Coin Slot Magazine - #092 - 1982 - October [International Arcade Museum]
THE TOKEN CORNER
MAJOR EPISODES OF
TOKEN USE
THROUGHOUT AMERICAN HISTORY
By Stephen P. Alpert
Throughout our history, there
have been many times when
conditions necessitated a large
number and variety of similar tokens
to be issued. The tokens of each
episode form natural groups or cat
egories of tokens, which are popu
lar among collectors, with most col
There are three major types of Hard
Times tokens. Some are close copies
of the government cent, but read
"Millions For Defense Not One Cent
For Tribute." Others commented on
events and issues of the day with
satirical political cartoons dealing
with the Bank of the United States,
Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren
groups. I'll summarize these series
and Daniel Webster. The third group
consists of merchant advertising
tokens, most of a similar size and
of tokens below, in chronological
appearance.
order.
This small series of just a few
hundred different tokens is popular
lectors specializing in one or two
COLONIAL AND
EARLY AMERICAN TOKENS
The tokens of this group are rather
diverse, as they were issued by
early merchants and local or state
governments. They encompass the
Colonial period through the 1820s.
At this time the coinage situation in
America was chaotic, with foreign
among token and coin collectors.
The common pieces are inexpensive
in circulated condition.
TERRITORIAL GOLD
TOKENS
The Gold Rush to the west in
To help facilitate commerce and
1849 and the 1850s brought many
people to the west. Being far from
the govenment mints, a coin short
age developed. Paper money wasn't
trusted; only gold and silver coin(in
alleviate coin shortages, merchants
short supply) and gold dust and
and local governments issued their
own coinages. Some ordered their
coins or tokens from England; others
nuggets (plentiful) were circulated.
But it was difficult paying in pinches
of gold dust and weighing gold
nuggets So private assayers and
coins widely circulating as legal
tender alongside American coins
resorted to local blacksmiths or
craftsmen to make the coinage,
which often turned out rathercrude.
These early tokens have been col
lected by numismatists for over 130
years, and most are given the status
of coins and are listed in coin cata
logues Thus they are very valuable.
Items such as the Pine Tree coinage
of Massachusetts (1667-1682),
Brasher Doubloons, Fugio Cents
(1787), early merchant tokens, and
pattern or model coins picturing
George Washington are in this group
of tokens and colonial coins.
HARD TIMES
TOKENS
The difficult economic times of
the 1830s and 1840s lead to public
hoarding of coins, so copper tokens
the size of the large cent of the time
were issued to be used as pennies.
banks, mainly in San Francisco, be
gan striking their own gold coins to
circulate as money. The coins were
made in denominations of 5,10,20,
and 50 dollars. For small change,
numerous jewelers and private mints
struck small gold coins in denomi
nations of 1A, V2, and one dollar,
dated from 1852 to 1882 (when
such coinage was banned.) These
coins are round oroctagonal, with a
Liberty head or Indian head on the
front, and value on the back There
are hundreds of varieties.
All the authentic small gold coins
have the denomination stated as
Dol, Doll, or Dollar, which distin
guishes them from the contempo
rary California gold tokens. The gold
tokens, mainly gold-plated brass,
were issued at the same time, as
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10—THE COIN SLOT
souvenir pieces or jewelry items.
They have the denomination as D,
or just a fraction or a 1, or no value
at all. Such gold tokens have been
made almost continuously to the
present, and are worth much less
than the gold coins. There are hun
dreds of different varieties of the
gold tokens also.
The western coin shortages were
ended by the opening of U.S. Mints
in Carson City and San Francisco.
All territorial gold coins, technically
tokens, have been elevated to the
status of coins and are listed in coin
catalogues, and thus are very valu
able.
CIVIL WAR TOKENS
Severe coin hoarding during the
Civil War lead to widespread usage
of tokens in 1863 and 1864 in order
for merchants to conduct business
The tokens were used primarily in
the northern and midwestem statea
Most tokens carried an advertising
message of the issuer (there are
about 8,000 different store card
tokens). They are generally collect
ed by state or merchant. Most of the
tokens are the size of the current
penny.
In addition, there are about 1,000
different "stock" Civil War tokens,
which have no advertising. These
are called Patriotic tokens as they
mostly picture patriotic items: Liber
ty head, eagle, flag, shield, Washing
ton, Lincoln, The Monitor, etc. and/
or slogans: "The Union Must and
Shall Be Preserved," "Constitution
For Ever," "Army And Navy," "United
We Stand, Divided We Fall," etc.).
Civil War tokens are very popular
among collectors. The common
ones in nice, undamaged condition
are worth a couple of dollars each.
The rarest ones top $1,000 apiece.
LATE 19TH CENTURY
MERCHANT TRADE TOKENS
The tokens of this period were
issued primarily by small businesses
such as saloons, billiard halls, soda
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October 1982