100935 | UNITED STATES. Lighthouse with Seaside/E–C–G silver Love Token.

100935 | UNITED STATES. Lighthouse with Seaside/E–C–G silver Love Token. Engraved on an 1891 Seated Liberty Dime (18mm, 2.01 g, 12h).

 

Lighthouse upon the shore; seaside with sailboat to right; above, scrollwork and curved banner with script "E. C. G.;" decorative border around / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Liberty seated right, head left, holding Phrygian cap on pole and resting hand upon union shield. Edge: Reeded.

 

Cf. KM A92 (for host coin). Engraving & host coin: Near Extremely Fine. Lightly toned. Great maritime type.

 

Images of seasides, coastlines, sailboats, ships, and lighthouses figure rather prominently in the applied iconography of love tokens, as many evoke thoughts of tranquility, relaxation, and quite possibly, warmer weather. In the case of this piece, the lighthouse may be a metaphor for the radiating and shining love guided from one to another.

 

Being borrowed from the early 18th century practice in Great Britain, and being related to even earlier forms of engraving on European coinage, "love tokens" were an extremely popular form of sentimental art that saw their high point in the United States in the mid-to-late-19th century, whereby coinage was smoothed down on one or both sides, and some form of initials, a message, and/or imagery was engraved so that it may be presented to a loved one. The most commonly encountered 'canvas' in the United States was the dime, and usually one from the Seated Liberty series. At their height, the U.S. Mint blamed an alleged shortage of dimes—a staple of most late-19th century transactions—on this craze. Rising again in the early-mid 20th century during the depths of despair that were the world wars, this form of coin art, usually referred to in this context as "trench art," would see another revival, offering soldiers a brief chance at escapism through sentimental creativity.

 

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