ABRAHAM LINCOLN CIVIL WAR 1861 COMMANDER IN CHIEF SLIVER PLATED COIN

A product of the Kentucky and Illinois frontier and mostly self-educated, Lincoln went on to become a prominent lawyer and politician. In 1860, he received the Republican Party presidential nomination. Running on an anti-slavery platform, he was elected as the 16th president.

Lincoln's election ultimately led to the secession of seven pro-slavery Southern states from the Union, which sparked a gruesome four-year conflict between the North and South. It was during the Civil War where Lincoln's exceptional leadership skills came to the forefront. His steady hand and grace under pressure helped to preserve the United States of America during its darkest time.

Sadly, Lincoln didn't live to oversee the recovery of the nation upon the conclusion of the war. He was assassinated on April 14, 1865 just five days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army to Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.