The Civil War Token Society (CWTS) Hall of Fame was proposed by Bryon Kanzinger and established in
2002 by the Executive Board of the Society. It was created to honor past and current pioneers,
leaders, and heroes in the field of Civil War tokens. Furthermore, it was intended to enlighten
the Society’s members, and to refresh and stimulate a desire to become active within The Civil War
Token Society and its elected Board. A nomination committee of Board members submits up to six
candidates for the Hall of Fame to the entire Executive Board. Each Executive Board member may
vote for three candidates, and a majority vote is required to elect a new inductee to the Hall of
Fame. Non-inducted individuals remain on the ballot as nominees for a maximum of five years.
Each inductee has been recognized by CWTS Hall of Fame medals struck by The Patrick Mint, of which
100 are in silver, 600 are in copper/zinc, 200 are in goldine/zinc, and 100 are in nickel/zinc.
For several inductees, both error and corrected medals were produced.
References:
CWTJ 36(1):21-22; 36(4):10-15; 37(1):16, 18-19; 37(3):5-10, 13; 37(4):2; 47(2):6-7.
CWTS Hall of Fame Inductees
| 2002 | Dr. George Fuld, Baltimore, MD |
| 2002 | Dr. George Hetrich, Birdsboro, PA |
| 2002 | Julius Guttag, New York City, NY |
| 2002 | John Stanton, Cincinnati, OH |
| 2002 | J. N. T. Levick, New York City, NY |
| 2002 | Jack Detwiler, Brea, CA |
| 2002 | Melvin Fuld, Baltimore, MD |
| 2002 | Pliny Chase, Haverford, PA |
| 2003 | Dale Cade, Ranch Palos Verdes, CA |
| 2003 | Joseph Barnet, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2003 | William K. Lanphear, Cincinnati, OH |
| 2004 | Bryon Kanzinger, Jeffersonville, PA |
| 2004 | David Schenkman, Bryantown, MD |
| 2004 | Stephen L. Tanenbaum, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2004 | Dr. Larkin Wilson, El Dorado, AR |
| 2005 | Cindy Grellman-Wibker, Shreveport, LA |
| 2005 | Virgil Brand, Chicago, IL |
| 2009 | David Gladfelter, Medford, NJ |
| 2010 | Sterling Rachootin, Woodland Hills, CA |
| 2011 | Benj Fauver, Menlo Park, CA |
| 2012 | Donald Erlenkotter, Culver City, CA |
| 2013 | John Ostendorf, Waxahachie, TX |
| 2014 | Q. David Bowers, Wolfeboro, NH |
| 2015 | Susan Trask, Sisters, OR |
Biographical Sketches for Hall of Fame Inductees :
Joseph Barnet
Joseph Barnet was a major collector and researcher of Civil War tokens during the first half of
the 20th century. He is noted for bridging the years from Hetrich and Guttag to the Fulds.
Barnet did extensive research into attempting to locate maverick Civil War merchants. He produced
a supplement to Hetrich and Guttag’s work in 1943-44, updating that book and adding information
previously unpublished. Barnet amassed a wonderfully diverse and high-grade collection of Civil
War tokens, which eventually found its way to George and Melvin Fuld in 1948.
Q. David Bowers
Dave Bowers has been described as perhaps the best-known and most noteworthy numismatist of the last 50 years. More of his books have won “Book of the Year” honors from the Numismatic Literary Guild than those of any other author. Among his numerous honors are the Farran Zerbe Memorial Award from the ANA, which in 1995 named him as their first Numismatist of the Year. The Professional Numismatists Guild presented him with their highest honor, the Founders Award. He is the only person to have served as president of both the ANA and the PNG.
