(1852) Token DeWitt WS-1852-7 Brass Major Gen. Win. Scott Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS63 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This brass campaign token for Major General Winfield Scott, cataloged as DeWitt WS-1852-7, represents another variety in the Scott 1852 campaign series. The mid-range DeWitt catalog number indicates moderate production and availability. Scott's military career spanned from the War of 1812 through the early months of the Civil War — a remarkable fifty-year tenure that made him arguably the most experienced American military commander in history. His 1847 campaign from Veracruz to Mexico City, conducted over mountainous terrain with inadequate supplies against a larger defending force, has been compared to Cortes's conquest route and remains one of the most brilliant American military operations. Despite these genuine accomplishments, Scott's political instincts were poor, and his campaign speeches frequently wandered into self-aggrandizing digressions that alienated audiences. The brass composition of this token was standard for the era, and the WS-1852-7 designation places it among the middle-numbered Scott varieties. The 1852 election tokens for both Pierce and Scott are important artifacts documenting the final chapter of the Second American Party System before the slavery crisis destroyed the Whig-Democratic equilibrium.

Rarity Notes

Brass campaign token from 1852. DeWitt WS-1852-7. Mid-range catalog number indicates moderate availability. Scott 1852 campaign material is collected for its historical significance as the last Whig presidential campaign.

Cross References

PCGS #659434; DeWitt WS-1852-7; 1852 Presidential Election; Winfield Scott