There are precious few benefits to the past nine months of Covid-19. A few industries have noticed upticks including such as delivery services, local bakeries, etc. Other surprise beneficiaries have been stamp and coin dealers. With so many now homebound, loads of people have dusted off their collections with renewed interest in the hobbies. Across the board, dealers have reported a marked increase in demand and subsequently higher prices.
One casualty of the past year has been the political upheaval that seems to be continuing. Rarely has the country been so divided. In fact, the last time we were this split probably dates back to the Civil War. Some of that division has resurfaced – including a few aspects of the Confederacy. One of those who stormed the US Capitol even carried a Confederate flag....
An irony of political correctness is occasional misinterpretations. To that point, I asked a number of people their definition of the word “Confederate.” Across the board their answers included “traitor,” “divisive,” racist,” “anti-American” and other pejoratives. Not one person answered with the true definition – “united,” “colleague,” “joined” or “linked.”
I understand guilt by association. The word has taken on a negative connotation. Evidently, that was the feeling of the philatelic Confederate Stamp Alliance. It’s an organization that specializes in the mail, postal history and stamps mainly involving the southern states during the Civil War.
Given the hardships, limited finances and restricted travel of that time, stamps and mail from the Confederacy is special. Most prized are envelopes fashioned from scrap wallpaper or broadsides. Also, postmarked envelopes used by prisoners. Such items can be worth thousands of dollars.
Last month, the 85-year-old organization announced a name change. Instead of the Confederate Stamp Alliance it will now be the “Civil War Philatelic Society.” Not all members were in favor of the change. But, as one member put it, “Whatever you feel about the Confederacy has been overtaken by the toxic associations with the word.”
I thought of that in relation to other historic artifacts of the war and especially the Confederacy. After all, some of the most notable battles of the war such as Fort Sumpter, Manassas, Shiloh and others took place in the deep south. Amazing artifacts and valuable collectibles survive and have been found at all those sites… Below the ocean waves as well.
One of those collectible items of the Civil War was located in 1995 on the bottom of Charleston Bay. The CSS Hunley was one of the earliest submarines. It had been built to attack Union ships from beneath the surface. On February 17, 1864, the crude submarine with eight hands steering and hand-cranking the propeller glided under the bay toward the Union ship Housatonic.
Among the Hunley crew was Lt. George E. Dixon. Two years prior, Dixon had fought in the horrific Battle of Shiloh in 1862. In that conflict 23,000 died. Dixon survived Shiloh because he was carrying a $20 gold coin. Minted in in 1860 in the northern US states, the coin was in Dixon’s pocket when he was hit by a Yankee bullet. That bullet bent the coin but protected Dixon from death. He had the bent coin engraved, “Shiloh, April 6, 1862, My Life Preserver.”
From then on, Dixon carried the $20 gold coin as a lucky charm. In the submarine on that winter night in February 1864, it didn’t work as his “life preserver.” Dixon was lost with seven others on the Hunley when it sank after attaching a crude explosive “torpedo” to the Housatonic.
In a 2000 marine expedition, after 136 years, salvors raised the Hunley. Inside, were artifacts and remains of the eight sailors, much of it preserved by the sediment. Many were found at the stations which they had manned.
The $20 gold coin carried by Dixon was also found where he had been stationed. That coin is on display in North Charleston. Its value is naturally incalculable.
More finds from the Civil War are sure to surface leading collectors to hope and dream. No one has to agree or take sides. When it comes to historic collectibles, it’s a time that can never be denied or forgotten no matter what terms people use.
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