(No Date) Copper-Nickel Civil War Patriotic Token F-53/336do, Our Navy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$600 AU53 12-13-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War patriotic token combining Fuld obverse die 53, an Indian princess or Liberty head design with military inscriptions, with reverse die 336 bearing the inscription "OUR NAVY" within a wreath. A salute to the Union Navy, which maintained the blockade of Southern ports that strangled Confederate commerce. This obverse belongs to a family of military-themed dies spanning slogans, weapons, and patriotic declarations. The variety of designs in this range shows how die sinkers competed to capture the wartime public's appetite for patriotic imagery. The copper-nickel composition — the same alloy used for federal Indian Head cents from 1857 to 1864 — makes this a particularly faithful imitation of official government coinage. This undated piece was produced circa 1862-1864, during the wartime coin shortage. The end of the token era came swiftly in 1864 when Congress authorized new small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of a brief but remarkable chapter in American monetary history.

Rarity Notes

Fuld 53/336do. Die pairing: obverse 53, reverse 336. Copper-nickel is an uncommon composition for Civil War tokens. 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 53/336do