Are Civil War patriotic tokens really tokens or are they medals?
and lots of other questions can really become a good deal like a debate between different political parties. As a general rule of thumb, the following descriptions fit as “working definitions.” Coins are made by governments (or rulers) to be used in making change, paying taxes, and carrying on business. Usually they are made of a metal with a “worth” of its own , but they can be made of almost anything. They have a specific “face value,” a rate at which they are meant to be valued, and that face value is not always marked on the coin or honored in practice. Tokens are like coins in the respect that they were intended to circulate like coins and usually have a “face value,” but they are made by individuals (not governments) and could rarely be used for taxes and other “official government functions.” Medals are just pieces of metal made to show an image, honor a person or event, or celebrate an idea. They do not have a value other than the worth of the metal they are made from other tha
