(1840) Medal DeWitt WHH-1840-14 White Metal Holed Maj. Gen. W.H. Harrison Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$60 XF Details 11-16-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This holed white metal campaign medal for Major General William Henry Harrison, cataloged as DeWitt WHH-1840-14, is yet another variety in the remarkably diverse series of campaign pieces from the 1840 election. The continuous numbering of Harrison medals in the DeWitt catalog — reaching into the fifties — documents a campaign material production operation unmatched by any previous American election. Harrison's campaign managers, including Thurlow Weed of New York, understood that tangible campaign items created personal connections between voters and candidates in an era before photography, mass media, and electronic communication. A white metal medal bearing Harrison's image, worn on a supporter's coat or hat, served as both a personal declaration of political identity and a visible form of peer pressure encouraging others to join the cause. The medal identifies Harrison as "Maj. Gen." to emphasize his military record, which was the centerpiece of the Whig campaign strategy. Harrison had served as governor of Indiana Territory and briefly as a U.S. Senator, but his political career was unremarkable compared to his military reputation, so the campaign wisely focused on the latter while carefully avoiding specific policy commitments.

Rarity Notes

Holed white metal campaign medal from 1840. DeWitt WHH-1840-14. Common among individually scarce 1840 varieties. Assembled collections of distinct DeWitt Harrison numbers are highly valued.

Cross References

PCGS #911133; DeWitt WHH-1840-14; 1840 Presidential Election; William Henry Harrison