#108-CIVIL WAR SALE: PAIR OF VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL MCCLELLAN TOKENS THAT WERE NOT ACQUIRED TOGETHER!

This item for sale consists of both tokens shown. It seems incredibly coincidental that we acquired these two pieces at two different times and from two sellers in different parts of the country. Yet they have virtually identical late die states. The cuds at right on the obverse, formed from a damaged/worn die, are not identical but very close to it. These two tokens were struck originally at almost the same time at the same rate of the progressive damage to the obverse die.

The outline of the cuds would overlay on one another nearly identically. You can see very slight differences: The cuds on the token to the left are somewhat smoother than at the right which is not from wear but from the flow of the medal from the die crack. I would describe the cuds as occuring in three parts.
1)The top one is indeed nearly identical between the two and there is a very tiny "isthmus" between cuds 1 and 2. It appears slightly more open (or less die damage) on the token at the right.
2) The token at right's cud is a tad more jagged but the same size.
3) The lower cud is slightly larger on the token at left.

I was quite taken aback to find two virtually identical tokens coming from very different locations. But we can be very sure that they were not just struck at the same place with the same dies, but were actually struck within a very few strikes of one another. There is nothing so impressive about the reverses although I suspect spending some time with a microscope or a loupe that you would find similarities, albeit quite small and insignificant, between the two.

This item consists of both the tokens and I would hope that someone interested in the history of Civil War token dies and the tendency to use them after they have reached their useful life--although one could say they remained useful because they indeed were put in circulation. I think that these pieces are indeed unique as a pair but recognize that to most collectors they likely represent more "fun" than a particularly high dollar value. Our quite low sellling price reflects this.