For Informational purposes only

[TORRERO]

Got this Confederate coin years ago, and I know its a copy or replica, but I don't even know if the confederacy actually made these or was this some type of post CW fantasy issue..
Thanks for looking.

And just to be clear, I've never heard of anyone finding one with a metal detector either ..

 

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[pepperj]

https://www.pcgs.com/prices/detail/confederate-states-america/920/most-active

 

[TORRERO]

https://www.pcgs.com/prices/detail/confederate-states-america/920/most-active

The link you sent shows 1861 50 cent coins that were minted, but no 1 cent coins minted during the Civil War..
So what do I have and what is its value ?
(all the others listed were minted in the 1960s or after the CW)

 

[sibbley]

I've only been able to find the particular coin you posted dated 1861. I also have a replica of the same coin dated 1861. As it looks to me, these coins were originally minted in 1861, with restrikes in 1874 and again in 1961. All have the 1861 date though as I've been able to find.

 

[TORRERO]

I've only been able to find the particular coin you posted dated 1861. I also have a replica of the same coin dated 1861. As it looks to me, these coins were originally minted in 1861, with restrikes in 1874 and again in 1961. All have the 1861 date though as I've been able to find.

These are selling on fleabay, for $10

 

[sibbley]

These are selling on fleabay, for $10

As real or replica? I bought mine years ago at Gettysburg NPS Visitor Center.

 

[TORRERO]

As real or replica? I bought mine years ago at Gettysburg NPS Visitor Center.

I don't know, I got mine years ago in a trade I think, so I don't know where mine came from
.
I don't know anything about what is on fleabay.. How they get them, where they get them, what they are made of..
Probably have "made in china" stamped on the back ..

 

[BigWaveDave]

Those were made by the thousands or more in the 1960s as souvenir tokens.

 

[l.cutler]

I don't remember all the details off the top of my head but, a few 1861 dated cent coins were made by a northern token maker supposedly on contract with the Confederacy. The maker got cold feet and never completed the contract and hid the few coins he made. None of these coins were known until they turned up in the 1870's when one was supposedly spent in a bar. Restrikes were made for sale and once again made but from transfer dies in the 1960's. The whole story always seemed kind of sketchy to me and the originals may have been made at the time of "finding" just to make a story for the subsequent sale of the restrikes. You can google search the rest of the story and to correct whatever parts I got wrong!

 

[ToddsPoint]

In 1861 the confederates took over 3 US mints. New Orleans, Dahlonega GA, and Charlotte NC. Charlotte and Dahlonega only made small denomination gold coins. New Orleans made silver and gold. All three mints finished making US marked coins until they ran out of gold and silver. Four silver halves were made in NOL with a reverse confederate die. No other confederate coins were made besides these. The “confederate penny” was a made up story. A post civil war scam.

 

[Red-Coat]

The link you sent shows 1861 50 cent coins that were minted, but no 1 cent coins minted during the Civil War..
So what do I have and what is its value ?
(all the others listed were minted in the 1960s or after the CW)

The poster 'Jim' [desertgem] on the CoinTalk site offered this:

The 1862 dated tokens were made by the Georgia Mint (private) for sale at various truck/tourist stops in the Civil War areas in the 1960s (although I might be a year or couple off from that. It is not a Bashlow type.

He provided a link to further information, but it no longer connects: http://www.confederatequarter.com/cent.html

 

[Red-Coat]

I found the additional information that 'Jim' referenced via the Internet Wayback Machine. It was within an article by Harold Levi who said:

The information I have collected, so far, has come from the Whitman Red Book "A Guide Book of United States Coins", Walter Breen's "Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins", Q. David Bowers, Stack's Auction Catalogs, Bowers and Merena's "Rare Coin Review No.112 (P. Scott Rubin)", The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection - Part I sale catalog, Confederate Congressional Records, the PCGS internet site, and several other internet sites.


The 1862 Confederate cents, and all other Confederate coins with that date, are modern souvenirs made by the privately owned Georgia Mint for sale to tourist stops. The Georgia Mint made these with the wrong date on purpose to avoid being accused of counterfeiting.

Note: One of the 1862 fantasy cents recently (April, 2002) sold on eBay for $27.00.

