1860 Token DeWitt-AL-1860-59 Brass Abraham Lincoln Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$582 MS66 02-03-2014 Stack's Bowers

Description

This brass campaign token for Abraham Lincoln from the 1860 election is cataloged as DeWitt AL-1860-59 and represents one of the higher-numbered varieties in the Lincoln series. The extensive range of Lincoln 1860 token types reflects both the unprecedented commercial demand for campaign material and the large number of die-sinkers competing to supply that demand. By 1860, the market for campaign tokens was well established, with manufacturers in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cincinnati, and other cities producing competing designs for each major candidate. The brass composition was a popular choice that balanced visual appeal with affordability. Lincoln's 1860 campaign was conducted during a period of intense national anxiety — the threat of Southern secession gave the election an urgency that no previous contest had possessed, and the production and acquisition of campaign material became expressions of political commitment that went beyond ordinary partisanship. This brass token, one of dozens available to Lincoln supporters, served as both a campaign advertisement and a personal declaration of loyalty to the Union and the Republican cause.

Rarity Notes

Brass campaign token from 1860. DeWitt AL-1860-59. Higher catalog number in the Lincoln series. Moderately scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #524065; DeWitt AL-1860-59; 1860 Presidential Election; Abraham Lincoln