(1860) Token DeWitt AL-1860-40 Brass Hartford Wide-Awakes Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$479 MS64 12-10-2023 eBay

Description

This 1860 brass campaign token, cataloged as DeWitt AL-1860-40, commemorates the Hartford Wide-Awakes, one of the most prominent paramilitary political clubs supporting Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign. The Wide-Awakes were organized Republican marching companies that staged torchlight parades through northern cities, wearing distinctive oilcloth capes and caps to protect against dripping kerosene from their torches. The movement began in Hartford, Connecticut in February 1860 and spread rapidly to over a thousand chapters nationwide, eventually enrolling an estimated 500,000 members. The obverse features Lincoln's portrait, while the reverse identifies the Hartford Wide-Awakes specifically, honoring the chapter that originated the movement. Brass composition gives this token a golden appearance appropriate for a premium campaign piece. The Wide-Awake movement represented a new form of political organizing that combined elements of fraternal organizations, military drill companies, and campaign clubs, and their torchlight marches through Democratic neighborhoods were both inspiring and intimidating depending on the viewer's political sympathies.

Rarity Notes

DeWitt AL-1860-40. Brass composition. Hartford Wide-Awakes tokens document the founding chapter of this influential political movement. Wide-Awake-themed tokens are a popular sub-specialty within Lincoln campaign collecting.

Cross References

PCGS #617003; DeWitt AL-1860-40; 1860 Presidential Election; Hartford Wide-Awakes