VIRGINIA. Alexandria. 1859 Marshall House. Rulau-Va 103. Copper. Plain Edge. MS-63 BN (PCGS).

19 mm. Lovely golden-copper surfaces with intermingled pale rose and more vivid powder blue. The fields are faintly semi-reflective, the design elements a bit soft in the centers, most notably at the digits 59 in the date, yet sharp elsewhere and with the entire design fully appreciable. This is by far the finest example of the type that we can recall offering - the prior record holder was an NGC AU-58 BN. With an obverse design similar to that used on many Patriotic tokens and the notoriety that its issuer gained in 1861 (see below), this specimen will appeal not only to advanced collectors in the Merchant tokens discipline, but also Civil War enthusiasts. The Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, Virginia became famous in 1861 as the site of the first conspicuous casualty and the place where the first Union officer died in the Civil War. The proprietor of the inn, James W. Jackson, had raised a Confederate flag on the roof early in May of that year, while Virginia was still part of the Union. Allegedly, President Lincoln observed this flag across the Potomac through field glasses from an elevated position in Washington. It was also observed by soldiers under the command of Colonel Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, commanding offer of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (the "Fire Zouaves"), which unit he had raised from New York City's volunteer firefighting companies. When Virginia's secession was ratified by referendum on May 23, 1861, Ellsworth's unit was among those Union forces that crossed the Potomac the following day to take control of Alexandria. Seeing the Confederate flag on the roof of the Marshall House, Ellsworth and seven of his soldiers entered the inn and climbed a ladder to the roof, after which the colonel cut down the flag with a knife. While descending from the roof with Private Francis E. Brownell leading the way, the party was surprised by Jackson, who killed Ellsworth instantly with a single shot to the chest from a double-barreled shotgun. Jackson then fired the other barrel of the shotgun at Brownell, but missed, after which he was hit by a shot simultaneously fired from the private's gun. Brownell then repeatedly bayoneted Jackson, whose dead body fell down the stairs, fulfilling the inn keeper's alleged statement that the flag would only be taken down "over his dead body". Ellsworth's body was taken to the City Hall building in New York City, where it was viewed by thousands of Union supporters. He was eventually buried in his hometown of Mechanicville, in the Hudson View Cemetery. Thousands of Union supporters rallied around Ellsworth's cause and enlisted, with "Remember Ellsworth" becoming a patriotic slogan. Members of the unit began referring to the 44th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment as the "Ellsworth Avengers" and "The People's Ellsworth Regiment". Private Brownell, who retained a piece of the flag taken from the roof of the Marshall House, was later awarded a Medal of Honor for role in the affair. Similarly, Jackson became an early and celebrated martyr for the Confederate cause, with the Sons of Confederate Veterans eventually placing a plaque within a blind arch near a corner of a prominent hotel that stood on the former site of the Marshall House to commemorate his actions on May 24, 1861. The plaque remained until 2017, in which year it was removed by Marriott International after it purchased the hotel.

Estimate: $1000