#167-CIVIL WAR SALE: TOKEN FROM THE GREAT CENTRAL SANITARY FAIR, PHILADELPHIA 1864

The Great Sanitary Fair was one of, if not the, largest of all the many sanitary fairs whose purpose was to raise money to purchase virtually everything a soldier would need in the field. Clothing, lantern, coffee pot, paper and writing supplies and on and on.

This is a fairly dark example of the copper tokens from the fair, which I would say is AU. Lustrous and/or bright red fair tokens can easily demand prices of $150±. I always maintain an inventory of these. The tokens were intended as just one tiny element of the fund raising and not used in any transactions. They were struck in copper and silver, and the copper ones show up about 30-50 to every silver one found, but the ratio of costs are not nearly so harsh. A clean AU silver one might cost $200, but with no formal reference, the asking prices vary from $150-$250. These tokens are also a bit smaller in diameter than virtually all cent-sized CWT's. These are more the size of a dime.