 

[pepperj]

The link you sent shows 1861 50 cent coins that were minted, but no 1 cent coins minted during the Civil War..
So what do I have and what is its value ?
(all the others listed were minted in the 1960s or after the CW)

Have another look at the link.
There is 3 references to the 1861 1 cent.
The other 2 dates pre/post of the 1861 date were 50 cent pieces.
It basically states there wasn't a 1862 coin struck.

 

[Red-Coat]

For interest, this was Mr. Levi's article in full from the now defunct 'confederatequarter.com' website:

Confederate States of America Pattern "Quarter"
Harold Levi, Author

Overview

Information about the Confederate Cent and Confederate coinage in general is spotty and somewhat unreliable. Some well recognized numismatists have done research on Confederate coins. However it seems that their research has been somewhat restricted to the Cent and Half-Dollar and does not seem to have been exhaustive. The information I have collected, so far, has come from the Whitman Red Book "A Guide Book of United States Coins", Walter Breen's "Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins", Q. David Bowers, Stack's Auction Catalogs, Bowers and Merena's "Rare Coin Review No.112 (P. Scott Rubin)", The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection - Part I sale catalog, Confederate Congressional Records, the PCGS internet site, and several other internet sites.

This document is a continuing research effort that is not finished. Information has to be gleaned from various sources and then put together much like a jigsaw puzzle. The Confederate records are scattered and incomplete. After the end of the war the U.S. Federal Government collected all of the documents they found in Richmond, VA. However, this is not to say that all of the documents found in Richmond made it to Washington City. Souvenir hunters surely made off with some of the documents. However, the documents that were found in Richmond are far from being all of the documents. Many were carried away by Confederate officials and hidden away or destroyed. Some of these documents are just now coming out of hiding because of the current interest in the history of the U.S. Civil War. As an example of this, the letters from Gen. George Pickett, CSA, and his wife La Salle have been discovered in the last three years. Many Civil War historians think that these letters, when published, will rewrite some history.

I would appreciate any and all information about Confederate Cents as well as Confederate coinage. My home address and e-mail address are at the bottom of this page.

The Mystery

The Confederate Cent is somewhat of a mystery. The popular story states that Robert Lovett, Jr., of Philadelphia, was contacted by Confederate officials and commissioned to create coining dies for a one-cent coin. However, researchers cannot find any specific mention of a one-cent coin in the official Confederate records. There are suppositions by some people that Lovett created the dies of his own account being a Southern sympathizer. The item below is an entry in the official Confederate records that would, however, authorize any coin.

Acts of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States.

STATUTE I.--1861.
RESOLUTIONS.
No. 16. A resolution to continue the mints at New Orleans and Dahlonega. March 9, 1861
[No. 16.] A Resolution to continue the mints at New Orleans and Dahlonega.
March 9, 1861.

Mints at New Orleans and Dahlonega.

Dies for the coin.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do resolve, That the mints at New Orleans and Dahlonega shall be continued, and the proper arrangements made as soon as possible to procure suitable dies for the coin of the Confederate States.

A second mystery involves the damage sustained by the dies. Capt. John W. Haseltine obtained the dies in 1873. Haseltine and his partners' struck several coins in gold, silver, and copper. Haseltine indicated that after the 55th strike in copper the dies were badly broken. The implication and, generally, everyone's assumption was that the dies had shattered. However, Robert Bashlow, who obtained the dies in about 1961, indicated that the original dies had one small reverse crack and were not broken as claimed by Haseltine. However, the dies appeared to have sustained several blows from a hammer and chisel.

It is my opinion that the damage shown on the Bashlow restrikes is not consistent with the damage that would have occurred by normal breaking of the dies. Also, the damage does not have the appearance of some metal object(s) having fallen between the dies. The damage on the reverse and obverse dies does not match. The damage has the appearance of someone trying to strike the dies with a chisel while they were still mounted in the press. If you assume that the reverse die was in the anvil (bottom) position it can be argued that someone was able to get a chisel on the reverse die, at an angle, and still swing a hammer. This is exactly how the reverse of the Bashlow coins appears. The chisel marks are deepest at the edge and shallower at the center. The obverse die, however, has hardly any chisel marks. If the obverse die was mounted in the hammer (upper) position it would be very difficult for someone to get a chisel on the die and yet be able to swing a hammer to hit it. The chisel marks on the obverse die are very light. The primary damage to the obverse die is rust pitting. This is exactly how the obverse of the Bashlow coins appears.

