CONFEDERATE STATES, copper fantasy 1 cent 1861,

Description

The centennial of the Civil War was a big thing in 1960 and 1961. The festivities faded as events unfolded in the world. But at the start there was a lot of merchandizing to be done. People were still making and using tokens. Coin collecting was a growing hobby.

If someone produces a thing that says it’s a coin but the country doesn’t exist, or some part of it is non-standard, we tend to call that a “fantasy.” Like a “coin” from Atlantis. Jewelry coins are jewelry bits made to look like coins. That is different from taking real coins and making them into jewelry.

The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.