1840 Token DeWitt WHH-1840-55 Brass Maj. Gen. W.H. Harrison Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$720 MS64 06-16-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This brass campaign token for Major General William Henry Harrison, cataloged as DeWitt WHH-1840-55, is among the very highest-numbered varieties in the expansive 1840 Harrison campaign series. With over fifty-five cataloged types, the Harrison 1840 medals and tokens constitute the single largest body of campaign material produced for any American presidential candidate before the Civil War. This brass token represents the tail end of the cataloged varieties, produced by a minor die-sinker or discovered well after the initial systematic cataloging effort. The brass composition provided an attractive, durable medium for political tokens that could withstand the handling associated with daily wear and pocket carry. Harrison's appeal to voters in 1840 was fundamentally emotional rather than intellectual — the campaign deliberately avoided policy positions and instead offered voters a hero narrative, patriotic imagery, and communal experiences at rallies and parades. This strategy was devastatingly effective: Harrison carried 19 of 26 states and won 234 electoral votes to Van Buren's 60. The irony of the Log Cabin campaign's success was that Harrison's death barely a month into his term prevented the Whig Party from ever testing whether its vague promises could be translated into governance.

Rarity Notes

Brass campaign token from 1840. DeWitt WHH-1840-55. Very high catalog number, indicating a late-discovered or limited-production variety. Among the scarcest of the cataloged Harrison 1840 types.

Cross References

PCGS #690797; DeWitt WHH-1840-55; 1840 Presidential Election; William Henry Harrison