I propose that someone working in the shop, where Haseltine and partners had the coins struck, took a hammer and chisel to the dies after the 55th strike in copper. There could be several motives, however I have two that I think most probable. One motive could be that one of the people working in the shop was still harboring hate for the South and the Confederacy. Another motive is that one of the people working in the shop was from the South and was not going to allow Yankees to make more money at the expense of the South and the Confederacy. In either case this ended Mr. Haseltine and partners' enterprise as they had intended to strike 500 coins in copper.

Note: Walter Breen states that Henry Chapman struck a unique muling with a Washington obverse and the Confederate Cent reverse. This should have occurred some time after Haseltine struck his coins. If this is the case the condition of the reverse of this coin could disprove my theory. In their June 11, 2001 issue of The Coin Collector, Bowers & Merena Galleries offered an undated (c. 1874) Washington Head/Confederate Cent muling for $24,000.00. Is this the same coin?

A third problem is John Haseltine's veracity. In his January 1874 auction catalog he states that a Dr. E. Maris had purchased the original coins from Robert Lovett. Yet, John Haseltine claims to be the discoverer of the Confederate Cent and dies. He was inconsistent in his story about the number of restrikes that were made and other elements of the story. Also, he and his father-in-law, William Idler, were involved in some clandestine dealings with U.S. Mint employees. Mr. Haseltine was not the most righteous and upstanding individual.

The Story

Early in 1861 representatives of the Confederate States of America contacted Bailey & Co., Philadelphia jewelers (later Bailey, Banks, and Biddle), concerning supplying one-cent pieces for the South. Bailey commissioned Robert Lovett, Jr., an engraver and diesinker of that city, to prepare the pieces.

The obverse incorporates a design Lovett copied from his 1860 store card (Robert Lovett, Jr.), featuring the head of Minerva in a six-starred Phrygian cap, her locks hanging freely below. Around is CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, and 1861 below. The reverse is a close rendition of that of the Federal Small Cents of the day, featuring a central 1 CENT surrounded by a wreath of Southern produce, such as cotton and tobacco. Lovett's clear, incuse "L" lies hidden, yet visible in the lower right corner of a bale of cotton. Lovett struck twelve coins with his dies, employing the then current Union alloy of copper and nickel used on Indian cents. Lovett soon had second thoughts, and fearing arrest by Union authorities for aiding the Confederates, he canceled the project and concealed the dies and the dozen coins.

Note: Interestingly enough, however, the National Bank Note Company was not concerned about the printing of Confederate notes in New York City.

Why risk life and business for one's enemy? Perhaps Lovett was a Confederate sympathizer, and the Confederate Cent was his way of aiding the Confederacy? Such a theory may not be too far from the truth, as he also produced and signed a very rare medal in white metal commemorating Capt. Simonton, a rebel who was famous for his role in preventing the Union re-supply of Fort Sumter. It is unlikely that such subject matter would issue from someone not harboring Southern (and later Confederate) sympathies. That this medal is very rare is no surprise, as Lovett, like he did with the Confederate Cents during the Civil War, probably limited their distribution for fear of arousing Union suspicions. As a final note, it is rather ironic that his brother George H. Lovett, also an accomplished die sinker but based in New York City, produced a circa 1861 token listing famous Confederates like Jefferson Davis and A.H. Stephens in the "Gallery of American Traitors."

After the war ended, Lovett took one of the coins and used it as a pocket piece. One day in 1873, Lovett accidentally spent the Confederate cent at a Philadelphia bar. The barkeep recognized the piece as unusual and showed the coin to a numismatist friend. Or so the story goes. In any event, Edward Maris, M.D., a prominent Philadelphia collector learned of the coin and its source. Dr. Maris contacted Robert Lovett and purchased the other coins, and possibly the dies also.

Note: A slightly different story indicates that the barkeep contacted John W. Haseltine rather than Dr. Edward Maris. Also, that Haseltine hounded Lovett about the coin until he finally confessed the whole story one night drunk in a bar. Regardless of which story is true the reason Haseltine and/or Dr. Maris suspected Lovett is because of Lovett's 1860 store card.

Soon Capt. John W. Haseltine and his associate J. Colvin Randall learned of the coins and dies, and procured some of the coins and the dies from Dr. Maris or possibly Lovett (if Dr. Maris hadn't purchased the dies). A plan was hatched to coin restrikes, and Peter Kinder (a medallist and die sinker) of Philadelphia was engaged for this purpose. A pamphlet was produced which stated that seven (7) gold, twelve (12) silver, and fifty-five (55) copper restrikes had been made, with the dies breaking on the 55th copper strike. No copper nickel restrikes were made to preserve the integrity of the original dozen coined by Lovett.

