Civil War Tokens Publique Deposited
A name commonly ap- plied to the tokens issued during the Civil War in the United States (1862-1865). In the latter part of the year 1862 the first of these copper tokens were issued in Cincinnati, Ohio, and other western cities. Many of them have on the obverse the Indian head copied from the United States cent, and this feature probably gave them their name. Some of the later issues however, were struck in brass, white-metal and silver. There are at least five thou- sand varieties, and they continued in circu- lation until the end of the year 1863, when their use was prohibited.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)