1861 Brigadier General G.T. Beauregard or Confederate Dime. Breen p.666. VG Details--Mount Removed, Obverse Tooled (NGC).Obv: Portrait of Beauregard, left, inscribed G-T. BEAUREGARD. BRG. GEN CSA. around, with engravers initials CR below. Rev: A laurel wreath surrounds the central inscription around MANASSAS / 21 JULY / 1861. Untoned apart from a few glints of iridescent reddish-apricot, both sides retain plenty of bold to sharp detail to the major design elements. Mount removal at 12 oclock, both sides with wispy hairlines and a glossy texture that point to a cleaning, concentration of scratches in the upper left obverse field. All in all, however, this is a very respectable example of this rare type, which John J. Ford, Jr. had recorded fewer than 10 surviving examples of during his many years of careful attention. Some of those survivors are holed and others (all?) have had edge mounts, as here. Even the example found in the magnificent collection of Virgil M. Brand was holed, while Fords own specimen might have been the finest known but still had a reverse strike-through flaw, and a removed loop. In short, just about any example of this piece is a perfectly acceptable one to own, as very few collectors will ever have the chance.Michael Hodder offered the following in his cataloging for Ford I Sale:The first specimen known is said to have been sold by a Confederate soldier to New York collector Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet. That piece was still looped and was suspended from a red ribbon. The soldier is said to have told Emmet that the medal was presented by the city of New Orleans following the Battle of First Manassas. This story may or may not be true. The Beauregard dime may be datable through its obverse inscription, however. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard resigned from the Federal army on February 20, 1861. On March 1, 1861 he was appointed brigadier general in the army of the Confederacy and given command of the Army of the Potomac. On July 21, 1861 his command was restricted to the 1st Corps when Joseph Johnston was given overall command of the Army of the Potomac. Johnston wisely left tactical command to Beauregard, however, and it was the latter who fought and won the Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run) on July 21, 1861. Beauregard fought the battle as a brigadier. He was promoted to general on August 21, 1861 (with rank effective as of the start of First Manassas). The engraver of the Beauregard dime named his southern hero a brigadier and not a general, although he got the date of First Manassas right for his reverse. It is unlikely that the engraver would have demoted Beauregard had he known of his generals rank. It is always possible that he was recording Beauregards historical rank at the time of the battle, however. Unless this is the case, it seems possible that the Beauregard dime was made between July 21 and the beginning of September 1861 (allowing time for the news of Beauregards promotion to become widely known)....Whatever the exact date of manufacture, this type was certainly in existence by 1868, as it was specifically mentioned that year in the American Journal of Numismatics. Historic, interesting, and very rare.
