I finally found a political token I've wanted for over ten years.

[BillJones]

 

Last week I attended the semi-annual APIC (American Political Items Collectors) Society convention which was held in Denver, Colorado. The show is always a lot of fun, and it offers and opportunity to find some hard to find items. Here was one of my most satisfying finds. It is a Henry Clay medalet, from 1832, that I have been trying to find for a number of years. It is listed in DeWitt - Sullivan as HC 1832-1.

 

When I started my 19th century political medaled collection, this piece was often available in auctions or private treaty at $100 to $200. I kind of took it for granted that I could buy one when I wanted it and went after other things. At around 1995 I decided that I wanted to fill this "1832 Henry Clay slot," but by then none were available. I kept looking over the years. One piece I saw over ten years ago looked okay on the obverse, but the reverse had big, distracting scratch. Another piece I saw last fall was made of silver, which I really didn't want, cost an arm and a leg, and was not very attractive.

 

Then I found this for about $100 less than I expected to pay.

 

Henry Clay ran from president three times and lost all three elections. He is tied with William Jennings Bryan for that dubious distinction. Clay ran in 1824, 1832 and 1844. He would have run more times, but the Whig Party would not give him its nomination. He REALLY wanted to be president until the day he died.

 

In 1832 he ran against incumbent, Andrew Jackson. Three medals are attributed his campaign for that year, this is most common one. The other two are listed as "rare" in DeWitt, and that is quite unusual. DeWitt seldom mentioned rarity and when he did, the piece WAS RARE. I have one of them, HC 1832-3, which shown here.

 

 

The obverse is a reduced sized version of the previous piece. Some people think that this piece was issued well after the 1832 campaign, perhaps in the 1860s. Be that as it may it is rare and seldom seen.

 

If there is interest I go into the history of Henry Clay's presidential campaigns.

[BillJones]

36 openings and no comments.

 

Maybe it would have worked better if I had billed this as a Henry Clay half dollar in gold.

 

Both of these pieces are far rarer than the Kennedy half dollar in gold.

[bsshog40]

Pretty cool Bill! Are you eventually going to try to replace the holed token?

[BillJones]

Pretty cool Bill! Are you eventually going to try to replace the holed token?

 

I actually like the hole. It shows that the piece could have been used during the campaign. These pieces were used like modern political buttons. They were intended to be worn somewhere on a supporter's clothing. The pieces without the hole were sometimes issued for collectors and not used in the campaign.

 

This is one area of numismatics were a hole is not a negative and might be a positive for those who know something about the items they are collecting.

[bsshog40]

Cool!!!

[physics-fan3.14]

You said there are three? Do you have the third, or are you going to try and get it?

[BillJones]

I had a shot at the third one, but the price was over $2,000, and the piece was not attractive. I am not going to collect every piece that appears in the DeWitt / Sullivan book. I am looking for certain pieces in decent condition. What is decent? Usually EF or better with no problems.

[Walkerfan]

Cool token and a historically significant piece of Americana.

 

I enjoyed your write-up, as well.

 

Congrats on finally picking it up and at a decent price!!!

[No+4Me]

Terrific tokens Bill! Henry Clay has never received the recognition he deserves, imo.

[dimefreak]

I like these, however aren't they easy to fake? I would love to buy a few but don't know enough

[Raisethis2]

There's something very rewarding about needing to fill a void, working to do so with no success then finally finding what you want without having to settle.

 

Congrats!!

[BillJones]

I like these, however aren't they easy to fake? I would love to buy a few but don't know enough

 

They are not so easy to fake. Many of the fakes I have seen don't match up well with original pieces. I might add that the incentive to counterfeit them has not been strong since these pieces have not been terribly expensive. Many collectors don't even know about them.

 

The dies were made by Charles C. Wright who was one of America's leading19th century die makers. Besides, NGC is certifying more and more of these pieces, and you could buy a slabbed one.

[dimefreak]

I like these, however aren't they easy to fake? I would love to buy a few but don't know enough

 

They are not so easy to fake. Many of the fakes I have seen don't match up well with original pieces. I might add that the incentive to counterfeit them has not been strong since these pieces have not been terribly expensive. Many collectors don't even know about them.

 

The dies were made by Charles C. Wright who was one of America's leading19th century die makers. Besides, NGC is certifying more and more of these pieces, and you could buy a slabbed one.

 

 

I like the idea of raw... Could always crack it out I suppose. Please Dont think I was talking bad about them. They just look different to me. I like many in the Ford sales. That's what turned me onto them.

