Token - 1863 Civil War 'Army & Navy' PCGS MS66 Red - Top of Condition Census

At the onset of the Civil War in the year 1861, many people began hoarding coins—all of them, copper, silver, and gold—leaving virtually none in circulation. Suddenly, coins were worth more than their face value and everyday business essentially halted. However, to make up for this dearth of coinage, private businesses took it upon themselves to manufacture copper tokens for widespread circulation. These token became known as Civil War Tokens (CWTs), and such pieces carried an accepted value of one cent. They circulated widely until they were made illegal by an act of Congress in April of 1864.

PCGS has graded a total of 118 of the F-15/319a ‘Army & Navy’ as MS66RD with just one finer.

Mathew Brady’s Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 1860. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

It is estimated that about 9,000 different obverse designs were created, struck, and used in commerce as de facto legal tender coins. Some featured advertisements on them, while others carried patriotic emblems or slogans. This token offered by AUCM was struck with an obverse that features Lady Liberty sporting a Liberty cap with a band of stars, surrounded by 13 stars, and a reverse that features the phrase “ARMY & NAVY” within a wreath. On the reverse, there is a dramatic die crack starting at 9 o’clock from the wreath to and above ‘ARMY’ to the wreath on the right.