General Washington / New York City Hall Token Question

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 707
Roma2021 Pillar of the Community Italy 1130 Posts	Posted 10/08/2023 1:27 pm Hello everyone, I bought this token today and found the attribution online (although manufacture is circa 1850-1879 depending on the source). I understand these were 'gaming tokens' but what exactly does that mean? Token in lieu of cash for gambling? Surrogate for chips? This is the only token I've found in Rome with any U.S. subject matter... thoughts and information would be appreciated... Thanks! Report this Post to the Staff

Brummagem Valued Member United States 128 Posts	Posted 10/08/2023 8:25 pm I don't know for certain but I would place it as a whist counter. It could have been used for keeping score in that very popular card game. https://www.thewhistmarkersmuseum.c..._26_Articles Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 34398 Posts	Posted 10/08/2023 9:13 pm Thx for helping me learn something today @brumm. @roma, looks to me like these were sometimes gilt, such as the one in this auction on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gaming-Tok...72458?_ul=CR "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16817 Posts	Posted 10/08/2023 9:20 pm It is my understanding that back then, they usually sold packs of cards packaged with a small set of tokens. What you did with the tokens was your business; you could use then as points tallies like in Brummagem's post, or you could use them as money-substitutes - especially in jurisdictions where gambling with playing cards for actual money was illegal. Or you could give them to your kids to use as play money and play your card games without using tokens. Up to you. The token-makers didn't care what you did with them, so long as they made a sale. Many of these tokens were made in Nuremberg, Germany, and exported worldwide. 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
	Replies: 3 / Views: 707

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: General Numismatic Forums Forum: Tokens, Medals, Challenge Coins, and other Exonumia

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.22 seconds to rattle this change.