(1864) Token DeWitt GMcC 1864-2 Copper Maj. Gen. Geo. B. McClellan Campaign

Coin Details

Auction Record

$264 SP64BN 11-30-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This copper campaign token for Major General George B. McClellan from the 1864 presidential election is cataloged as DeWitt GMcC 1864-2. McClellan ran as the Democratic nominee against incumbent Abraham Lincoln on a platform that declared the war a failure and called for an immediate armistice and negotiated peace with the Confederacy. McClellan personally repudiated the peace plank in his acceptance letter, promising to continue the war until the Union was restored, but the platform remained a political liability. His campaign token identifies him by his military rank, emphasizing the career that had made him a national figure — McClellan had organized and trained the Army of the Potomac in 1861-1862 and led it through the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Antietam before Lincoln removed him for excessive caution. The copper composition indicates a moderate-quality production. McClellan's campaign attracted support from Peace Democrats (Copperheads), War Democrats who disagreed with Lincoln's emancipation policy, and some conservatives who felt the war was being mismanaged. He won only three states — New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky — with 21 electoral votes.

Rarity Notes

Copper campaign token from 1864. DeWitt GMcC 1864-2. McClellan campaign material is less common than Lincoln 1864 items. The losing candidate's pieces are consistently scarcer.

Cross References

PCGS #889664; DeWitt GMcC 1864-2; 1864 Presidential Election; George B. McClellan