(1840) Token DeWitt WHH-1840-49 Brass Maj. Gen. W.H. Harrison Campaign

Coin Details

Description

This brass campaign token for Major General William Henry Harrison, cataloged as DeWitt WHH-1840-49, is among the highest-numbered varieties in the extensive 1840 Harrison series. The near-fifty varieties cataloged under the WHH-1840 prefix in the DeWitt reference represent an unprecedented outpouring of campaign material that transformed American political culture. Brass tokens like this one occupied a middle ground between the cheapest white metal pieces and the more expensive copper or silver varieties, offering an attractive golden color at moderate cost. The token format indicates this piece was intended to circulate as a quasi-monetary item — many campaign tokens of the 1830s and 1840s were produced in cent-sized format and passed as currency during periods of small-change shortage, blurring the line between political propaganda and practical commerce. Harrison's campaign organization distributed such tokens through a network of Whig clubs, rally organizers, and sympathetic merchants, ensuring maximum visibility in daily commercial transactions. The high DeWitt number indicates this variety was either produced later in the campaign season or by a less prominent die-sinker whose work was cataloged after the major Philadelphia and New York varieties.

Rarity Notes

Brass campaign token from 1840. DeWitt WHH-1840-49. High catalog number indicates smaller production. The extensive 1840 Harrison series is a foundational category in American political numismatics.

Cross References

PCGS #827437; DeWitt WHH-1840-49; 1840 Presidential Election; William Henry Harrison