2017-08-22 Tue

A third reverse die was recently discovered for the 1861 Confederate “half dime” tokens. Another example was struck from the second known reverse die. Some circulated silver tokens struck in Murfreesboro by A.O. Sehorn, come in holed and unholed varieties with a plain edge or reeded edge. The recently discovered example is holed and has reeded edges.

The obverse depicts a flag with 13 stars, the text A UNITED SOUTH and 1861. The reverse features a branch of cotton and 13 five-pointed stars. Out of the group of pre-Civil War U.S. coins that were purchased, some of them have the cotton branch in a different position than the other two known reverse dies. A similar example was found on 9th October 1862, the day after the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky.