| Added by |
 Jody
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| General Description : | You have one of the more historic and easily recognizable Civil War tokens. Dix would be John Adams Dix, the namesake of the army base Fort Dix in New Jersey. In January of 1861, Dix was appointed as Secretary of the Treasury by President James Buchanan(Lincoln was not inaugurated until March unlike today when it occurs in January). When Louisiana seceded, he sent a message to Treasury agents in New Orleans stating "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." At the time, New Orleans was the home of a branch mint. The message was intercepted by Confederates but it still had the desired effect- that phrase became one of the first Union rallying cries of the Civil War and when Lincoln assumed the Presidency, he appointed Dix to the position of Major General in the Union Army. BTW, Civil War tokens were created due to a shortage of small change for commerce. They were the same size and composition as the contemporary Indian Head cents. They were not US Mint products but they were used freely in the Union. For the most part they either had a patriotic slogan or advertised a business and the predominant date on them is 1863. |
| Front Description : | THE FLAG OF OUR UNION with flag and 13 stars /1863 |
| Back Description : | IF ANYONE ATTEMPS TO TEAR IT DOWN SHOOT HIM ON THE SPOT / DIX |
| Catalog code | F-207/410a |
| Material | Copper |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