Dave developed an early interest in Civil War Tokens, and by 1960 had purchased thousands of duplicate tokens from George Fuld. He joined the CWTS in 1978, and was elected to two terms on the CWTS Board of Governors. He also served as the Society’s verification officer, and has made valuable contributions to the forthcoming third edition of the Fulds’ book U.S. Civil War Store Cards. Although Dave has contributed a number of articles to the CWTJ, his best-known writings on Civil War tokens appear in his books. In particular, his 2002 book More Adventures with Rare Coins features the “Wealth of the South” tokens, Yankee Robinson and his Civil War tokens, the “Our Little Monitor” tokens, the “Prairie Flower” tokens struck by John Stanton in Cincinnati, and Darius Skidmore’s cigar-smoking eagle token from Seneca Falls, New York. In 2007, 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens, coauthored by Katherine Jaeger, highlighted the entire classes of patriotic Civil War tokens, Civil War store cards, and Civil War sutlers’ tokens. In addition, the “Wealth of the South” and Merriam’s “Good for a Scent” tokens were included, and four other CWTs were named among the next 100 greatest tokens. His recent landmark contribution A Guide Book of Civil War Tokens, published in 2013, provides a culmination of his work on Civil War tokens.
Virgil Brand
A Chicago beer baron by trade, Virgil Brand is considered the greatest collector of Civil War
tokens of all time, amassing his rare and impressive hoards from the 1880s to the 1920s. Although
Virgil most likely purchased individual tokens, he is noted for buying huge dealer inventories and
hoards. It has been estimated that at the height of his collecting activities he had acquired
several hundred thousand tokens. Two major sales (Kreisberg, 1966 and Harmer Rooke, 1969) offered
thousands of Brand’s tokens. Even into the 1970s tens of thousands of his tokens were still
intact in groups. Virgil was considered to have one of the finest copper-nickel and silver
collections of tokens ever assembled. The definitive work by Q. David Bowers,
Virgil Brand:
The Man and His Era, extensively documents his life and times.
Dale Cade
Dale Cade was long considered the glue that held the Civil War Token Society together. He
received several Service and Literary awards from the Society. A member since the 1960s, Dale
maintained an active role throughout the decades. Serving long terms as Secretary and Auction
Manager, he always managed to keep the Society progressive and focused. He was a prolific author
in the
Civil War Token Journal and wrote the “This ’N That” column for many years. Dale
donated many tokens to worthy causes to spark interest in the field. He also was a very active
photographer of Civil War tokens, and headed the committee that published the Fifth Edition of
Patriotic Civil War Tokens. See the
CWTJ, 25(3):10-11 and 41(4):2-7, for more about
Dale.
Pliny Chase
Pliny Earle Chase was the first person to catalogue Civil War tokens. His research covered both
patriotics and store cards. The Civil War contemporary catalogue he compiled lists 303 tokens
“illustrating the trade currency illicitly circulating during the war.” It was presented at a
meeting of the American Philosophical Society in September 1863, and subsequently published in
1865 in the
Proceedings of the Society. Because of the date of presentation, we can
ascertain that all of these tokens were in circulation prior to the end of the War. Chase had
the foresight to collect and present these and other tokens to the American Philosophical Society
for its cabinet. A comprehensive study by Fred L. Reed III of the catalog and Chase’s life
appears in the
JCWTS, 9(2):40-48.
Jack Detwiler
Jack Detwiler was a prolific CWT author and researcher. An acknowledged expert in the specialized
field of patriotic CWTs, he developed the patriotic Die-A-Grams. For years Jack had a continuing
column in the
JCWTS entitled “Patriotic Patter” in which he explored various aspects of
patriotic dies and their relevance to the Civil War. He also was the Editor-in-Chief of the
Fourth Edition of
Patriotic Civil War Tokens and provided much of the information contained
in the book. Jack served as the Society’s President and Vice President for a term each, and also
for several terms on the CWTS Board of Governors. He received several Literary and Service Awards
from the Society. For biographical sketches of his life, see the
CWTJ, 22(3):25 and 26(2):26.
Donald Erlenkotter
Donald Erlenkotter has contributed more to the Civil War Token Society in every aspect than any
other member in the recent past. He has received 2 service awards, 6 literary awards, served on
the Board of Governors and as President in 2009-10. He was interim secretary and membership
chairman wherein he rebuilt the membership data base. He served on the Storecard 3 committee, and
stepped in to fill the position of Editor and interim Publisher of the Journal in 2010, a position
he still holds. He has contributed countless articles to the Journal on both research and
historical interest. He compiled the Executive Board Handbook for use by the Officers and Board of
Governors of the Society and did extensive work on the by-laws. Don has continuously shown his
willingness to assist fellow members with research, encourage authors, and step up to the plate to
fill a vacancy on the board due to the death or resignation of an officer.
