How to Tell a Genuine SLAVE TAG from a Fake/Fantasy,
An Introductory Primer.

In the past several years a number of fake/counterfeit "slave tags" and fantasy "slave tags" have appeared.  Some of these are obvious, others are exceedingly deceptive. Unfortunately, with the increase in popularity and price of genuine Slave Tags, the crooks and con-artists have moved into the market.  

What WAS a Slave Tag, Anyway?

In Charleston and Charleston Neck, from about 1800 to 1865, the city taxed slaves if they hired out.  You've heard about slaves earning their freedom?  They often had great freedom to hire themselves out to others, after performing duties for their owners.  Or, the owner might have rented out his slaves and kept the income.  Slaves for hire in Charleston had to wear a SLAVE TAG, dated annually with the year, the occupation and a serial number (the records have been lost).  The Tag was basically a tax receipt, and proved the slave had paid the city to be able to make money (that is, just another TAX!).  Slaves working on a plantation only did not need a Tag, nor did slaves only working for their owner. 

Slave Tags are the ONLY 100% Guaranteed genuine relics of Slavery that can be positively dated and shown to be slave used. 

SIMPLE TEST for Fantasy "slave tag"

100% of ALL known Genuine Slave Tags are from CHARLESTON or the suburb CHARLESTON NECK.  If your purported "tag" is NOT Charleston, it is guaranteed to be a FANTASY.  There are no known exceptions, and Yes, I do claim to be an expert.

Fantasy vs. Fake "slave tag"

A FANTASY is an item that purports to be something it is not.  In this case, a fantasy slave tag might be from a different state, a plantation or some other locale other than Charleston.  Fantasy tags may be fully hand engraved, or die struck (like 99% of all genuine Slave Tags).  A fantasy will appear old, may be dated in the slavery era, and/or contain wording regarding slavery.

A FAKE or counterfeit  "slave tag" is a close copy of a genuine Slave Tag, closely imitating a genuine die struck piece.  It is illegal to produce FAKES under the Hobby Protection Act.  The legality of producing a fanciful fantasy is questionable.

The general types are:
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High Quality Counterfeit Charleston Slave Tags:

These are exact reproductions of genuine tags, made with bar-punches so the letters are raised. Most GENUINE Slave Tags have the city "Charleston", the occupation, such as "Servant" and the year, such as "1860" all struck on a tag from bar-punches, with raised letters. Additionally a serial number is incused hand punched. Some early genuine tags also have a silversmith bar-punch mark. Several years ago a crook had some bar-punch dies made up, to closely duplicate genuine tags. While there are many identifying characteristics of these fakes, the novice collector can easily be duped. Some of these modern fakes have been struck in lead, or on sheets of lead with multiple strikes.   See the photo of the genuine Tag later in this article.

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Low Quality Counterfeit Charleston Slave Tags:

ALL fully hand-engraved Slave Tags are counterfeit. If you buy a fully incuse piece without any letters raised, you are most likely buying a modern fantasy.  There are about four examples known of genuine, fully incused hand struck Slave Tags.  Tags with fanciful inscriptions regarding Cabins, the Ability to be out after Curfew, Free Slave, or long, verbose inscriptions, or with fancy designs and ornate scroll work are fantasy pieces. 

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Medium to Low Quality Fantasy Non-Charleston "Slave Tags":

There are NO genuine Slave Tags known to exist except from Charleston and Charleston Neck (a suburb). All Mississippi Tags are modern fantasy pieces (NO original is known to exist). All fully incuse tags are fakes or fantasy pieces (except about 4 examples, and NO, you do not have one!). Recently seen pieces include "Kemp Plantation" and others, all by the same maker. Generally these are oval, holed, ornately engraved on both sides, and sound "too good to be true". I corresponded with the maker of these tags, and he offered to make items to my specification. He has created a number of quite interesting pieces, all of similar style and all "too good to be true". Several years ago he was offering these in the $30 range, and I believe that is a reasonable price to pay, for a modern fantasy item. Unfortunately these have been sold or offered for prices ranging from $300 to over $1000!

Modern Sexually Related Slave Tags

A web search on "slave tags" will return some results for modern tags, to be worn by slaves in a consentual sexual bondage situation.  Obviously modern and not quite what we collect!

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Genuine Slave Tags
1832 Charleston Servant No. 194
1857 Charleston Porter 896

These are both genuine Slave Tags, the one on the left with the word "Charleston", the date "1832" and the occupation "Servant" and the abbreviation "No" (Number) in die punches, with relief letters, and the serial number "194" incuse hand punched.  The "Porter" "896" Tag on the right is similar.  The serial number has each digit hand stamped, the other stamps are single die stamps/punches.

