UNITED STATES. 1776-pres. Medal (Tin, 33 mm, 10.00 g, 12 h), Temperance Medal for members of the Cold Water Army. By B & S, New York, no date (circa 1850). HOW SWEET FROM THE GREEN MOSSY BRIM TO RECEIVE IT / AS POISED ON THE CURB IT INCLINED TO MY LIPS Boy fetching water at a well. Rev. DECLARATION OF THE COLD WATER ARMY around WE AGREE TO / ABSTAIN FROM / THE USE OF ALL / INTOXICATING / LIQUORS / AS A BEVERAGE in six lines within wreath, above clasped hands. Extremely rare. Pierced and minor deposits on the obverse, otherwise, about extremely fine.


The Cold Water Army was a 19th-century American temperance organization for children, founded in 1839 by Rev. T. P. Hunt. It encouraged total abstinence from alcohol through pledges, songs, uniforms, and public meetings, and at its peak it enrolled hundreds of thousands of children before interest faded later in the century.