Benj Fauver
Benj Fauver, Life Member 36, was one of the charter members of the Civil War Token Society. He
served continuously as Treasurer from 1969 to 2000. He contributed numerous articles to the Civil
War Token Journal, many under the pseudonym “Horatio Speaks”. He was awarded four literary awards,
several for the research he did on tokens. In addition, he received three service awards, and one
special longevity service award. Benj is considered one of the anchors who helped move the society
through its fledgling years contributing through service and research.
Dr. George Fuld
Dr. George Fuld, along with his father Melvin, brought the collecting of Civil War tokens into the
modern age, publishing
Patriotic Civil War Tokens in the
Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine
in 1958-59 and
U. S. Civil War Store Cards in 1962. He introduced his father to Civil War
tokens in 1947, and the next year they acquired Joseph Barnet’s 4600 piece collection of Civil War
tokens. George sold his entire U. S. coin collection for $800, while his father advanced the
other $700 to buy the Barnet collection. Other collections soon followed, including the Guttag
collection of 5200 pieces. George is a prolific author, having penned hundreds of articles and
done more research and scientific analysis in the field of Civil War tokens than any other
individual. He was a founding member of the CWTS Board of Governors. In 2002 he received ANA’s
Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of numismatics.
Melvin Fuld
Melvin Fuld, along with his son George, brought the collecting of Civil War tokens into the modern
age, publishing
Patriotic Civil War Tokens in the
Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine in
1958-59 and
U. S. Civil War Store Cards in 1962. Melvin and George introduced the Fuld
numbering system, which is the foundation for classifying Civil War tokens. Melvin was a founding
member of the Civil War Token Society and the first president of the Society in 1967. He also
served as President of The Maryland Numismatic Society. Melvin received the American Numismatic
Association’s Heath Literary Award several times and the ANA’s Medal of Merit in 1964. In 1965 he
served on the U. S. Assay Commission. More extensive biographical sketches of his life appear in
the
JCWTS, 20(4):23-24 and 21(4):4-5.
David Gladfelter
David Gladfelter has received two service awards for his time serving as legal counsel for the CWTS
from 1990 to 2011. The extent of Dave’s many excellent literary contributions are outlined in the
Journal indexes, one of which received a First Place Award. But it is his extensive research on
Civil War die sinkers and engravers, as evidenced in the Fourth and Fifth Editions of the Patriotic
Civil War Tokens books, that stands out as his primary achievement. Dave continues to serve the
CWTS today and most recently worked to complete the current version of the Society-Laws.
Cindy Grellman-Wibker
Cindy Grellman-Wibker has been an indispensable part of the CWTS for many years. She served as
the Society’s President and as its Secretary for almost ten years, and also was a member of the
Board of Governors for two terms. Cindy continues to serve the Society as its publicist and
liaison representative with the American Numismatic Association. She is an expert in the field of
patriotic tokens and has done extensive work on dies, especially on the very complex turban head
series, and contributed to the fourth edition of
Patriotic Civil War Tokens. She has
received three awards from the Society for her literary contributions, and another three for
service contributions. Cindy also has served as President and a Board Member of the Token and
Medal Society, and has received several awards, including a Medal of Merit, two Presidential
Awards, and an Exemplary Service Award, from the ANA.
Julius Guttag
Julius Guttag is often mentioned along with his inseparable literary partner Dr. George Hetrick.
In a time when the numismatic community generally ignored Civil War tokens, Hetrich and Guttag
published the first truly comprehensive reference book on Civil War tokens,
Civil War Tokens
and Tradesmen’s Store Cards, in 1924. They made major breakthroughs in the classification of
CWTs by assigning a specific number to each combination of obverse and reverse dies in each of the
various metals. Their work was the standard reference for Civil War tokens for nearly 40 years
until it was supplanted by the Fuld system in the 1960s. Julius, a coin dealer/broker/collector,
amassed a fantastic collection of Civil War tokens that eventually found its way to the Fulds’
collection.
Dr. George Hetrich
Dr. George Hetrich is often mentioned along with his inseparable literary partner Julius Guttag.