These are typical of genuine Slave Tags.  Variations exist, some without the "No", some with the silversmiths's name punched on one side or the other, in various shapes and with various occupations.  Genuine Tags do NOT exist in LEAD.  MOST genuine Slave Tags are excavated, and show much damage from long time exposure, such as pitting, corrosion, etc., as well as bends and folds, dings and damage from use.  The 1832 Tag shown above is one of the finest known condition Tags, handed down through the family.

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How to be 100% Sure you are Buying a Genuine Slave Tag

(First: You can HELP spread the word on Tags by VOTING at the end of this article)

ALL legitimate sellers on eBay and in the world will gladly give you:

1.  WRITTEN GUARANTEE:  If your seller refuses to give you a written guarantee on his letterhead, don't buy at any price!

2.  MONEY BACK GUARANTEE:  If your seller refuses to guarantee his material in writing, with your money back within four months if it is not genuine, don't buy!

3.  NCS PAPERS:  If your seller does not have a photographic certificate from Numismatic Conservation Services of Florida, and won't guarantee you can get one, don't buy!  If your seller doesn't have NCS papers, and you still want to buy, pay the seller (AND get the money back guarantee in writing.  And, do you really trust this guy?) and have them send the Tag DIRECT to NCS, to be returned to you, if genuine.  This protects you from any seller claiming you switched tags, although this is less of a problem with the uniqueness of serially numbered Tags, than it is with coins, for example.  MOST legitimate sellers will have NCS papers on their Slave Tags.  NCS is the ONLY place I'm aware of currently providing photographic authenticity papers.  The cost runs about $30 plus return postage.

Irony:
One of the amusing things about viewing this review, is the listings eBay serves up on the right side of this page.  They vary, but quite often the listings include FAKE and FANTASY "tags"!  By the way, FAKE and FANTASY tags are also offered for sale on the internet, sometimes by people who don't know and actually believe they have a genuine Tag.  I hope this article has given you some basic information and might save you from buying junk.  If this helps you, PLEASE HELP ME by VOTING at the bottom of this page.

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PRICES:

A genuine Slave Tag with NCS papers will cost about $1500-3000 and UP, depending on occupation, condition and who is selling it.  Fake and fantasy "tags" are available for $25-100 each and have basically zero resale value.  However, if you can't afford a $2500 tag, a $25 fake might be a reasonable alternative.  "Servant" and "Porter" are the two most common occupations.  Rarer occupations bring more, up to about $30,000.  NO, it is not likely you will find a genuine Tag at your local antique mall or flea market (although I did, once!).  More likely you will find a fake/fantasy piece along with a great story of it being handed down or recently found in an old house, for only $50-300 or so.  If you don't buy the fake/fantasy pieces, the sellers of this junk won't make any money, and will quit selling this stuff.  Why can you buy fake/fantasy material on eBay?  Because they can't and won't police every listing.  Educate yourself BEFORE you buy!

YOU CAN HELP on eBay:
In 2007 eBay has gotten more involved in removing deceptive listings.  If you find a "slave tag" that is an obvious fake or fantasy, go to the bottom of the listing, and click on REPORT THIS ITEM (it might take some multiple pages to get to the right page).  You can also help by VOTING on this review at the bottom of this web page.

All fake/fantasy "slave tags" now are required to be listed in the REPRODUCTION sub-categories, not in the regular categories.  If you find a "tag" in in the wrong category, be sure to REPORT it.  It is NOT against eBay policy to list fake or fantasy items, AS LONG as they are in the correct category, and are correctly described as fake/fantasy material. 

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Who Am I to Make Claims on Slave Tags?

My Experience: So who am I to make claims about Slave Tags? I've been a collector and dealer in tokens, medal, exonumia, slave tags and other collectibles since 1962, and a full time dealer since 1972. To the best of my knowledge I have owned more Slave Tags than all my exonumia dealer friends combined. I flew to New York to visit the American Numismatic Society holdings of Tags and to view the John J Ford Jr. collection of Slave Tags sold at auction. I've been to Charleston and viewed the museum holdings there. I have been studying the field for a long time, and I have developed some expertise over the years.

And oh yes, I'm a life member of the numismatic and exonumia groups ANA, TAMS, CWTS, CSNS, IL-NA, NOW and others, a member of the ANS, and served as a long-term Board of Governors member of TAMS, CWTS and CSNS, and I was President of the Chicago Coin Club for 5 years. In short, I've been around, I've studied the field and I really think I know what I'm saying on Slave Tags. If you'd like to contact any of these organizations, please do, or check the web for more information  (search on "Slave Tags"). 

Rich Hartzog    World Exonumia

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