Copper Tokens... Slightly Larger Than Modern Cents.

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 4,150
ratio411 Pillar of the Community United States 1208 Posts	Posted 05/17/2008 8:13 pm The top token is copper, holed, slightly larger than a modern cent. One side says "Good for 5 cents trade". The other side has 5 numbers, almost like a zip code. I'd like to know all about this one. However, it might be tough with such little info. Funny that it is the size of a cent, yet is worth 5c in goods/trade. This might be an older one if I had to guess. The middle token is not really what I brought here for discussion. It just happens to be there. It is a Chicago Transit Authority token. I have no idea of the time frame it is from. No dates on it. If anyone could date it, that'd be great! The bottom token is the one I am really interested in. I was told by a coin dealer that it was a 19th century "hard times token". However, I have my doubts due to the size being close to cents that weren't around at that time. Seems like it would be larger if it was from that time period. It is thicker and slightly larger diameter than a modern cent. Obviously copper, with a chocolate patina. Anyone know the what, when, and why of this token? The where is covered right on the coin. I'd like to know the when, to get an age. Thanks! Dave Edited by ratio411 05/17/2008 9:25 pm Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16827 Posts	Posted 05/18/2008 12:37 am Tokens very similar to the top one were made and used here in Australia for American-imported slot machines in the 1930's. That's probably about the same time period as yours. The bottom one is listed on this page of Indiana Civil War period store cards. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
KurtS Pillar of the Community United States 5318 Posts	Posted 05/18/2008 5:41 pm Those are very interesting! For some reason, I thought Australia for the first as well...perhaps because they have a history of annular coins and tokens? Report this Post to the Staff
ratio411 Pillar of the Community United States 1208 Posts	Posted 05/18/2008 7:02 pm Great info on the Higgins coin! Thanks! On the holed token... The number is not a ZIP. Would be Maryland, but no such. Funny, because I probably got it from Maryland if I had to guess where I obtained it. The slot machine idea is interesting, however the "5 cents in trade" bothers me. Seems like a slot token wouldn't have a trade value. Make sense? Report this Post to the Staff
biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 05/19/2008 1:31 pm For the CTA fare token, visit this site http://www.exonumist.com/- they have a state by state breakdown for some transportation tokens Report this Post to the Staff
HandsomeToad New Member United States 3 Posts	Posted 06/12/2008 01:58 am The top one is probably a trade token from the late 50's or 60's and the number is probably a phone number. Back in those days, small to medium sized towns only used the last five digits of the 7 digit phone number, so that's all I can figure it could be. Ribbit :) Report this Post to the Staff
KurtS Pillar of the Community United States 5318 Posts	Posted 06/12/2008 02:21 am The top one persisted in my memory, due to the style of the numbers. Comparing to coins of the period, I'd say the digits more closely match the style of the late 1800s to WWI. Of course, they might have easily copied that style, but to a modern audience, the 1 digits would be confusing. Report this Post to the Staff
Numismat Pillar of the Community United States 1666 Posts	Posted 06/15/2008 9:52 pm The bottom piece is not a token, it's a store card used for advertising. it's about the size of a nickel, right? During the Civil war they often had these with mottos like "Union for ever" and patriotic pictorials of eagles and such. Yours is not from the Civil war, but the question remains... is it before or aftter? My initial hunch is that it's a bit before, maybe mid 1850's up to 1860. Could be wrong though! Report this Post to the Staff
ratio411 Pillar of the Community United States 1208 Posts	Posted 07/23/2008 8:42 pm Quote: The bottom piece is not a token, it's a store card used for advertising. it's about the size of a nickel, right? No, it's the size of a cent. Quote: During the Civil war they often had these with mottos like "Union for ever" and patriotic pictorials of eagles and such. Yours is not from the Civil war, but the question remains... is it before or aftter? My initial hunch is that it's a bit before, maybe mid 1850's up to 1860. Could be wrong though! The link that SAP gave me to identify it shows it to be from the Civil War. It also calls it BOTH a token and a store card. It's great that mine is nicer than the one for sale in the link, and it sold for 100 bux! Quote: The top one persisted in my memory, due to the style of the numbers. Comparing to coins of the period, I'd say the digits more closely match the style of the late 1800s to WWI. Of course, they might have easily copied that style, but to a modern audience, the 1 digits would be confusing. I have been thinking the exact same thing. The font, especially of the numbers, is 19th century IMO. Report this Post to the Staff
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