Civil War Token Date Query

Hi Brian,

The date on yours would be 1863 as, to my fifty years of collecting these Civil War tokens, there are none listed with an 1865 date. Your token may or may not be "exactly" like the one pictured. There are dozens of quite similar varieties for this commonly seen pairing of obverse and reverse dies. During the centennial years, 1960-65, there were private companies that made replicas, typically those of the more common varieties, like yours. (Note that over 10,000 varieties of Civil War tokens exist!) One such company used a "C" mark on their issues. Other copies typically evidence a grainy surface. A knowledgeable token dealer/collector at some coin show could likely tell yours at a glance. Chances are quite good that yours is genuine. You might want to check out the website of the Civil War Token Society. Interest in these tokens appears to be on the rise; likely, as 2011 is the sesqui-centennial year for the Civil War.