I came across an advertising token on eBay that I'm interested in. It's supposedly from the 1880s in either the UK or Australia and is the size of a British penny. It doesn't say anything about a denomination and just advertises a product. I'm wondering if these sort of things were used as money or if not, what were they for? I know more specific info would help but I just don't want to share a link or photo on the off chance that someone else will see it and decide they have to have it. Basically I don't really collect things that aren't used as money but this has a motif that fits in my collection. It's kind of expensive and I'm trying to talk myself into or out of getting it. I also can't find any sold examples or anything to give me an idea of the real value.
I always figure if it doesn't have a value that it wasn't "intended" as money. That doesn't mean that it wasn't used as such. Of course, all the British collectors will disagree with the above.
Pears Soap in Great Britain counterstamped coins, even French 10cts in the 19th century and they saw quite a bit of wear
I have dozens of halfpenny size tokens, advertising products and services, all dated between 1792 to 1806, none have a denomination. The penny size tokens I have are all monitized with a denomination.
Anything can and probably has been used as money. Seashells come to mind instantly. Barter is a wonderful thing.
We call them 18th-century provincial tokens, Americans call them Conder tokens solely because of this one.
For the late 1700s and early 1800s, copper tokens were definitely used as money. The Napoleonic Wars caused a suspension of convertibility of subsidiary money to gold, and silver did not circulate well as it had been undervalued. I think after around 1820, the UK government cracked down on private tokens, so after that point advertising tokens are less likely to have circulated.
Is there a date on the "token?" I would think that during severe economic down-turns, almost anything resembling a coin could be used as such. Check out the following sites for more information: https://en.numista.com - especially https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?ct=exonumia https://www.collectorsweekly.com/us-coins/trade-tokens http://tokencatalog.com/index.php https://www.worthpoint.com/dictionary/p/coins-currency/tokens/sales-tax-tokens
You said UK or Australia, is it similar to this Melbourne penny from Austraiia Same size as a British Penny
Here's the token I was interested in. I think I've decided not to go for it. I think it's neat and I collect bear coins, but I feel like if I start chasing after non-numismatic items I might end up going down a rabbit hole I don't necessarily want to be down. Anyway, it's supposedly from 1881 but there's no date on it.
I think this was a token to be used at the exhibition. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I've never seen this one before but they are highly prized and fetch good money.
Very cool trade token, exunomia can be very addicting, especially older ones IMO. Reminds me a lot of a store card, CWT. Civil War Token.