Note: Based on documentation and facts from several sources I propose that Dr. Maris purchased several (5 or 6) of the Confederate Cents from Robert Lovett, giving no thought to the dies. Then John Haseltine heard of the Confederate Cents that Dr. Maris had and contacted him. After their meeting John Haseltine met with the bartender and later with Robert Lovett and succeeded in purchasing the dies and some, if not all, of the remaining original Confederate Cents.

After Haseltine and his partners' had made their restrikes the dies seemed to disappear. Walter Breen states that Henry Chapman bought the dies, but does not state who he bought the dies from, possibly from Haseltine. Judson Brenner exhibited the dies at the American Numismatic Association Convention in 1911, but it is unknown if he was the owner. After that, their history and location is unknown until 1961 when Robert Bashlow obtained the dies. Robert Bashlow subsequently donated the dies to the Smithsonian Institute where they reside today.

In 1961, Robert Bashlow, New York City entrepreneur (his companies included the QWERTYUIO Press, the Williams Trading Company, and the Trans-Africa Development Company), took the rusted, unserviceable original dies to August Frank, a Philadelphia firm. For fear of damaging the dies further, Bashlow had transfer dies made from the originals, from which he made "second restrikes" in many different metals. These "second restrikes" are also called "Cancelled Die Restrikes" and "Bashlow restrikes." However, these copies, having an irregular surfaces resulting from the rust and damage, are quite unlike the 1874 restrikes from the original undamaged die pair and, in fact, are not restrikes at all since they were not actually struck from the original dies.

Note: Robert Bashlow made restrikes of several different coins from the original dies. One of these was the Continental Dollar. In the case of the Confederate Cent he had copy dies made because of the condition of the original dies.

Capt. John W. Haseltine's Story

In 1908, at the American Numismatic Association Convention, John W. Haseltine described his discovery of the Confederate cent:

I have been asked to say something about the so-called Confederate cent. A little circular issued by myself and Mr. Randall some years ago tells all the history of the striking of all these pieces, but I do not think it mentioned how I obtained the dies. One day I was told by a gentleman that a bartender in West Philadelphia had a Confederate cent. I doubted it. Mr. J. Colvin Randall (now deceased) was told the same. He conferred with me in reference to it. We decided that if either of us obtained it we would share in any profit that would accrue from it. I saw the bartender and purchased the coin from him. It was in nickel and he said that he received it over the bar. I knew by the head on the obverse that it was Mr. Lovett's work. I called on Mr. Lovett and he denied ever having made such dies. At numerous times I called to induce him to give me some information about them, but he always stuck to his story that he did not make them, until one day he pulled out a drawer in one of his cabinets and I beheld a line of little Confederate cents. He then owned up and told me that he had eleven of them but formerly there were twelve, he having lost one. He said he received the order to make them for the Confederacy through a well-known jewelry firm in Philadelphia, but that his wife became timid about his delivering them for fear that the United States government would arrest him for giving assistance to the enemy. So, he buried them in his cellar until long after the war was over, and even then he was afraid to show them. I purchased the dies from him, and, as you all probably know, did not strike any in nickel, considering them to a certain extent as originals. But, we had three struck in gold and I believe five in silver and fifty-five in copper, the die breaking on the 55th piece, which is in existence, showing the break in the die.

The Numismatist, March 1911, Edgar H. Adams reiterated the mintage figure of seven (gold coins). Regardless, this issue is so rare that few advanced collectors or dealers have ever seen a gold example, let alone have had the chance to buy one.

The little circular

The story of the restriking was told in an advertisement used to sell the subsequently produced coins:

Philadelphia, April 2, 1874
Having succeeded in discovering and purchasing the dies of the Confederate cent, we, the undersigned, have concluded to strike for the benefit of collectors a limited number, and in order to protect those gentlemen who had the copper-nickel pieces originally struck in 1861, we determined to strike none in that metal. Our intention was to strike 500 in copper, but after the 55th impression the collar burst and the dies were badly broken. They are now in the possession of Mr. Haseltine and may be seen at any time at his store, No. 1343 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

The history of this piece is probably known to most collectors, but for the information of those who are ignorant of the facts we will state that the dies were made by Mr. Lovett, of Philadelphia, in 1861, who says that they were ordered in that year by the South, that he struck but twelve pieces, but probably thinking that he might have some difficulty in reference to them (having made the dies for the South), he mentioned the matter to no one until a few months since, when he parted with ten pieces, struck in copper-nickel which he stated were all that he had, having lost two pieces. One of the said two pieces was the means of the dies and pieces being traced. Although the Confederacy did not adopt this piece, it will always be considered interesting as the only coinage designed for said Confederacy . . .

