(1860) Token DeWitt AL-1860-43 Brass Abraham Lincoln Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$480 MS65 04-13-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1860 brass campaign token, cataloged as DeWitt AL-1860-43, was produced for Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign. The AL-1860-43 variety represents a distinct die combination within the extensive Lincoln token series, with unique portrait rendering or reverse design elements distinguishing it from the dozens of other Lincoln 1860 varieties documented by DeWitt. Brass tokens served as the everyday campaign material of the 1860 election, distributed at rallies, political meetings, and through Republican Party organizational networks across the northern states. Lincoln's beardless portrait on the obverse captures his appearance during the campaign season, before the famous letter from eleven-year-old Grace Bedell inspired him to grow the beard that would become his defining physical feature. The reverse carries campaign slogans or imagery promoting the Republican platform. The sheer number of distinct Lincoln 1860 token varieties — the DeWitt catalog documents well over seventy — reflects the unprecedented scale of Republican campaign organization and the commercial enterprise of die sinkers capitalizing on political demand.

Rarity Notes

DeWitt AL-1860-43. Brass composition. Part of the extensive Lincoln 1860 campaign token series. Standard survival rate among brass campaign tokens of the period.

Cross References

PCGS #674690; DeWitt AL-1860-43; 1860 Presidential Election; Abraham Lincoln