[ldhair]

Great stuff Bill. Thanks for sharing.

[RWB]

Congrats on finding that one!

 

Henry Clay is one of those persistent figures in American history who receives little attention, but deserves much more. Another fascinating person was Aaron Burr.

 

(PS: Political item collectors were, along with coin collectors, the major supporters of the Hobby Protection Act.)

[SkyMan]

Congratulations on the pickup!

[Coindude]

Bill I truly enjoy your threads even when I have nothing to say about them. I learn more about history from you than I ever did in school. Thanks for all you do.

[BillJones]

Here is a brief recap on Henry Clay's three presidential runs.

 

The first time was in 1824. Technically there was only one political party at that time, the Donkey Party. The Federalists had shriveled up and died. In 1820 James Monroe had been re-elected president unopposed and had gotten all but one electoral vote in the Electoral College.

 

This was at a time before political conventions. (The first one was in 1829 for the Anti-Masonic Party) The presidential nominees were selected by a caucus of the respective parties' congressional members. This system came to be called as "king caucus" by its detractors. Since the Donkey Party won all of the elections after 1796, the candidate selected by the Donkey Party caucus was virtually assured to be the next president.

 

In 1824 the caucus selected William Crawford. For those who collect fractional currency, you might recognize him here on the 50 cent note on the fifth series. The piece was issued in the 1870s well after Crawford's death.

 

 

Three other ambitious men also wanted to be president, and they were not pleased with the selection of "king caucus." They were John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. They got their presidential endorsements by going to their respective state legislatures to get them. Crawford suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered, which seriously hurt his chances.

 

Jackson was way ahead of field when it came to sizing up the electoral system. In 1800 75% of the members of the Electoral College had been picked by the state legislatures and the other 25% were selected by popular vote. In 1824 those percentages were reversed. Jackson recognized that and went to the people. His campaign issued some of the earliest campaign medalets. Here is an example.

 

 

In the general election Jackson got the most popular votes and the most votes in the Electoral College. Despite that he was not elected president because he did not get a majority in the Electoral College. Therefore the election was thrown into the House of Representatives where Henry was the Speaker of the House.

 

Clay had finished last in the election and was therefore out of the running, but given his position, he was a king maker. There he used his influence to get Adams elected president. When Adams appointed Clay to be secretary of state, the Jackson forces cried "foul!" The last four presidents had been secretary of state (Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and now John Quincy Adams) and the job looked like the stepping stone to the White House. They labeled the Clay - Adams connection "The Corrupt Bargain!" Jackson would get his revenge in 1828.

 

After John Quincy Adams lost in 1828, Clay got the Whig nomination in 1832. The big issue was the Bank of the United States. Clay advocated that it receive a new charter and Jackson opposed it. Jackson won the election easily.

 

Clay wanted the nomination in 1836, but since he had been a two time loser the Whigs passed him by. Instead they nominated three regional candidates, Daniel Webster, William Henry Harrison and Hugh White. The strategy was to split up the vote and force the election into the House of Representatives when the Whigs thought they are engineer a win. Donkey Party Candidate, Marin Van Buren, defeated them all.

 

In 1840 Clay was again a "Whig hopeful" but the nomination went to William Henry Harrison, who had surprised many by his strong showing in 1836. The Whigs put on a rollicking campaign and issued a record number of campaign tokens to win the election. Here is a typical example. These pieces are quite common and can be a "first example" for the beginning collector.

 

 

The fact that the nation was going through "a great economic depression," called "The Panic of 1837," helped Harrison greatly. Clay lamented that fact that he did not get the Whig nomination when the top prize might have been his.

 

In 1844 Henry Clay won the Whig nomination for the last time. His opponent was James K. Polk who had been Speaker of the House. Polk had lost a couple of key elections and he looked like a weak opponent, but there was a 600 pound gorilla in the room, TEXAS. Texas wanted to become a state, but if it did, it met certain war with Mexico.

 

When Donkey Party frontrunner, Martin Van Buren, came out against annexing Texas, the Donkey Party people dropped him immediately. Polk came out for it and won the nomination. Clay tried to straddle the issue, and it cost him. It should be pointed out that John Tyler the sitting president had already accepted Texas statehood, so the issue was settled before the election.

 

In the general election, the key state became New York. Whoever won it would be elected president. Clay lost several thousand votes to a third party candidate there who came out against slavery. If Clay had won most of those votes he would have become president, but he didn't.

 

The 1844 Clay campaign pieces are by far the easiest Clay tokens to find.Here is one which symbolized Henry Clay's "American System" which called for high tariffs that were used fund internal improvements (roads, bridges and canals) with an eye toward economic prosperity and growth.

