Description
This is a 1860 SCARCE HARTFORD “WIDE-AWAKES” TOKEN, BRASS, DEWITT AL-1860-40, PCGS MS-64! The Wide Awake movement was launched by a speech in Hartford on Feb. 25, 1860 by the fierce abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay, which grew to thousands of black-caped young men carrying torches and marching in martial order under their unblinking banners. Clay, a Kentucky politician who once disemboweled an opponent with a Bowie knife, had come to support the reelection of Connecticut Republican Gov. William A. Buckingham. Slave-holders and their northern supporters, Clay and others said, were trying to intimidate and silence anyone who spoke out against slavery and its extension into the American frontier-a prospect Clay would neither tolerate or allow. This token marked the organization of The Wide Awakes, and serves as an important political artifact to that chapter in American history. Our commitment is to provide you with quality coins and collectibles at the best possible prices. This piece is no exception. Please note, the coin and collectibles markets do fluctuate, and prices occasionally will change. In this rare circumstance, we will contact you first to verify your order.
