This class also includes gold coins, minted to provide a more convenient means of exchange than raw gold. The gold issues are represented here by the smallest denominations, gold $.25, $.50 & $1.00, all issued in 1853.
| Early American Tokens Prior to 1831 |
Hard
Times Tokens 1831-1843 |
Merchant Tokens 1844 - 1860. |
Period
I
Fractional Gold 1853-1856 |
Civil
War tokens 1861-1865 |
Specialized Use | Trade & Misc Tokens |
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Early American Privately Issued Tokens & Coins (before 1834) As with the Hard Times Tokens and Civil War Tokens, the Early American tokens included anonymous monetary issues, some with political implications, and tokens identified with specific merchants. The former group includes pieces which were minted abroad, such as the Rosa Americana & Hibernia coinage of 1722-1724, the 1760 Voce Populi, and the Nova Contstellatio coppers. Rulau lists only about 30 issuers of struck tokens for the Early American Period. Ironically, the more popular, thus expensive, pieces from this series tend to be those with the greatest mintage, such as the Mott Token, and Talbot Alum & Lee. This group also includes a number of pieces struck in England. For a more detailed examination of this period see the Notre Dame University collection which includes plates of die varieties for major issues. Issues NOT Advertising a Commercial Issuer. |
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Hard Times Tokens 1834-1844
The "Hard Times", strictly speaking, referred to the "recession" of 1837-1838, when 90% of the factories and the United States closed following a banking crisis, which was credited to Andrew Jackson. At the heart of this period, these large cent sized tokens became necessary substitutes for the government issued coins, which were to a large extent hoarded.
This rich and varied series has achieved a substantial following, with some pieces commanding thousands of dollars. The series includes politically oriented tokens, commercial advertising tokens, and anonymous monetary tokens. A small sampling follows.
Perhaps the most enduring result of this series is emergence of the donkey as the symbol of the Democratic Party.
Political and Monetary Issues.
Store Cards.
HTT 150
Low 83 1834 HW & EI Richards Attleboro MA |
HTT 152 Low 75  Robinson & Jones Button Manufacturer - NY Struck HTT 69. |
HTT 219 Low 107  Anderson Shoes & boots |
HTT 240
Low
111 Center Markets |
HTT
293 Low 97 |
HTT M19 Low 366 C.D. Peacock est 1837 Chicago, Il. Time is Money Ca. 1900 Gorham |
Merchant Tokens 1844-1860
The practice of merchants privately issuing tokens continued after the "Hard Times" and, as the minters of Merchant Tokens, especially S.D. Childs of Chicago, also minted CWT's, served as a bridge between the Hard Times Tokens and Civil War Tokens.
Unlike the Hard Times Tokens, the Merchant Tokens did not fill an urgent need for circulating coins. Rather, these pieces served predominantly to advertise the business of the issuer. A consequence of the absent demand for privately issued small change is the disappearance of the "political" token which could not be ascribed to a commercial establishment.
The Merchant Tokens, which outnumber the Hard Times Tokens in number and variety of designs, have not achieved the popularity with collectors as either the Hard Times Tokens or the Civil War Tokens.
Rulau NY510. E. LYON, NEW YORK, "Magnetic Powder & Pills for Insects & Rats. Obv & Rev Devices of $5 gold piece |
Rulau Ill 26 Pearson & Dana Boots & shoes Chicago, IL Rev Devices of $10 gold piece |
Ill 4 Baker & Moody ChicagoObv: Hat Rev Devices of $10 gold piece |
Wisc 11 1850's A.B. Van Cott Watches. Obv: clock face Rev: Devices of $10 gold piece |
Mich 10  1855-61 Foster & Parry Grand Rapids, MI Obv: Wood stove Rev Padlock |
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Enigmatic token. 1859
Marshalll House Rulau VA103 This token, but for the 1859 date, appears to be a Civil War Token. This could be explained by the backdating of the token to refer to something other than the date of issue, perhaps the date the inn opened. Perhaps, this would be a southern issue Civil War Token. On the other hand, if this piece was issued in 1859, it would be the first use of the Lovett obverse which otherwise was unknown on pieces easlier than 1860. The
Marshall
House stood on the corner of King and South Pitt
streets. It was torn down in the 1950's. James W. Jackson was killed by Union
troops after he shot and killed Col. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth. Jackson's
promise that the Confederate flag he raised over the hotel would be
torn down "over his dead body" was fulfilled[1][2].
