After nearly 20 years and two previous attempts, collector and token dealer Steve Hayden has acquired the esteemed Dr. George Hetrich Civil War token collection. The assemblage contains more than 5,500 Civil War tokens, with rarities, gems, popular specimens, unlisted varieties, and 50 unique varieties.
Dr. George Hetrich, along with Julius Guttag, authored the 1924 reference Civil War Tokens and Tradesmen’s Store Cards. The Hetrich and Guttag numbering system became the standard in the hobby until George and Melvin Fuld published their books in the 1960s. An anonymous numismatist formed the original collection, which contained approximately 10,000 pieces, and another anonymous collector purchased the Hetrich portion of 6,000 specimens in a 1954 Pennypacker Auction sale. That collector added those tokens to their preexisting collection and continued to build the set through the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. George and Melvin Fuld then used notes about the Hetrich collection to produce their books in the 1960s and ’70s.
A number of the finest examples in the collection are currently ungraded, but some raw examples are now available from Hayden on eBay. Graded pieces will become available in the coming months on his website.