This listing is for the photographed Antique Love Token. Found all over the world, love tokens are coins that have been removed from circulation, sanded smooth on at least one side, and hand-engraved with letters and/or symbols that represent a particular sentiment. This particular token was made from an 1819 Silver Spanish Colonial 2 Reales Coin. Our best interpretation of the lettering is either "CF", or "CEF".
At the height of their popularity in the late 1800s, love tokens were all the rage in the United States and Great Britain. In America, the Civil War (1861-1865) brought suffering and loss to nearly every family. Such grief made Americans more aware of the fragility of life; and subsequently, more sentimental. During the same period in England, Queen Victoria popularized jewelry that revealed and expressed feelings of love and grief. Her style of fashion was soon embraced and practiced by those in Great Britain and abroad. At the intersection of sentimentality and new fashion, the popularity of love tokens took off.
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Genuine Antique Love Token CF - Made From an 1819 Silver Spanish Colonial 2 Reales Coin - Beautiful Scroll Work, 1800s Love Token