Ellsworth,
a young Illinois lawyer and friend of the Lincolns, became
the first Union officer to die in the Civil War[3][4].
Today
the site of the Marshall house is occupied by a fine modern
hotel, the Hotel Monaco. A plaque at the corner commemorates the death
of James W. Jackson, killed "for defending his property," but makes no
mention of his shotgun slaying of Col. Ellsworth. Thus the text has a
decidedly southern bias. No mention or monument to the fallen colonel
of the famous New York "Fire Zouaves" is present. Artifacts collected
during the construction process were preserved by local archeologists
and may be seen in the Old Torpedo Factory's third floor exhibit (the
Alexandria Archaeology Museum), three blocks away on King Street [5]. |
 Marshall House Inn, circa 1861-1869 |
| Civil War Tokens | Store Cards |
Sutler Tokens | Patriotic Tokens |
| The
Civil War saw virtually complete hoarding of all government
issued coins. These (small) cent sized tokens circulated in
place of the government issued cents. The Red Book estimates over 50
million pieces issued, in 10,000 varieties. The Civil War tokens (CWT) are divided into three groups, tradesman's tokens, the RARE Sutler tokens and anonymously issued pieces with political or patriotic themes. All saw circulation as money. |
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Civil War Tokens - References:
Civil War Token Resources - The most comprehensive Civil War Token information site on the Internet
CWT-links.
RARITY SCALE: R10 Unique; R9 2-4; R8 5-10; R7 11–19; R6 20–74; R5 75–199; R4 200–499; R3 500–1999;R2 2000–4999; R1 >5,000
Appreciation of Civil War Tokens from the Stack' s Sale of the Alan Bleviss Collection 11/9/2009.
* Patriotic Civil War Tokens, George and Melvin Fuld, Whitman Publishing Co., 1960
Advertising Tokens / Store Cards
 Augustus Lindenmueller Tavern Owner |
From Wikipedia: By 1862, the second year
of the Civil War, government-issued coinage
began vanishing from circulation. American citizens hoarded all coins
with gold and silver, and eventually began hoarding copper-nickel cents
as well. This made it extremely difficult for businesses to conduct
transactions. In response, many merchants turned to private minters to
fill the void left by the hoarded coins. The first of these privately
minted tokens appeared in the autumn of 1862, by H. A. Ratterman, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
It is estimated that by 1864, there were 25,000,000 Civil War tokens
(nearly all redeemable for one cent) in circulation, consisting of
approximately 7,000–8,000 varietieThe The Lindenmueller token is one of
the best-known and commonly struck store cards known. Theyy are named
for New York
barkeep Gustavus Lindenmueller. In 1863, Lindenmueller had more than
one
million of his one-cent tokens struck and placed into circulation. One
of the common uses for the token was for streetcar fare. The Third
Avenue Railroad company of New York, which had willingly accepted a
large quantity of the Lindenmueller tokens in lieu of actual currency,
asked Lindenmueller to
redeem them. He refused, and the railroad had no legal recourse.
Incidents such as these eventually forced the government to
intervene. Store
Card
Reverse Die photos. |
| Childs Chicago Die sinker |
Frank L. Gays Providence RI |
D.L. Wing, Albany NY "Union Bread" |
Oliver Boutwell Miller Troy,
NY |
Hiebrach - Grocer |
Broas pie maker |
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 The Childs firm engraved many CWT's, often including the firm's name and the above image. |
 "Good for" One Cent |
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Patriotic Die photos.
Text Cross Reference.
Graphical Cross Reference.
