No Date Token Lovett Mule, White Metal Edwin Forrest

Coin Details

Auction Record

$660 MS62 08-25-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This undated white metal token is a Lovett mule depicting the famous American actor Edwin Forrest. Robert Lovett Jr. was one of the most important die-sinkers of the Civil War era, producing dies for both tokens and medals from his Philadelphia workshop. A "mule" in numismatic terminology refers to a piece struck from two dies not originally intended to be paired together, creating a combination that exists outside the standard die-pairing sequence. Edwin Forrest was the preeminent American-born actor of the mid-nineteenth century, renowned for his powerful performances in Shakespearean roles and at the center of the famous Astor Place Riot of 1849, one of the deadliest civil disturbances in New York history. This Lovett mule combining the Forrest portrait with an unrelated reverse die is a characteristic product of the die-sinker's art during the prolific token-making era of the 1860s.

Rarity Notes

Lovett mule, white metal. Edwin Forrest portrait. Robert Lovett Jr. die-sinker product. Interesting theatrical connection. Scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #673515; Lovett Mule; Edwin Forrest