(1864) White Metal Civil War Patriotic Token F-241/338e, Monitor

Coin Details

Auction Record

$720 MS64 04-13-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War patriotic token combining Fuld obverse die 241, a naval, Monitor, or patriotic design, with reverse die 338 bearing the USS Monitor, the Union's revolutionary ironclad warship. The Monitor's March 1862 battle with the CSS Virginia captured the Northern imagination. This die range includes naval subjects, constitutional themes, Masonic imagery, and commercial designs. The diversity reflects the wide range of interests and loyalties expressed through the Civil War token medium, from military patriotism to fraternal and commercial concerns. Struck in white metal (a lead-tin alloy), producing a silvery appearance. White metal tokens are scarcer than copper and often show softer details due to the alloy's lower hardness. Produced in 1864. The Fuld catalog documents over 10,000 distinct die combinations for patriotic tokens, making this one of the most complex series in all of American numismatics. Many die pairings are known from only a handful of surviving specimens.

Rarity Notes

Fuld 241/338e. Die pairing: obverse 241, reverse 338. White metal (lead/tin alloy) strikes are scarcer 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 241/338e