Editor’s Note: For nearly 70 years, the feature-rich pages of Coins magazine, Numismatic News’ venerable sister publication, have tracked the history, fun and the growth of this great hobby, while also attracting new collectors to pursue what was once deemed the “hobby of kings.” Dusting off these time-aged issues, from the early 1960s and beyond, each installment of “Past Times with Coins,” written by its former longtime editor, explores what nuggets of interest they contain.
My great-great-grandfather, who emigrated from the Netherlands in the 1850s, served in the Civil War as part of a state Union cavalry regiment. Of the skirmishes and battles he may have been involved in included going up against the famed Quantrill’s Raiders, whose numbers at one point included Frank and Jesse James.
I, therefore, find myself reading a lot about the Civil War and have a collection of Civil War tokens. And, although I’ve never branched out into Confederate money, I’m certainly aware of the devotion collectors have for purchasing and researching these Civil War collectibles.
What follows is from the March 1964 issue of magazine and