 

 

One of Henry Clay's supporters was so sure that he would win that he issued this piece that announced Clay's inauguration. It is called "The Laying Medal."

 

 

Clay continued to run for the Whig nomination, but he was getting old, and he had lost three times. In 1848 this piece featured a famous Clay quote he had made over a decade before in a different context, "I'd rather be right than president."

 

 

 

[No+4Me]

Thanks for the summary of Clay's political fortunes and the interesting medalets, Bill. The reverse of the "laying medal" refers to the "MIllboy of the Slashes" . Do you know what that refers to ? ( I guess Clay worked in a gristmill in his youth, but "The Slashes"??

[okbustchaser]

Clay's father died when he was a child, leaving a large family and a farm. His mother had to struggle hard to provide for her children.

 

He had to work on the farm, and to help around the house. This meant getting up at daybreak, and going to bed early. As soon as he was big enough to guide a plow, he was entrusted with the plowing and cultivating. All this gave him a strong body and independence of mind.

 

One of his duties was to ride an old horse to the mill, with a bag of corn or wheat for a saddle, and to bring back the meal or flour for the use of the family. In after years, he was called "the millboy of the Slashes," because the Slashes was the name of the Virginia district in which he lived.

[BillJones]

Thanks okbustchaser for covering that.

 

This was one more way that Clay tried to connect with the people. Jackson had a great military record, which in the 19th century was a huge political asset. Jackson also had a "man of the people" image and good nickname, "Old Hickory."

 

Clay was a long time Washington insider to use the modern term. He had no military record, and in attempt to connect with the common voters, who were predominately white male yeoman farmers, he came up with nicknames. In 1844 he became "the same old coon" and "the millboy of the Slashes." "The same old coon" slogan appeared on one medalet, which I understand is extremely rare, and a few ribbons. There was also an image of a raccoon another medal, which is also rare.

 

In contrast Abraham Lincoln became known as "the rail splitter" and despite the fact that he had not split any rails for many years, the image stuck and helped his campaign. In fact he was a highly successful lawyer who earned a good living. Lincoln represented everyone from the common man accused of crime to the big railroads. Perhaps if he had had his wish and had been elected to the Senate, which was his highest ambition, Lincoln would have been just another insider and would never have been elected president.

 

[No+4Me]

Clay's father died when he was a child, leaving a large family and a farm. His mother had to struggle hard to provide for her children.

 

He had to work on the farm, and to help around the house. This meant getting up at daybreak, and going to bed early. As soon as he was big enough to guide a plow, he was entrusted with the plowing and cultivating. All this gave him a strong body and independence of mind.

 

One of his duties was to ride an old horse to the mill, with a bag of corn or wheat for a saddle, and to bring back the meal or flour for the use of the family. In after years, he was called "the millboy of the Slashes," because the Slashes was the name of the Virginia district in which he lived.

 

thanks OKbustchaser; I just figured out that the Slashes is located about 15 mins from where I sit revealing my gaping ignorance of local history. So now you and Bill Jones have gotten me started on some local research. Ain't exonumia great?

[Treashunt]

excellent write up

[BillJones]

TTT because I did some revisions to my write-up about Henry Clay's three runs for the presidency.

[delta]

BillJones wrote: "Henry Clay ran from president three times and lost all three elections. He is tied with William Jennings Bryan for that dubious distinction. Clay ran in 1824, 1832 and 1844."

 

Congrats on obtaining that scarce piece. Just for the record, it should be noted that various lesser known candidates have also run for the U.S. presidency three or more times, among them Eugene Debs, who ran five times for the Socialist Party beginning in 1900.

[BillJones]

BillJones wrote: "Henry Clay ran from president three times and lost all three elections. He is tied with William Jennings Bryan for that dubious distinction. Clay ran in 1824, 1832 and 1844."

 

Congrats on obtaining that scarce piece. Just for the record, it should be noted that various lesser known candidates have also run for the U.S. presidency three or more times, among them Eugene Debs, who ran five times for the Socialist Party beginning in 1900.

 

I was referring to major party candidates. Martin Van Buren ran three times and won just once in 1836. He lost his bid for re-election in 1840 and lost again as the candidate for the Free Soil Party in 1848. In that election Van Buren probably pulled enough votes from the Donkey Party to deny Lewis Cass a win.

 

I'm sure that there are other minor party candidates who ran multiple times. Some of them may have been "spoilers" like Van Buren.