They did not meet officially until Guttag had already begun working on his new Civil War token
book. Along with collecting rivals Brand and Guttag, Hetrich was considered as a top early 20th
century collector and researcher. In a time when the numismatic community generally ignored Civil
War tokens, Hetrich and Guttag published the first truly comprehensive reference book on Civil War
tokens,
Civil War Tokens and Tradesmen’s Store Cards, in 1924. They made major
breakthroughs in the classification of CWTs by assigning a specific number to each combination of
obverse and reverse dies in each of the various metals. Their work was the standard reference for
Civil War tokens for nearly 40 years until it was supplanted by the Fuld system in the 1960s.
Bryon Kanzinger
Bryon Kanzinger served as a member of the CWTS Board of Governors and as Vice President of the
Society. He conceived and developed the CWTS Hall of Fame award program. Bryon authored a book
on the relative difficulty of obtaining CWTs from issuing towns and merchants and rated their
respective difficulties on a common scale. This book,
The Civil War Token Collectors Guide,
was the first to provide a complete valuation guide for CWTs and has become a standard reference.
He also helped develop and consulted for the ANACS Civil War Token department. Bryon, who died
in 2003 while just in his early thirties, received a Service award from the Society for his
contributions.
William K. Lanphear
William K. Lanphear is considered to have been the second largest producer of Civil War token
varieties. He struck store card tokens for hundreds of merchants in twelve different states,
ranging as far away as Minnesota and Kansas in the West to New York in the East. In his shop in
Cincinnati, Lanphear employed talented engravers such as Lutz and Senour, and the die work for his
tokens is considered imaginative and varied. Lanphear’s own store cards used all of his dies,
creating over 110 different token varieties in various metals. These are classified under the
Fuld listing OH 165CY. An advertising genius, he co-advertised on several occasions with other
merchants, muling his own merchant dies with theirs. After the war, Lanphear moved to Baltimore,
where he worked as a stencil cutter, and eventually to Minneapolis where he continued in the same
business.
J. N. T. Levick
J. N. T. Levick was one of the most prominent pioneering collectors of Civil War tokens. Often
purchasing his tokens directly from the diesinkers, he amassed one of the finest collections of
off-metal tokens. Levick sold off many of his duplicates from the 1860s through the early 1880s,
but his career pinnacle sale was in 1884. This auction is described in the
JCWTS,
10(1):14-16. It is estimated that over 7000 tokens were auctioned. By today’s standards, prices
were ridiculously low, with many pieces not bringing even a cent each. Only the silver examples
were listed in individual lots. It is believed that many of these tokens ended up in the hands
of Edward Groh, who eventually donated his collection to the American Numismatic Society in New
York City.
John Ostendorf
John Ostendorf is a major researcher of Civil War Tokens. His book,
"Civil War Store Cards of
Cincinnati" is a comprehensive text on the various merchants from Cincinnati who issued tokens
and of these, which ones are contemporary and/or were in fact Cincinnati merchants. In addition,
John is the chairman and editor of the 3rd edition of Fuld’s
"U.S. Civil War Store Cards", a
major undertaking of research, data compilation and editing. He has also served on the Board of
Governors for the Society and as Secretary from 2010 until present. He has contributed numerous
articles to the CWTS Journal for which he has received two literary awards and received the Jack
Detwiler Research Award in 2007.
Sterling Rachootin
Sterling Rachootin has undoubtedly written more articles and received more Literary Awards on all
levels, than any other author to contribute to the Civil War Token Society Journal. A history
teacher by profession, Sterling brought historic interpretations to his articles, often
challenging the reader to do research and writing of his own. He has served on the Society’s
Board of Governors for 5 terms and as President in 1997-98.
David Schenkman
David Schenkman is one of the greatest researchers and collectors of Civil War sutler tokens. As
an author, he has contributed seminal works including
Civil War Sutler Tokens and Cardboard
Scrip,
Merchant Tokens of Hard Rubber and Similar Compositions, and
Tokens & Medals
Commemorating the Battle Between the Monitor and Merrimac. He also has been an exonumia
columnist for
Coin World,
Numismatic News, and
The Numismatist, and was the
long-time editor of the
TAMS Journal and a former president of TAMS. David served as
editor of the CWTS
Copperhead Courier from 1975 to 1980, and received a service award in
1980. He was President and Vice President of the Society, and a member of the Board of Governors
for three terms. He has been an instructor for the ANA’s Summer Seminar, teaching courses in U.S.
tokens and Civil War era numismatics. David received the ANA’s Heath Literary Award in 1994,
Glenn Smedley Memorial Award in 2003, and Medal of Merit in 2007. In 2012 he received the ANA’s
Lifetime Achievement Award.
