Description:

Coins
various, various
Group of 6 Civil War Tokens with a St. Louis World's Fair Token
Archive
A collection of six Civil War tokens accompanied by a token from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The six bronze coins all measure 0.75" in diameter, dated circa 1863. With various patriotic images and text on each obverse and reverse. The World's Fair token is made of aluminum and measures 1.25" in diameter, St. Louis, dated 1904. All the tokens have expected wear, with varying degrees of rubbing, soiling, and patina. Please refer to the photographs for further condition information.

Includes:
1. 1863 Civil War Token, "The Flag of Our Union 1863." The reverse reads "If Anyone Attempts To Tear It Down, Shoot Him On The Spot."
2. 1863 Civil War Token, "First In War, First in Peace, with a statue of George Washington astride a horse. The reverse has a Union shield with the inscription "Union For Ever."
3. Undated Civil War Token, "Army & Navy" with an anchor and crossed swords. The reverse is inscribed, "The Federal Union, it must and shall be preserved."
4. 1863 Civil War Token, "Pluribus Unum, 1863" with an American flag coat of arms. The reverse is inscribed "Staudinger's, 116 Broadway, NY."
5. Undated Civil War Token "Our Country" with a shield and wreath. The reverse has two crossed cannons with a drum and flags.
6. 1863 Civil War Token, "Army & Navy" with two crossed swords and a wreath. The reverse has a bust of Liberty, surrounded by 14 stars.
7. 1904 St. Louis World's Fair Token. Uniface, with the Palace of Electricity in the center. Punched for "Robert Mullings, Kansas, MO."

Civil War tokens such as these were privately minted and put into circulation in the Northeast and Midwest between 1861 and 1864. The production of these coins arose from the lack of government-issued coins during the Civil War. The tokens were divided into three varieties: store cards, patriotic tokens, and sutler tokens. All three types were utilized as currency, and are differentiated by their designs. Patriotic Civil War tokens typically displayed a patriotic slogan or image on one or both sides. Store cards advertised the name and/or location of privately owned businesses. Sutler tokens functioned similarly to store cards but bore the name of a particular army unit (usually a regiment) and the name of the sutler who conducted transactions with the regiment. The tokens later became illegal after Congress passed a law on April 22, 1864, prohibiting the issue of any one- or two-cent coins, tokens or devices for use as currency. On June 8, 1864, an additional law was passed that forbade all private coinage.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. More than 60 countries and 43 of the then-45 American states hosted exhibition spaces at the fair, which was attended by nearly 19.7 million people. Key medical and scientific inventions were showcased at the fair, including the radiophone, a version of an early fax machine, an x-ray machine, and an infant incubator. A number of foods are claimed to have been invented at the fair, the most popular being the waffle-style ice cream cone. The fair inspired the song "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis", which featured in the 1944 film "Meet Me in St. Louis", sung by Judy Garland.

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 1.25" diameter
  • Medium: Archive

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March 12, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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University Archives

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