THE Q. DAVID BOWERS CIVIL WAR TOKEN COLLECTION

My collecting objective over a long period of years was to obtain the finest example I could find of each patriotic die combination and at least one of each of the nearly 1,000 store card-issuing merchants. Beyond that, I sought any and all numismatic rarities such as die combinations in off-metals, overstrikes on other coins, and the like. I find the interface that contemporary collectors such as Edward Groh, J.N.T. Levick, H.C. Ezekiel, and others had with the Stanton, Lanphear, Bridgens, Sigel, and other die shops to be fascinating.

Again and again I stepped up to the plate and purchased en bloc a number of specialized collections, including the personal holdings of Richard Rossa, much of the private collection of Steve Tanenbaum, my choice of much of George J. Fuld's collection, and more. The result is that nearly all tokens in this listing are condition census (among the finest of their kind) or are the very finest known. R-7, 8, and 9 coins abound as do many unique pieces. In addition there are any number of "trophy" tokens that likely represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire.

There are many R-8 and R-9 tokens that I have never seen offered in over 65 years (since the late 1950's) of studying and collecting Civil War tokens! If you are a collector of high-grade 19th century federal coins, the problem is not usually in finding them; it is paying for them! For Civil War tokens it is just the opposite - finding them can be very difficult, but when located the prices are usually only tiny fractions of those of federal coins of comparable rarity and grade.

There are many ways to collect these pieces. For patriotic tokens a favorite direction is to obtain one each of every die. There are slightly over 500 different. In this way you do not need to seek all combinations, which, in any event, would be impossible to complete. Another specialty is to seek motifs of interest - French Liberty Heads, Indian Heads, portraits ranging from Washington to McClellan, the Monitor ironclad, Civil War arms, flags, and more.

Among store cards, seeking one from every state is a good way to start. A greater challenge is to seek one from every town and city - which will keep you busy for the next five to ten years, and still there will be some on your "want list." I never did get them all, but came close. Still another way is to pick a favorite state and specialize in it. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin are veritable playgrounds for this.

Some other states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and Kentucky, have far fewer. New Hampshire has just one issuer and Maine only a few. Tennessee is on the rare side, and West Virginia includes some rarities I have never seen offered and therefore never acquired. Rhode Island tokens are for the most part rare, and my offering of them far exceeds any listing in numismatic history! Most of these trace their pedigrees to the George J. Fuld Collection.

Pictorial dies showing people, places, and events are very interesting and in most cases very affordable - stoves, wagons, dentures, saddles, mortars and pestles, tools, eagles (flying and perched), flags and banners, munitions, buildings, fish, lions, rabbits, and even the mythical hippocampus are easily enough found. The shop of W.K. Lanphear in Cincinnati was the most prolific issuer of these. Indian Heads in imitation of federal cents are usually far rarer and far less expensive than their Philadelphia Mint counterparts"”and are a natural add-on if you collect federal cents.

Various occupations can be collected, often with more than a dozen possibilities"”patent medicines, billiard parlors, oyster houses, dentists, saloons, hotels, toll roads and bridges, you name it.

Just as folk art is popular with art collectors, "Indiana primitive" tokens made by Henry D. Higgins of Mishawaka, Indiana, are from naively crafted dies, sometimes with historical sayings, and are very popular. The "primitive" dies of Alexander Gleason of the same state are likewise fascinating. These were completely ignored by numismatists in the 1860s, with the result that no special rarities or strikings were made. For many, the highest usually (but not in my listing!) obtainable grades are VF and EF.

As all Civil War tokens dies were hand-made, there are many repunchings, misalignments, and errors. The looking glass offers many adventures!

If I were about 20 years younger I would keep all of these tokens. As I see it, the market is very strong and dynamic, and although I have no way of predicting, it is likely that a generation hence many of today's prices will be bargains.

As it is at age 79 I still love studying the tokens, their dies, and history - my first love in the field. As you read these words I am immersed in research for two books for the Civil War Token Society.

Beyond the above, there is a lot of enjoyment and challenge awaiting you if you are interested in the histories of the merchants issuing tokens. The majority have never been studied in depth. Today, the Internet offers endless opportunities for research.

If you are not now a member of the Civil War Token Society check its website. The dues, unbelievably, are just $18 per year! I was a founding member back in the 1960s and still contribute to issues of the Civil War Token Journal. You will, of course, want to buy a copy of the (relatively) new U.S. Civil War Store Cards, edited by John Ostendorf, and sixth edition of U.S. Patriotic Civil War Cards edited by Susan Trask with input from Mark Glazer, Steve Hayden, me, and others; this has just been published.

Compared to a lot of other series, Mint State Civil War tokens can be bought for the equivalent of pennies on the dollar! It is possible on today's market form a great collection for modest cost. This probably will not last!

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