(1863) Brass Civil War Patriotic Token F-9/238b, Our Little Monitor

Coin Details

Description

Civil War patriotic token combining Fuld obverse die 9, a French-style Liberty head facing left surrounded by thirteen stars, the most common obverse die family on Civil War patriotic tokens, with reverse die 238 bearing the USS Monitor, the Union's revolutionary ironclad warship. The Monitor's March 1862 battle with the CSS Virginia captured the Northern imagination. French Liberty head dies were produced in greater quantity than any other obverse family. The neoclassical bust of Liberty, inspired by French medallic art, lent an air of official authority to these privately manufactured emergency coins. Struck in brass, a less common composition that gave the token a distinctive golden color distinguishing it from the copper standard. Bearing the date 1863. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, and the introduction of fractional currency notes and new bronze two-cent pieces gradually eliminated the need for emergency tokens.

Rarity Notes

Fuld 9/238b. Die pairing: obverse 9, reverse 238. Brass strikes are less common than copper. The Fuld rarity scale ranges from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique); survival depends on the specific die combination, metal, and condition.

Cross References

Fuld 9/238b