I have this really sharp Fruit Growers from Albany New York. 1863 Civil War Token. What do you think it grades out at? and what is it worth?
No idea on both counts but it is a great looking token, never seen a fruit growers one before :thumb: De Orc
Hi tdec1000, Id for your token is NY10A-5a. Rarity is R2 - 2,000 to 5,000 known. This pair of merchants were fairly prolific with 22 varieties. They used 7 obverse dies and 6 reverse dies, most were very very similar with only minor differences in letter positions. I have 5 of the 10 die pairings in copper, and two of the off-metals. Upon looking at your pics, I must express some concerns that the token may be a cast counterfeit. I was looking at the overall roughness on the obverse (rusty dies can legitimately produce a similar appearance), the pits by the "7" (or is it dirt?), and what appears that it could be the remains of the sprue protroding from the rim by the "NJ" of "BENJAMIN". Assuming that it is real though, I would grade it AU (exonumia collectors generally do not use the Sheldon scale), and Kanzingers 2002 book valued it at $15 in XF and $20 in Unc. There are 38 Civil War token merchants that advertised as being fruit or produce dealers. A great deal fewer than the 253 Dry Goods/Millineries or the 404 advertising as Grocers, Provisions, Notions and Crockeries. Probably one of the oddest "topics" is MI225BL, a Dr. L.C. Rose, who advertised "Treats All/Chronic/Female/& Venereal/Diseases/Detroit. That is the sole member for that sought after category, with the 6 varieties listing between $200 and $850.
thanks tokenman, I already put it up for auction on EBAY under my user id is the same as it is there. I love these old tokens.
question for cwtokenman Since this coin is of relatively low value even as a collectors item, what would be the incentive to counterfeit it, and when would it have been done?
Most of the counterfeit Civil War tokens that I possess & have seen are of common tokens. Most are cast, and rather crudely done, often with a copper wash that has mostly washed away. These were not made to fool collectors, but to use in commerce at the time. I would suspect that the extreme shortage of coinage contributed to the fake pieces having circulated, as many of them show wear, some reverting wholly back to the color of the base metal. A cent (or token of equivalent value) was the most commonly used denomination back in that era, and had considerable purchasing power. For instance, a cent could mean the difference if you walked between towns or got to ride. As I said, most fake cwts were of common merchants. That would make sense, as a token that was never/seldom seen would more likely attract scrutiny than one that was very common. Benjamin and Herrick are probably in the top 10 cwt issuers, maybe even in the top 5. That means that there were many of that merchant's tokens around and circulating in commerce, equating to a high acceptance/recognition level. Another thought I have had is that someone producing fake tokens back in the day would probably have little to nothing to worry about. Private issues of money were not illegal, so who would really care about tracking down someone faking private issued money? I'm not saying that your token is positively a fake, but I have considerable suspicion that it is. I will have to check out your auction though, as I do not have a B & H fake. Notice the blotchy/streaky color of the token? That is often an indication of a "wash" that is wearing off, or perhaps just did not take well. The base metals were usually darker than the copper. Look very carefully at the outer edge, magnification may be helpful, and see if there is either a "seam", or file marks where a seam was removed.
CWTokenMan.... I have a question for you! I just got my U.S. Civil War Store Card book, and was wondering how you know the difference between a NY-010-A-5a, 5b, or 5e. They don't have pictures of those varieties... maybe I just don't know how to use the book well enough yet. The Benjamin & Herrick Token that I have is a NY-010-A-1a (OR 1b).... how do I know the difference??? See my attached pics and I'd love an explanation of the a,b,c, etc. varieties!!!
The lower case letters designate the metal used, a is copper, b is brass, e is white metal. See pages 9-10 of the book.
AHHHH!!! Thank you so much! As I said, I was thinking that I just didn't know how to use the Book, and that was IT!!!
Kind of Off-Topic, but I'd say a Carnival Cruise Token is a pretty common token. No notes on it in the TokenCatalog.com. Not valuable unless you find someone who collects Carnival Cruise memorabilia. On EBay, you can buy one for $1.69. Hope that helps!
Yes it does and thank you I'm not much on tokens this is just one that came across my way didn't know anything about it but thank you for your response
Carnival Cruise and Chuck E Cheese type "tokens" make me cringe when compared with Hard Times and Civil War tokens. I also like script, plantation, or pelt tokens. Bridge, tolls, and subway get iffy.
