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 Replies: 11 / Views: 965 |
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Valued Member
United States
395 Posts |
This token has been sitting on my desk for years. I assumed it was from the Toledo area but I could not verify it.  Today I posed this question to Google's AI: What was the address of Mcmullen & Cross cigar store in Toledo Ohio. I immediatley got this answer: TheMcMullen & Cross cigar store was located at 216 Summit Street, Toledo, OH, in the late 1800s and early 1900s I will have to check a city directory to make sure this is not a hallucination but if it checks out this is going to make identifying tokens a lot easier. |
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Moderator
 United States
34393 Posts |
Hmm interesting. When you have certainty, pls be sure to update your listing over on tokencatalog. Thx!
"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
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
Very interesting!  |
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
I'm skeptical right now that this is accurate. Though I do hope you can verify it :) I found that address in Ohio during that time, and there are businesses there but no McMullen & Cross that I found. FWIW, I did find an advertisement for a McMullen & Cross in Attica, Kansas, in 1905. It would seem they were only in business together for a few months, from about January to March.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
395 Posts |
Interesting. I'm going good find some time to go to the Toledo public Library and see if I can find some period directories to verify one way or the other.
I did use AI to identify the Owosso & Corunna token I posted in the continuing thread. I was able to verify using the Atwood transit token book.
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
Quote:
I'm skeptical right now that this is accurate. Though I do hope you can verify... Very interesting.  |
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
Ancestry.com says it has the Toledo directories from 1864 to 1935 scanned, and I've been searching them using names and keywords and haven't come up with anything yet.
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Moderator
United States
94636 Posts |
very interesting method of searching
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Valued Member
United States
395 Posts |
I asked google Gemini "What historical records place McMullen and Cross Cigar Store at 216 Summit st in Toledo Ohio" and received this:
#8203;"Here are the specific historical records that place the business at that address:
#8203;1. R.L. Polk & Co.'s Toledo City Directory (1895)
#8203;The Polk City Directory is the most definitive record for this era. It served as the "Yellow Pages" of the 19th century.
#8203;Business Listing: Under the "Cigars and Tobacco" classification, "McMullen & Cross" is listed specifically at 216 Summit.
#8203;Individual Listings: The directory also lists the partners individually: James McMullen and George Cross, often cross-referencing their business address as 216 Summit."
The Toledo Public Library online catalog says they have a copy of the 1895 Polk directory. I will go down and verify this next week.
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
That's so scary... I hope you find something to confirm it b/c from what I am seeing it seems to be totally concocted. And it feels like "1984" come to life! Here's what is scanned on Ancestry for the 1895 Polk directory for Toledo under Cross, McMullen, and Cigars /Tobacco. I don't see them listed here -   |
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Valued Member
United States
395 Posts |
Interesting, Google Gemini seems to have trouble understanding which edition of Polk it is using. It pointed me to what it said was an online version of 1895 when it was actually 1913. The Toledo Library has close to a full collection so maybe I will find Mcmullen & Cross in another edition. On the other hand you may have solved another mystery that has been sitting on my desk. See that E.S. Ward at the bottom of the "Cigars and Tobacco - Retail" section?  |
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
That's a good possibility for your Ward token! I checked the Ancestry scanned 1913 Toledo directory and under Cross, McMullen, the street index, and cigars, and did not find a match. I'll leave the interim years to you for the library. But I would confirm any information you get from an AI source. They aren't yet trustworthy. They want to give answers; sometimes they have the correct information, but if they don't have it, they make it up. It can be very dangerous.  |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 965 |
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Posted 12/21/2025 12:51 pm