Patriotic Civil War Tokens Die Pairings.*
 P255/393 |
"Knickerbocker Currency" P 255 /P
393; 21.5 mm; 2.8 g. Issued by William H. Bridgens, 189 William St. N.Y. According to Fuld*, In the spring of 1863, the Lindenmueller currency was issued in New York City-a million pieces being struck.William H. Bridgens then issued the Knickerbocker currency, in many varieties, in large quantities. Fuld ascribes the following dies to Bridgens: 37, 120 (R-6), 138, 202, 254, 255, 256 (R-2), 257 (R-3), 390, 390a, 392, 393, 433, 434.° * Patriotic Civil War Tokens, George and Melvin Fuld, Whitman Publishing Co., 1960 Bridgens dies:
|
| Crowned Indian | "Little Mac" |
Pro Bonno Publico / NY |
1863 Statue with Horse | |||||
 P54 / P179 |
 P140 / P394 |
 P191/P443 |
 Two hooves raised is thought to siginify a soldier who died in battle. 1 hoof raised (176/271) 2 hooves raised (178/266) R-3 (There are exceptions) |
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Sutler Tokens.
According to wikipedia: Sutlers, frequently the only local supplier of non-military goods, often developed monopolies on simple commodities like tobacco, coffee, or sugar and rose to powerful statures. Since government-issued coinage was scarce during the Civil War, sutlers often conducted transactions using a particular type of Civil War token known as a sutler token. Of the three types of civil war tokens, the Sutler tokns are BY FAR the rarest. wikipedia. |
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5¢.
Ohio. 2nd Regiment Ohio Cavalry. 5¢. Schenkman-OH-C5B. Rarity-7. Sharpness of VF-25, From the Alan Bleviss Collection of Civil War Tokens. |
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10¢. Non
Local. R.R. Landon. 10¢.
Schenkman-NL-Q10B. Rarity-8. Sharpness of EF-40, From the Alan Bleviss Collection of Civil War Tokens. |
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25¢. Pennsylvania. Geo
McAlpen. 25¢. Schenkman-PA-C25C. Rarity-6.
Sharpness of EF-40, but holed near the rim at 12:00 with respect to the
obverse. Partially chestnut brown deepening to slate-brown. All
inscriptions are sharp and clear. Manufactured by Peter H. Jacobus the
Philadelphia die sinker. Sutler's information in three lines. George McAlpen served as sutler to the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry. From the Alan Bleviss Collection of Civil War Tokens. |
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50¢. Ohio.
J.B. Spitzer. 50¢.
Schenkman-OH-V50C. Rarity-7. Sharpness of Fine-12, |
| Specialized Use Tokens Company store tokens were issued as advances to pay. This is spelled out on the Western Supply Co. token. Issuers included lumber mills, cotton mills, plantations and coal mines. A literal reading of many of the tokens made by the Osborne Register Co. suggests that they were denominated in "Orco" as opposed to dollars. Pickers were given tokens as they turned in the stated quantity. Presumably, at the end of the day the tokens would be turned in to credit each picker according to his production. Links: See Collecting U.S. Tokens: Challenges and Rewards ROBERT D. LEONARD JR.. .Company Store Scrip.Company Towns-No.Florida 1880-1930.Token guy .A Short History of Token Use in South Carolina.Louisiana Trade Tokens.North Carolina.Brinson, GA. COMPANY STORES
GOOD FOR TOKENS
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| Masonic Pennies | Employee Check Token | Local Chamber of Commerce Token |
 McKeesport PA 1899-1924 Indianapolis, IN #2376 Chartered 5/25/1845 HTWSSTKS |
 Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant Employee Check Token |
 Maui Dollar 1973 |
| Military-See also Sutler tokens |
Prison | Tax Token |
Transportation Tokens |
Toll |
WWII OPA Ration Tokens | |
 CAMP YOUNGHANS NCO MESS 7-6-5 MILITARY TRADE TOKEN |
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 1900's Mississippi Sales Tax Token |
 Rochester, NY Los Angeles, CA Transit tokens |
 Decatur, NE Onawa, IA Bridge Toll Token |
 Office of Price Administration\ Blue: Processed foods Red for meats and fats. 16mm vulcanized fiber (celluloid) Rarity: MV>>WC,WH,MM,WC,WC |
| Modern Store Cards. Although these pieces did not circulate, I appreciate the gesture to tradition. THANX!! |
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Circulating California Fractional
Gold (1852-1856) the smallest denominations of privately
issued gold coins |