GOOD FOR ONE DRINK OR CIGAR - N. TERRILL'S SALOON SAN SIMEON, CAL.

[ziphius]

Hey gang,

I was fortunate enough to dig an old saloon token a couple of days ago and get some background information on it. N. Terrill was 'Newell' Terrell, born in 1852 and died in 1896. He had a saloon in the very small town of San Simeon, which today has a population of less than 500. There was a whaling station there at one time. I understand the saloon owners would give these tokens to make change (one token would be 12 1/2 cents, two for a quarter = two bits) and therefore you would have a 'guarantee' that the token would be spent at your establishment. Or not, in the case of this particular token. Of course, the drinker could take two standard quarters if he was getting that much change. But, otherwise, a token could fill the odd denomination void. I also had a chance to visit the grave of Newell Terrill. Also shown are a couple of other doo-dads I dug the same day. - Jim

 

[Sunny Jim]

That is the coolist Z!

All the history sure makes the find fun. Thanks for sharing history.

SJ

 

[jim tn]

Nice find and part of the fun is learning the history of a find when one can. Neat. HH jim tn

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Very cool find

Of course San Simeon is best known for Hearst Castle. I really want to hunt the beach there, I believe the beach is a state park now, but you should be able to beach detect there.

hh,
Brian

 

[Elton]

Great history..Isn't it amazing what a detector can lead to..Wish I would have had one in High School, and college..Might have had better history grades...

But the truth is I was bored in school..and now I study for hours.... 1492 was just a number......now I realize that was the start for us..and all the stuff that came after..LOL

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Elton it's all about perspective. Back then you (probably) only cared about cars and girls, history wasn't going to get your goat. Now that your depth of life experiences have expanded, you know there's more to life then girls and cars (at least I'm fairly certain there is, no?) and can appreciate the struggles humanity had to endure to get to where we are now.

Besides we all know that 1492 was the year Europeans discovered cigars right?

 

[ziphius]

My brother is a historian and likes to point out why most young people don't like the subject of history. He says "History is something you are told, not something you discover." Not so in this hobby, heh?

PS - I have hunted the beach at San Simeon State beach, walked right by a ranger with my detector, no issues.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Was the San Simeon State beach worth hunting?

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[jim tn]

n/t

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[Bill Ladd]

Tokens like that are often worth alot more than any dug coin....
HH,
Bill

 

[ziphius]

Tokens like that are often worth alot more than any dug coin....
HH,
Bill

Yep, I've already been offered over $400 for it. But this baby is going to be part of a history display that thousands of people will eventually see. I've got an agreement with the manager of the site I dug it at to donate all relics in exchange for exclusive hunting rights there. He likes the control over who enters the site, I like the lack of competition and the honor of being able to detect the site. It's been a wonderful 2-year relationship thus far. Beats having the token go into some coin sleeve and rarely looked at again. I'm working with some historians who are going to see if we can scare up a photo of the saloon itself, and perhaps even the owner. That will make for a great display. I know I myself have a lot of relics in my house that are seen by very few people and I have plans to start organizing these things into displays for donation to local historical societies. Good PR for the hobby.

 

[zaxfire69]

I love the token and the buckle is cool as well.