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Trade Token

A

Aurium

New member
Found this yesterday afternoon, in a fairly old location I know it's a trade token, It's probably a little hard to read in the picture but it says: Good for 5 cents in Trade.
As far as I can tell it appears to be from the late 1800's around maybe 1880 or so. It has a smooth finish on the obverse side, and it's about the size of a quarter.
Anybody know how to date these things for sure? I did some web searches but didn't find anything exactly like it. But it is my first trade token.. thought it was pretty interesting to find.
 
There are a number of different types of "Trade Tokens". I've seen where some call civil war era tokens 'store cards'. I assume it is just a different name for the same thing. Some have the name of the business, as well as the city and state. Sometimes there is even an address. This is typically on the obverse. The reverse will often have a "Good For" on it like "Good For 12 1/2 Cents In Merchandise" or "Good For A Drink" or "Good For 1 Cigar" or similar. Check with a magnifying glass and see if there is any writing on the front.

Machine tokens used for slot machines in the 20's and 30's often are nickel sized and have a hole in the center (to prevent slugging of gaming machines) and a might say "For Amusement Only" and have a number on the other side.

Many tokens get defaced or thrown away if the business they represent goes out of business making them essentially worthless. Last week I found a trade token from an old business (1905) in Lehi, Utah Good for 25 cents in Merchandise at Retail. There are some examples of this token in the Lehi museum where somebody used them as washers to repair an old chair owned by Orrin Porter Rockwell a gun slinger and body guard for Joseph Smith.

Trade tokens are some of the cooler things you will find metal detecting. Each has a little story to tell. I have reference books for Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming. I'm sure there are other collectors more local to you. Good luck finding many more.

Rich (Utah)
 
I like those trade tokens too, nice finds they are. It is really hard to date a token without the store, state and town on the other side. The 1800's tokens are a lot harder to find in good condition but the 1930's was real popular for "hard times" tokens and I would guess yours is likely from that era.
 
Thanks for the comments and opinions, I found it in this area that was absolutely cluttered with trash. I've found some really interesting things in old rock piles
cluttered with trash, I guess the little token adds to the interesting find pile. I wish there was some additional markings on the token but it's blank, so whether 30's
or late 1880's.. it's fun finding this stuff. Makes all my winter research seem like it payed off so far. (Oh..and the little 5.3 coil strikes again!!) :)
 
Nice find I do enjoy tokens. My guess on that one is the 1930's. [attachment 159931 Reading.gif] Rob
 
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