Tokens and medals remain, especially when compared with U.S. coins, an area where discoveries can be made and even the rarest examples trade at a fraction of what comparably desirable regular issue U.S. coins would sell for.

Heritage’s June 10 and 12 Tokens and Medals Signature Auction was held in conjunction with the Long Beach Coin, Currency, Stamp and Sports Collectibles Expo. The $858,105 sale included many lots under $100, but there are three we're profiling in this week's Market Analysis that were a bit pricier and show distinct areas of the tokens and medals market. 

Here's a look at one:

The Lot

Undated ‘Union Forever’ Civil War token, MS-64 Brown

The Price

$8,812.50

The Story

Like Hard Times tokens, Civil War tokens of 1860 to 1865 are a well-studied area in American numismatics. These tokens were struck to help meet the needs of commerce during a coin shortage and examples are generally placed in two categories: store cards and patriotic issues.

More than 10,000 types have been documented and generally collectors focus on a specific area, such as those issues of a certain state, in a subset of the patriotic issues.

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This undated “Union Forever” Civil War token, depicting the ironclad USS Monitor, is listed in Melvin and George Fuld’s reference on Civil War tokens as Fuld 241A/417A and is graded MS-64 brown by NGC. It was part of the Rev. McClure Collection, which was a time capsule collection put together between roughly 1860 and 1930. The finest of four known examples, it sold for a strong $8,812.50.

Keep reading this Market Analysis:

Hard Times token featuring anti-slavery message tops $70,000 in auction