1995 San Francisco Mint (S) Civil War Battlefield Preservation Silver (90% Silver) Dollar and Clad Half Dollar Commemorative Proof (PF) 2 Coin Set in Union Case/Photo Case Original Government Packaging (OGP)

These coins were produced by the Department of the Treasury, United States Mint to help fund preservation efforts for our Nation's Civil War Battlefields. These coins are legal tender of the United States.  This set includes the Union Case packaging and the original Certificate of Authenticity (COA).

1995 Civil War Proof Commemorative Union Case Set

This set includes 2 commemorative coins from the 1994 Civil War Battlefield Preservation series, a Proof $1 Silver Commem and the $1/2 Dollar Commem. Each are was minted a San Francisco and bear the S mint-mark. This specific proof set is encased in a model of what Civil War men would have carried with them through the war a "Union Case" that would hold their prized family photo(s).

The "Union Case": In 1852, the first thermoplastic photo cases were produced, probably in New Haven, Connecticut, by Samuel Peck and Halvor Halvorson. not far away, in Florence, Massachusetts, Alfred P. Critchlow also claimed to have originated the process. However, it was Peck who coined the term "union Case," possibly referring to the union of materials -- shellac and sawdust -- which, under heat and pressure, could be molded into intricate designs. Both Peck's and Critchlow's companies were among the largest producers of early plastic photo cases. During the manufacturing process, chemical dyes -- usually brown or black -- were mixed with the plastic compound. Occasionally, red or green dye was used and these rare, colored cases are highly prized today. Whether or not Samuel Peck invented the thermoplastic Union Case, he did perfect a method of gilding it. The Civil War Battlefield Commemorative Coins Union Case reproduction is based on a case by Peck & Halvorson that was distinguished by a gilded reverse design of a U.S. 10 Dollar gold piece.