Seven (7) restrikes were made in gold, twelve (12) in silver, and fifty-five (55) in copper. By April 2, 1874, the date of the preceding notice, six of the ten 1861 Confederate States of America copper-nickel cents had been sold.

Varieties: All Coins are dated 1861

Originals (Lovett): Struck in medal alignment
Copper-Nickel - estimated 12 known - 61 grains. 19.1mm.

Restrikes from undamaged dies (Haseltine): Struck in coin alignment
Copper - at least 55 struck - 60 grains.
Gold - estimated 7 struck - thick 103 grain planchet
Silver - estimated 12 struck - 73 grains

Restrikes from damaged dies (Bashlow): Struck in coin alignment
Aluminum - 50 struck
Bronze - 20,000 struck
Gold - 3 struck
Goldine - 5,000 struck
Lead - 50 struck
Nickel Silver - 50 struck
Platinum - 3 struck
Red Fiber - 50 struck
Silver - 5,000 struck
Tin - 50 struck
Zinc - 50 struck

There are notations about possible strikes in other metals. Also, it seems that strikes were made in blocks of bronze, like a paperweight, where the obverse and reverse dies were deeply impressed, side by side, on one side of the block. These blocks seem to be 3" long by 1.5" wide by 1" thick. At least one dealer seems to think there may have been 100 of these made with few remaining.

Other Confederate Coins

In 1861 E. B. Elmore advised C. G. Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury, CSA, that dies could be ordered at an average cost of one hundred dollars to strike copper tokens in denominations of one, five, and twenty-five cents.

There were four (4) Confederate half-dollar coins produced at the New Orleans mint. These half-dollar coins used the USA designed Seated Liberty obverse and a CSA designed reverse. It has been stated that Jefferson Davis, President CSA, had one of these half-dollars on his person when captured at Irwinville, Georgia by Federal troops several weeks after General Robert E. Lee, CSA, had surrendered the Northern Army of Virginia. The existence of the half-dollar coins was known only to a few people, but was made public about 1879.

On January 22, 1863, Judah P. Benjamin, the Confederate Secretary of State proposed issuing a five-dollar gold coin, called a "cavalier," of the exact value of the English gold sovereign. This coin, part of a series that included ten and twenty gold dollar pieces, called double and quadruple cavaliers respectively, would facilitate direct commerce with Europe rather than the United States. However, there is no evidence that the gold coins were ever produced.

Replicas, Fantasies and Fakes

The 1862 Confederate cents, and all other Confederate coins with that date, are modern souvenirs made by the privately owned Georgia Mint for sale to tourist stops. The Georgia Mint made these with the wrong date on purpose to avoid being accused of counterfeiting.

Note: One of the 1862 fantasy cents recently (April, 2002) sold on eBay for $27.00.

A common error that is made is with the stars in the headband on the obverse. Many of the copies show seven (7) stars when there should only be six (6) stars. Some copies seem to have the stars positioned in three groups of two rather than being evenly spaced. All of the copies I have seen show the stars raised and they should be incuse (indented).

Most of the modern replicas are of the wrong size, weight, and metal. They are usually too large. Also, the quality of the replicas is often very poor.

Another group of fantasies has the value stated as 1/100 instead of 1 Cent. These were made around 1955 for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the American Civil War. They come in 2 varieties, 1/10 which represents a dime or 1/10 of $1 and 1/100 which represents a penny or 1/100 of $1. The obverse of the coin is similar as the real CSA penny. All is not bad though, if you have one of the German silver dimes (1/10) or copper (1/100), they sell for around $100 in VF and $150 in Unc. All others are copies and sell for around $15 - $30 each.

For further reading: Mark R. Borckardt, "A Closer Look at the Confederate Cent," Rare Coin Review No. 106, 1995, modified by commentary by P. Scott Rubin, "An Even Closer Look at the Confederate Cent," Rare Coin Review No. 112, 1996.