United States (St. Louis, MO): 1850 copper merchant token, Fitzgibbon Daguerreotype Gallery

United States (St. Louis, MO): 1850 copper merchant token, Fitzgibbon Daguerreotype Gallery

NGC MS64 BN. Cert. #4750640-004.

This token is apparently unlisted in the Numista database, though similar to Numista-230011. That variety is Miller #Mo-22 (gilt brass with reeded edge). This variety is Miller #Mo-21 (copper with plain edge).

Obverse:
FITZGIBBON DAGUERREOTYPE * GALLERY * [eagle design]

Reverse:
OVER D. NICHOLSONS GROCERY STORE . 1850 .
No1
4TH STREET
ST LOUIS
Mo.

The side with the eagle (and Fitzgibbon's name) is technically the obverse, though NGC encapsulated it with that side facing the back of the slab.

Ex-Northeast Numismatics, 20 August 2026, as part of a 5-coin swap deal.

This is a handsome antebellum merchant token with a heraldic eagle similar to the one featured on the gold coins of the era, as well as on other tokens. This type is 27.4 mm, which makes it slightly larger than a quarter and slightly smaller than a half dollar. It is in fact the same diameter as the large cents of the time.

Regarding the issuer, and quoting the missouriartists.org webpage:

"John H. Fitzgibbon was a pioneering photographer in St. Louis, Missouri, opening the city’s second gallery showing daguerreotypes in 1846. He was best known for his studio portraits and photographs of scenes of regional life in the territories west of the Mississippi River. Fitzgibbon was well known in photography circles because of his extensive writing and technical innovations."

I found this token charming for its attractively iridescent toning and the handsome eagle. Its association with an early photographer also appealed to me, as I've long been fascinated with the "time capsule" aspect of early photographs- daguerreotypes in particular. Were my limited budget and attention span not exclusively focused on coins, I could perhaps have been tempted to collect those.








033740

 

Good question. I’m not sure. However, given that this piece and others from the 1850s were large cent sized, and many are in circulated condition today, I would be surprised if they hadn’t been used in commerce as small change at the time.