Slave Badges and Dog Tags: Personal Artifacts of Enslaved and Free African-Americans Before 1865
Channel: American Numismatic Society
Date: 2022-12-20

2022 Stack Family Lecture on American Numismatics:

In the whole realm of material culture, very few objects can be unquestionably ascribed to the possession of African-Americans before 1865. However, in spite of the overall rarity of these sorts of items, two significant groups of intensely personal objects can be classed as “numismatic.” From 1783 to 1865, Charleston, South Carolina officially produced identification badges for African-Americans, first exclusively for free persons, then exclusively for enslaved Americans who were to be hired out by their masters. Made of metal and intended for personal display, the Charleston badges are at least loosely similar to the identification discs or “dog tags” made for Black men who fought for the Union in the Civil War and small numbers of formerly enslaved African-Americans, mostly in Washington, DC. Join ANS Fellow John Kraljevich, a numismatist and historian, for an exploration of these items, their lessons, and broader themes of African-American history.

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