John Stanton
John Stanton, along with his two employees James Murdock, Jr., and William Spencer, are considered
to have been the largest producers of Civil War tokens. From their shop in Cincinnati, millions
of tokens were produced for approximately 440 merchants in a dozen states. It is estimated that
Stanton’s firm produced more than 2000 different tokens during the war, many of which were
collector strikes meant to cater to people like J. N. T. Levick. Stanton’s advertised general
fees for business strikes were $10 for the first 1000 tokens and $8 for each additional 1000.
Individual off-metal planchets were struck at special rates. Stanton donated several complete
2000+ token sets to wartime Sanitary Fairs to help raise funds for the soldiers. He made many of
his own store cards, which have been classified by the Fulds under the listing OH 165FX.
Stephen L. Tanenbaum
Steve Tanenbaum was considered by many to have been the most knowledgeable person in the field of
Civil War tokens during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He was relied upon
for many decades as a consultant, editor, and contributor to numerous CWT works. After beginning
his CWT collecting journey in 1972, he became a full-time dealer for tokens in 1981. Steve
handled, purchased, and built some of the greatest modern-day collections, although he always
considered himself a collector first. He discovered hundreds of new varieties, previously unknown
die states, and odd mint errors. Steve was elected to nine terms on the CWTS Board of Governors,
and also filled two partial terms by appointment. He served as Vice President of the Society from
2004 through 2010. Tragically, his life was cut short when he was struck by an automobile in
February 2011.
Susan Trask
If there is such a thing as a Renaissance Lady, Susan Trask is an obvious choice. This would be true even if Civil War tokens were not part of her life. A high achiever, Susan is one of the most prominent real estate brokers on the West Coast, currently with Sotheby’s. If you want to buy a ranch or perhaps even a mountain in Oregon, ask her. Beyond that she has excelled as a Life Coach, as an advisor to many prominent people, and with her husband Frank Trask, a coin dealer in his retirement, raised a fine family.
However, Civil War tokens are the focus here. For starters, she has been on the Board of Governors of our Civil War Token Society for over 20 years—dating back to the 1990s in a milieu in which the players were different from today, most of them passing and leaving fond memories. Dale Cade, Sterling Rachootin, Steve Tanenbaum—the list is a long one. She also served as treasurer for 16 years—with honor and financial responsibility so that the CWTS always had funds for its projects—ranging from publications to events to a series of medals.
As if that were not enough, Susan Trask may be the most active program-presenter our Society has ever known—at club meetings, at the ANA convention, at shows in Long Beach, Carson City, Las Vegas, and elsewhere—always sharing her talents and enthusiasm for the hobby. In recent times she worked with John Ostendorf and the late Evelyn Mishkin to take information from many contributors, develop an action plan, and within the year turned out the superb third edition of United States Civil War Store Cards. Completely reformatted and now with color illustrations, the book has been honored as one of the finest studies ever published in a specialized series. Resting for hardly a moment, she and Evelyn Mishkin began the 6th edition of Patriotic Civil War Tokens, again with input from many CWTS members. Evelyn’s untimely passing in October necessarily stopped the project for a time, but now it is continuing nicely (and will have credit to Evelyn).
“We are very lucky to have the enthusiasm and multiple talents of Susan,” noted Dave Bowers. “I have enjoyed working with her on several Civil War token projects. Other organizations should be so fortunate!”
Dr. Larkin Wilson
Dr. Larkin Wilson was best known for serving as the Verification Officer for the Society from 1985
to 2001. He regularly published his verification of new varieties in the Society’s Journal, and
was a true expert in distinguishing real Civil War tokens from fakes. In conjunction with Jack
Detwiler, Dr. Wilson created a database for identifying the metallic content of CWTs and was able
to classify known and previously unknown materials. His research articles were recognized by
three literary awards from the Society, and he received another three awards for his contributions
in service.
