1859 Flying Eagle Token. Copper Plate Over Lead?

That is really cool! Watching... (sorry to not be of any assistance)

Hi VT & Rusty ....

Rulau listed this Vanderbilt piece as the issue of Samuel H. Black.

http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n45a13.html

One Isaac S. Vanderbilt was listed in the 1859 NY City directory as having a clothing store at 408 Broadway, with a home at 6 St. Luke's Place. Possibly, this New Year's token was connected to a business promotion?

I have an equally scarce NY City token of similar fabric, issued by Phillip A. Dougherty who is also listed as having a liquor store at 75 South St. that year. Whereas the Vanderbilt piece is a Flying Eagle cent look-alike, Black's own tokens, dated 1859-60, replicated large cents. The Dougherty piece, dated 1859, resembles the then new Indian cent design; this, while it had a six cent denomination. Rulau attributed this one to Black, too.

These three radically different, circulating cent designs, circulating in 1857-59, must have generated no small degree of confusion in the marketplace. I would think that this situation was particularly confusing for immigrants, entering NY City and other ports, too. In effect, Black's token issues give me the impression that he was perhaps mocking this "cents-less" situation.

Back to the Vanderbilt piece, I've wondered if his father might have also been Isaac, earlier listed as a pilot. One Isaac Vanderbilt piloted a steamer - Yorkshire. Then too, either or both might have been related to Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad and shipping tycoon. If any of our readers are connected to a genealogy website, they might determine same ...

You guys are awesome!
Thank you :-)