subject: Civil War tokens collection guide [print this page] Civil War tokens collection guide Civil War tokens collection guide
Like people, coin collecting can be plain and simple or wild and crazy. "Plain and simple" would mean working on completing your collection of Lincoln cents in Extremely Fine condition. "Wild and crazy" would be trying to obtain the finest Lincoln cents known. These coins are the kind that require a considerable effort to find and a considerable income to afford. You have to know what you're doing and be ready to pounce when the right coin comes along if you miss it, years may go by before you have the chance to buy another.
Tokens and medals are privately made, coin-shaped pieces of metal that may or may not have a stated value. This article offers you some areas to investigate.
During the Civil War, people began hoarding coins just in case fighting forced them to flee their homes with all their worldly possessions. As a result, merchants had difficulty conducting business, just as they did during the Hard Times of the late 1830s. Private companies worked to meet the need, this time by issuing small coins the size of today's pennies. You see many political themes on Civil War tokens, mostly patriotic ones aimed at supporting the Union cause. But you also see a lot of tokens whose purpose was not only to supply loose change but also to advertise the merchant's business at the same time.
Civil War tokens appear in two major categories:
Patriotics: Tokens with purely patriotic or political themes and no references to a business or merchant.
Store cards: Tokens with at least one side that refers to a business or merchant.
As you may have guessed, a lot of designs from the patriotics were also used on store cards.
Most Civil War tokens were made of copper, although a number of off-metal pieces were made for collectors out of silver, brass, nickel, copper-nickel, lead, and other metals and alloys.
Check out this fascinating series collecting Civil War tokens is affordable, educational, and fun.
