Here is a token I got from my grandfather...Sound like it is from Presidio in San Francisco but no idea what year (or era) ....no idea if it is rare or whether it is worth anything. Had a good look all over the internet and have seen a lot of tokens but nothing like this. Any advise on where I might out more about this or has anyone seen one of these before?
There is at least one other Presidio. Monterey, California, has one. It's where the military language school is. Your token doesn't specify a place but maybe someone will recognize the building on the coin. The school is now named the Defense Language Institute, DLIFLC.
The token is listed in Cunningham, Military tokens of the United States as being used at The Presidio of San Francisco, Catalog No. CA1440. It is valued in the catalog at $200. The years of use are not provided.
Many thanks guys that gives me something to go on. If I find anything interesting I will report back.
Reference Cunning Vol I pg 56, catalog number CA1440, brass, scalloped, 26mm. According to Cunningham that is Fort Point pictured on the token. Cunningham gave it a value of $35 in 1994. The values are useless except to maybe hint at the relative scarcity of a particular token at the time of publication.
I personally like tokens with more than just a value on them. I think you have a somewhat scarce token that is more interesting that the thousands that are just round with a denomination on them.
I wonder if my late in-laws might have used them. He was in the Coast Guard in WWII. Mostly involved in convoying freighters and troop ships across the Atlantic, but also drove a landing boat on D-day. After VE day, he was moved San Francisco. When VJ was declared, there was a huge celebration on Market Street. Somehow he received a big gash from broken glass (never heard the details) and was put in the hospital in the Presidio. One of his nurses there was his future wife. Ironic that he survived the war in the Atlantic and D-day only to be injured in a victory celebration. Didn't get a purple heart for that. One of the nicest people I've met. Cal
Great info - thanks for sharing it here. That's a poor likeness of the Fort, but it got the Point across to me!
Such fantastic information gents! Such a good call from CoinCorgi about it being Fort Point. I saw pictures on the internet of Fort Point and could not see anything that I could match up to the picture on the coin. Thanks JWT708 for the Cunningham reference details which is incredibly helpful. Much appreciated to all
My grandfather was in the cavalry in WWI although was too late to see active service. He was a fantastic marksman so they made him a cook. Irony abounds!
