(1859) Brass Token Rulau Va-103, Marshall House

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,320 MS63BN 04-03-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

Brass token associated with the Marshall House in Virginia, 1859. The Marshall House was the Alexandria, Virginia hotel where Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth was shot dead on May 24, 1861, while removing a Confederate flag from the roof, making him one of the first conspicuous Union casualties of the Civil War. The hotel's proprietor, James W. Jackson, killed Ellsworth and was immediately shot by Corporal Francis Brownell. This pre-war token from the hotel gained enormous retrospective significance after the Ellsworth incident, which became a rallying cry for the Union cause. Brass, 25mm. Tokens from the antebellum period circulated in an economy where small change shortages were a recurring problem, making merchant-issued pieces both advertisements and practical currency substitutes. Virginia merchant tokens are scarce compared to Northern issues, reflecting the South's more agrarian economy and smaller urban merchant class.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. Pre-Civil War token from one of the most historically significant buildings in Civil War history. The Marshall House Ellsworth incident made this obscure Alexandria hotel internationally famous overnight. Tokens, photographs, and artifacts associated with the Marshall House are avidly collected by Civil War enthusiasts. Pre-war tokens predating the May 1861 incident are the scarcest.

Cross References

Rulau Va-103; PCGS #803606