(1840) Medal DeWitt HC-1840-1 Brass Henry Clay Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$67 UNC Details 12-12-2018 Heritage Auctions

Description

This brass campaign medal for Henry Clay from the 1840 presidential election cycle is cataloged as DeWitt HC-1840-1. Although William Henry Harrison won the Whig nomination in 1840, Clay remained a towering figure in the party and continued to command devoted followers who produced campaign materials bearing his image. Clay had been the frontrunner for the 1840 Whig nomination but was passed over in favor of Harrison, whose military reputation as the hero of Tippecanoe was deemed more electable. The resulting "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" campaign became one of the most famous in American history, but Clay supporters maintained their own parallel campaign culture. This brass medal reflects Clay's enduring popularity among Whig partisans who viewed him as the intellectual leader of the party even when he was not the nominee. Clay would finally secure the Whig nomination in 1844, only to lose narrowly to James K. Polk. The DeWitt catalog's HC-1840-1 designation indicates this is the primary Clay medal type from the 1840 cycle, suggesting it was among the most widely distributed of the Clay campaign pieces from that year.

Rarity Notes

Brass campaign medal from 1840. DeWitt HC-1840-1. Clay was not the Whig nominee in 1840, making his campaign medals from that year less common than Harrison pieces.

Cross References

PCGS #616205; DeWitt HC-1840-1; 1840 Presidential Election; Henry Clay