I picked this up during my last LCS visit. I figured it was some kind of token, but a Google search yields not a single match. It's hard to believe no one has ever posted anywhere about this, but I can't find anything. Anyone have any knowledge about this? I also considered that it is some kind of toy money but still I can't find anything.
My first thought was the "2 Cents" side was a host coin for a private strike on the reverse about Irv Niemoeller. Would "Irv" possibly be a nickname for Martin Niemoeller? He was a fairly prominent fellow.
There was no 1958 Ceylon 2 cents made, and the ones from around that time period look different. And just Googling Irv Niemoeller doesn't yield any matches so I don't think it's related to Martin. Irv would usually be Irving.
There was a set of books back in the 1950's (?) by a fellow named Pridmore or Pridemore (Spelling?) that many list this.
Might be this fellow: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151620809/irvin-robert-niemoeller He would've been 31 in 1958. I found a picture of him at age 19. https://archive.org/details/classmates-yearbook-14183-1946-walnut-hills-high-school/page/46/mode/2up?q="Irvin+Niemoeller" It's possible Ceylon is referring to the name of a business, not the country. But I don't have any evidence to support that.
It's some good ideas and good research. I also had the thought that it is from Ceylon and I'm just not seeing anything because few of them made it to America and no one is posting about it, but it's hard to say. I think this is the first time I've had a coin or token that I couldn't find anywhere.
I didn't find anything specifically about this token but I'm pretty sure it's a merchant token...likely from a bar. I think Ceylon is the name of the town where it's located. There are a number of towns in the US with that name, three alone in Pennsylvania. I found a few people named Irvin Nie Moeller but couldn't link him to any of them. Since There's no address for the business it must have been well known locally. Also, the use of the nickname "Irv" shows a familiarity with the proprietor. I'll keep looking. Bruce
I found this out about Irvin R. Niemoeller. "Irvin retired in 1996 as a Regulator from the State of Ohio and also was employed by various Savings and Loans for 40 years." Not a very likely candidate for an owner of a business. Source: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cincinnati/name/irvin-niemoeller-obituary?id=48054660
Just checked tokencatalog.com. Several listings for Ceylon, but did not see yours. It's easy to list "new discoveries".
