Check out the following item that just sold for $102:
180586002154Advertised as an 1861 Jefferson Davis Death to Traitors Civil War Token, it possesses a small BECKER counterstamp on the reverse. One just like it sold for $91 only days ago.
Doing a Google search, I learned that these replicas were produced by one Peter Rosa, formerly of the Bronx, NY. He died in 1990 and operated Becker Manufacturing from 1955 until his demise. According to a former employee, he chose the name Becker for his company, given his admiration for an early German maker of that name. The original Becker specialized in reproductions of ancient coins. Rosa made copies of many early American coins and tokens; this, in addition to world, ancient coins. Instead of using the word COPY or REPLICA on his work, he paid tribute of sorts to Herr Becker.
Interestingly, there is presently a genuine 1861 "Death to Traitors" political medalet for sale on
ebay. It has a BIN of $249 but sadly is holed for suspension. This political medalet is listed by Sullivan but NOT as a Civil War token (see Fuld). However, it may someday be so listed; this, given the 1861 date and its popularity among CWT collectors. Rosa's first copies of this token were most likely produced in 1961, that being the centennial year of the Civil War; this, at a time when the marketplace for Civil War items was heating up. He may have continued to produce them into 1990. I've seen them at antique malls in various states.
Rosa used lead or pot metal as a base for his copies. Often plated, a simple edge test will reveal the true gray color of those that may not be counterstamped. Rosa's work is outstanding, but it certainly wasn't intended to deceive. He wanted to provide collectors with affordable examples of otherwise scarce coins and tokens. As little has been written about the Becker copies, their well-executed appearances can be both deceiving and costly.
The Becker copies are so well done that they're rightfully an area of collecting that will grow as time passes. The kicker to the
ebay scenario is that Rosa's dies are still in existence, so that this token copy and likely others will continue to surface in increasing numbers as long as exhorbitant prices are being paid. So, why are these pieces surfacing now? Well, this coming year, 2011, is the sesqui-centennial year of the Civil War. Thoughts? Comments?
Here's hoping that this thread may prove somewhat informative to those, like me, who crawl the web.
Posted 11/16/2010 6:19 pm
