(1856) Medal DeWitt JF 1856-2 Copper John C. Fremont Campaign

Coin Details

Description

This 1856 copper campaign medal, cataloged as DeWitt JF 1856-2, was produced for John Charles Fremont's presidential campaign as the first-ever Republican Party nominee. Fremont (1813-1890), known as "The Pathfinder" for his western exploration expeditions, ran on an anti-slavery platform with the slogan "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont." The obverse features a portrait of Fremont, the dashing military officer and explorer whose five expeditions across the American West had made him a national celebrity. The reverse carries campaign imagery and slogans promoting the fledgling Republican Party's opposition to the expansion of slavery into the territories. The 1856 election was a three-way contest between Fremont (Republican), James Buchanan (Democrat), and Millard Fillmore (American/Know-Nothing), and produced an extraordinary quantity of campaign tokens and medals as the new party system took shape. Struck in copper, this DeWitt JF 1856-2 variety represents the standard composition for campaign pieces intended for broad distribution among supporters. Fremont ultimately lost to Buchanan but carried eleven northern states, demonstrating the viability of the new Republican Party that would elect Abraham Lincoln just four years later.

Rarity Notes

DeWitt JF 1856-2. Copper composition. 1856 campaign tokens survive in moderate numbers. Fremont pieces are popular with political Americana collectors as first Republican presidential nominee items.

Cross References

PCGS #653291; DeWitt JF 1856-2; 1856 Presidential Election; Republican Party first nominee