(1833) Token American Colonization Society Copper

Coin Details

Description

This copper token from circa 1833 was issued by the American Colonization Society, a controversial organization founded in 1816 by prominent Americans including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Randolph to promote the emigration of free African Americans to West Africa. The Society established the colony of Liberia in 1822, which eventually became an independent republic in 1847. Tokens and medals associated with the ACS served both as fundraising tools and as propaganda pieces to promote the colonization movement. The American Colonization Society occupied an ambiguous position in antebellum American politics, drawing support from slaveholders who wanted to remove free Blacks from the South and from some abolitionists who doubted that racial equality could be achieved in America. By the 1830s the organization faced increasing opposition from abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison who denounced colonization as morally bankrupt. Despite the controversy, the ACS transported approximately 13,000 African Americans to Liberia before the Civil War. Copper tokens from this period served as tangible expressions of organizational identity and were distributed to members and supporters as tokens of membership or at annual meetings.

Rarity Notes

American Colonization Society tokens are scarce and sought after by collectors of both exonumia and African American history. Surviving examples appear infrequently at auction.

Cross References

PCGS #803605; American Colonization Society, founded 1816; related to Liberian coinage