(1863) Copper Civil War Patriotic Token F-24/246a, Remembrance of the War

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS62 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War patriotic token combining Fuld obverse die 24, 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 246 bearing the inscription "ERINNERUNG" (German for "Remembrance"). German-language inscriptions reflected the large German-American community that supported the Union. As part of the most extensive obverse die family, French Liberty heads were mass-produced by competing die sinkers in New York and Connecticut. The classical bust design was popular precisely because it looked like official government coinage. Produced in copper, the workhorse metal of Civil War token production. The cent-sized format and familiar copper color allowed these pieces to circulate alongside genuine federal coinage without hesitation. Bearing the date 1863. Collectors classify these tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique obverse and reverse die combination. Rarity ratings range from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

Rarity Notes

Fuld 24/246a. Die pairing: obverse 24, reverse 246. Copper is the most common composition, representing the majority of surviving specimens. 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 24/246a