Civil War coinage

[14NYSM]

to help with my Civil War reenacting, living history and lectures, I wanted samples of U.S. coins to show people. Money always gets people's attention. There were/are monthly coin and stamp shows near me so I stopped in on a few occasions to see if I could pick up some items. I was not interested in mint un-circulated coins, rather those which might have been in the pockets or purses of people in the 1860-1865 time frame. I quickly found that dealers were loaded down with what they called "culls" - worn, damaged or defaced coins that turned up in collections. I could pick these up for a huge discount over a true coin collector's price. Any pre-1865 coin would do. the dealers I spoke to were more than happy to dump these coins and get some kind of a return as no other coin collector was interested in them. To me, each told a story. two pierced holes were "Humdingers" - when string were placed in the holes, the coin could be spun making a noise - the hum. A single hole could be used for stringing to carry and a large copper cent was worn by "copperheads" to show that they supporter McClellan for president. Here are some of the coins I would display -

 

[Drew]

Is it really true people 'wore' coins to indicate support for McClellan? I had no idea.

My gut reaction to the picture was that low value coins may have been drilled out to use as key ring emblems.

You learn something new around here every day.