(1860) Token DeWitt AL-1860-38 Copper No More Slave Territory Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$576 MS64RB 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1860 copper campaign token, cataloged as DeWitt AL-1860-38, bears the powerful anti-slavery slogan "No More Slave Territory" and was produced for Abraham Lincoln's Republican presidential campaign. The AL-1860-38 variety represents one of the most explicitly abolitionist-themed Lincoln tokens, directly addressing the central issue of the 1860 election — whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories. The obverse features Lincoln's beardless portrait with Republican campaign inscriptions, while the reverse carries the "No More Slave Territory" declaration that encapsulated the party's core platform plank. Copper tokens with strongly anti-slavery messaging were distributed primarily in northern states where abolitionist sentiment ran high. The phrase "No More Slave Territory" referenced the Republican opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and the Dred Scott decision of 1857, both of which had opened previously free territories to potential slavery. These tokens served as miniature political manifestos, communicating complex policy positions through simple, memorable slogans that supporters could carry and display.

Rarity Notes

DeWitt AL-1860-38. Copper composition. Anti-slavery themed Lincoln tokens are particularly sought by collectors of abolitionist Americana. Moderate survival rate among 1860 campaign pieces.

Cross References

PCGS #659415; DeWitt AL-1860-38; 1860 Presidential Election; anti-slavery campaign material