(1856) Medal DeWitt MF-1856-5 Brass Millard Fillmore Campaign

Coin Details

Description

This 1856 brass campaign medal, cataloged as DeWitt MF-1856-5, was produced for Millard Fillmore's American Party presidential bid. The MF-1856-5 variety features a distinct die combination from the other Fillmore pieces in the DeWitt catalog, with different portrait rendering or reverse design elements. Brass was a popular composition for campaign tokens, offering durability and an attractive golden color at modest cost. The Know-Nothing movement that backed Fillmore drew support from native-born Protestant Americans who feared competition from Irish and German Catholic immigrants arriving in increasing numbers during the 1840s and 1850s. The party's secretive organizational structure — members were instructed to say "I know nothing" when asked about the group — gave it its popular nickname. Campaign tokens bearing Fillmore's portrait and American Party slogans served as both political advertisements and membership insignia for a movement that briefly commanded significant political power in northeastern and border states before collapsing under the weight of the slavery crisis.

Rarity Notes

DeWitt MF-1856-5. Brass composition. One of several Fillmore varieties in the DeWitt catalog. Moderate survival rate among 1856 campaign tokens.

Cross References

PCGS #929379; DeWitt MF-1856-5; 1856 Presidential Election; American Party