1863 Civil War Token, Copperhead Snake, Union Must Be Preserved, F-136/397a, NGC XF45 BN. This glossy, hard 1863 Patriotic Civil War token has dark brown proof-like surfaces with hints of red-brown color. The piece is clearly original as evidenced by the colors. Slight wear is seen, in keeping with the grade, but the surfaces are cleaner than expected with no individual abrasion marks worthy of description. The devices are clear and the legends are fully legible on this eye-appealing piece.

The token depicts a bust profile of Andrew Jackson facing left in military uniform. He is surrounded with the legend THE UNION MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED *. The reverse shows a rattle snake ready to spring. Above the snake is the word BEWARE and the date is below. A ring of stars encircle the snake, and dentils are on both sides of the token.

Civil War Tokens, also known as "copperheads," were issued privately because of the coinage shortage that occurred during the war. The public disliked the fractional paper money issued by the federal government and used Civil War Tokens to replace it. There were two types of Civil War Tokens, those that had a commercial message, known as tradesmens tokens and those that had a patriotic or political theme. They disappeared in 1864 when the federal government issued enough bronze coins to satisfy public demand.

Patriotic tokens were used as a substitute for regular issued coinage. Private minters placed them in circulation at a profit. Some imitated the copper-nickel cent, and some said the words NOT ONE CENT, with NOT written in smaller letters. The tokens show leaders such as Lincoln, military motifs, and slogans and flags. Approximately 10,000 different Civil War Tokens are known. It is estimated that more than fifty million were issued.