coin and gun shows in So CA, AZ and NV. Sell coins, tokens and currency currently at my space in the Pomona Antique Center. Past "Errorscope" Editor. Presently CONECA Examiner.

Organizations
ANA, CONECA, CWTS, NLG

Publications
Errorscope, Numismatic News, Civil War Token Journal, Error and Variety News

Education/Credentials
AA Degree LBCC pre Engineering, 1964 BS Degree CSULB Ind Technology, 1968

Awards and Honors
1st Place EAR Trophy for Civil War Token Errors, NLG Author of Year Award for best monthly coin column "Error News and Views" in small Numismatic paper, owned and published by Ray Anthony.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.