Early 19th c tokens

I got all these early 19th c tokens a few years ago as part of a collection I purchased I know some are damaged and most have been cleaned (unfortunately) but I know nothing about them as their not in my realm of expertise any info would be greatly appreciated

 

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Ships, Colonies & Commerce is a Canadian token, 50 varieties (!), Charlton #233.

 

Got it in Maine actually got 2 of em only posted one good to know tho

 

I got a few but most of them I haven't taken pics of yet. Here's a few though.

 

Here's a few more. I'll have to come back after I get some pics taken of all the new tokens I've purchased. I have quite a few to show off and when it comes to showing off, I simply can't help myself.

 

"When a Feller Needs a Friend" was a well-known and popular comic strip drawn by Clare Briggs, starting sometime before World War I. I have been unable to find the exact years it was published. If the token says "N.Y.T." on the reverse, that stands for New York Tribune. If attributed to this artist and publisher, your token has the potential to be worth a fair amount.

 

The "hanging sheep" token is Charlton #190 or #191, depending on the reverse.

 

I appreciate the information but it's an Association for the Aid of Crippled Children token, Order of the Good Fellers, dated 1923. The reverse is right below it.

 

Oops, sorry. I get confused when there's a whole string of images. Very interesting to note that in this era, the swastika was still a "good-luck" symbol, along with the four-leaf clover. The swastika was also a popular motif on blankets and beaded jackets designed by Native Americans, Civil War era until World War I. Some picture postcards of the 1910s also show a swastika, which had absolutely no Nazi connections at this point in time.

 

Swastikas are symbols of the sun and life too. Depends on the culture it relates to.

 

definitely NOT a swastika.

It was a fylfot.

many different uses, not in the Nazi manner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fylfot

 

The device on the token has the fully-extended arms of a swastika, plus the first sentence in the article confirms that "swastika" and "fylfot" are synonyms; what's your point? In any case, because NOBODY on this forum would have known what a "fylfot" was (and I didn't either), I used the common terminology known to all of us.

Furthermore, this example has nothing to do with heraldry. Nor did my post imply any connection between the token and the Nazis -- I called it a "good luck symbol," which is absolutely correct, as was the further comment that the device, represented "sun" and "life" also. I have nothing more to say about the subject.

 

I did. (guess I'm a nobody.)

 

FYI - the 'hanging sheep' is most likely the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Golden_Fleece

 

Great word! I'll add it to my vocabulary.

 

Me too was a popular image in early American culture especially in Pennsylvania German I have carved fylfots (more rounded lobes than a swastika) and stars around my doorway is very unusual and original to the house ca 1785 an ancient motif that's whole meaning changed due to hitler

 

I usually refer to them as a pinwheel as the majority of people don't know what a fylfot is

 

Just a point of reference:

The 'swastika' specifically relates to the symbol as used in the Nazi era.
In fact although the fylfot was the original terminology, there are many variations of the design, including (by the Pennsylvania Dutch) in woodworks, of the symbol with curved arms and frequently with the arms reversed.

To add, yes, the original symbol was a sign of good luck.

 

This article from www.etymonline.com should put an end to the nonsense spouted here:

swastika (n.)
Greek cross with arms bent at right angles, 1871 (later specifically as emblem of the Nazi party, 1932), from Sanskrit svastika-s, literally "being fortunate," from svasti-s "well-being, luck," from su- "well" + as-, root of asti "(he) is," which is from the same PIE root as Latin esse "to be" (see essence).

Also known as gammadion (Byzantine), cross cramponnee (heraldry), Thor's hammer, and, perhaps, fylfot. Originally an ancient cosmic or religious symbol thought to bring good luck. Use in reference to the Nazi emblem first recorded in English in 1932. The German word was Hakenkreuz, literally "hook-cross."

fylfot (n.)
supposedly a native name for the swastika (used as a decorative device), but only attested in a single, damaged c.1500 manuscript, and there it may refer to any sort of device used to fill the bottom (foot) of a design. "it is even possible that it may have been a mere nonce-word" [OED].

gammadion (n.)
swastika-like figure formed of four capital gammas, Medieval Greek gammadion, diminutive of Greek gamma (see gamma).

Hakenkreuz (n.)
1931, proper German name for the Nazi swastika (q.v.), literally "hook-cross," from Old High German hako "hook," from Proto-Germanic *hoka-, from PIE *keg- "hook, tooth" (see hook (n.)).