The History of Confederate Coins: Part 2
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
After the south lost its mint, a deal was struck with Philadelphia to create and produce one cent Confederate coins. The assignment was given to Mr. Robert Lovett. Lovett designed the coin, created the die, and eventually produced 12 samples of the coin. These samples were made of nickel and were meant to be sent out to Richmond for approval. It was a simple plan, but needless to say, the war had started and Lovett realized that dealing with the Confederate States may not be in his best interest. Lovett decided to hide the coins and the dies, and the Confederate Treasury never heard from him again.
It wasn’t until ten years later, 1871, when the coins resurfaced. Lovett ended up paying a bar tab using the coins, and so it goes, word traveled fast. Lovett ended up selling all 12 coins that had been struck, and the two dies that produced the coins to a collector, John Haseltine. Haseltine did end up selling the twelve coins, but he decided to keep the dies and made a few restrikes with other various metals. Haseltine ended up producing 7 gold editions, 12 silver editions, and 55 copper editions of the coin.
After making his restrikes, Haseltine took the dies, and sadly, defaced them so that no other good restrikes could be made. This did not stop people from trying. More restrikes had been made with these damaged dies, and the dies were later donated to the Smithsonian Institute.
This rich history leads to the debate of whether or not these one cent coins are truly Confederate coins, restrike or not. The original twelve samples struck by Lovett never made it to the Confederate Treasury during the secession, but had been made specifically for them. Are these coins truly Confederate coins, or are they that of the United States of America? Tell Certified Coin Consultants what you think.
It wasn’t until ten years later, 1871, when the coins resurfaced. Lovett ended up paying a bar tab using the coins, and so it goes, word traveled fast. Lovett ended up selling all 12 coins that had been struck, and the two dies that produced the coins to a collector, John Haseltine. Haseltine did end up selling the twelve coins, but he decided to keep the dies and made a few restrikes with other various metals. Haseltine ended up producing 7 gold editions, 12 silver editions, and 55 copper editions of the coin.
After making his restrikes, Haseltine took the dies, and sadly, defaced them so that no other good restrikes could be made. This did not stop people from trying. More restrikes had been made with these damaged dies, and the dies were later donated to the Smithsonian Institute.
This rich history leads to the debate of whether or not these one cent coins are truly Confederate coins, restrike or not. The original twelve samples struck by Lovett never made it to the Confederate Treasury during the secession, but had been made specifically for them. Are these coins truly Confederate coins, or are they that of the United States of America? Tell Certified Coin Consultants what you think.