United States (Nashville, TN): ca. 1852-1853 brass merchant token, Francisco & Whitman, Hatters

[lordmarcovan]

United States (Nashville, TN): ca. 1852-1853 brass merchant token, Francisco & Whitman, Hatters

Obverse: ★ PUBLIC SQUARE ★ NASHVILLE TENN.; stovepipe hat.
Reverse: FRANCISCO & WHITMAN / HATTERS; eagle with Union shield, wings spread, clutching an olive branch and three arrows in its talons.
Issuer: Francisco & Whitman, hatters, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Specifications: Brass, 23 mm, plain edge.
Grade: PCGS MS65; cert. #35858718.
Reference: Miller-53A Brass.
Provenance: ex-"classickidcoins_0", eBay, 4 June 2020. Prior provenance to Heritage Auction #131924, Lot #26158 (sold for $312.00), 12 June 2019.*
Notes: This is an interesting and especially pristine merchant token from the antebellum South, which has survived over 160 years in Gem Mint State, with few marks and surprisingly little toning of the brass. Many tokens of this era featured eagles similar to the ones on the gold coins then in circulation.
Comments: I was drawn to this token by its Gem grade, not to mention the eagle, the top hat, and the fact that it's an early Southern piece. (Or at least the merchants were Southern; I suspect the token itself was struck by the Scovill Manufacturing Company in Waterbury, Connecticut.)