1861 Medal CM-2 Oath of Allegiance Bronze

Coin Details

Description

This 1861 bronze medal, cataloged as CM-2, commemorates the Oath of Allegiance during the opening year of the Civil War. After the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861 and the rapid secession of Southern states, the federal government required loyalty oaths from civil servants, military personnel, and others to demonstrate allegiance to the Union. The Oath of Allegiance became a powerful symbol of loyalty during a time when the nation was tearing itself apart over the questions of secession and slavery. This bronze medal reflects the urgent nationalism of the early war period, when the Union was rallying citizens and institutions to the cause of national preservation. The CM-2 catalog designation documents this within a commemorative medal series covering Civil War patriotic expressions. Bronze was the standard composition for broadly distributed wartime medals and tokens, and the Oath of Allegiance medal served both as a commemorative keepsake and a visible declaration of Union loyalty during the republic's greatest crisis.

Rarity Notes

CM-2, bronze composition. Oath of Allegiance 1861. Civil War patriotic medal. Limited production.

Cross References

PCGS #514973; CM-2; Oath of Allegiance Medal, Bronze; 1861; Civil War