I just picked up an 1855 PEI token. I have about 20 1800's tokens from PEI, NB, upper and lower Canada. I really like them. They don't cost much and have some really cool designs on them. I think they are an undervalued segment of exonumia. I could be wrong, but how can I go too wrong when they cost $5? Anyone else have an interesting token or story to share?
I love those Bas Canada ones. My earliest is a "bust and Harp" token from 1820. It may have been struck in Ireland, but was used in Canada.
Here's another I found from New Brunswick: I like the ship motif. They came in half and full penny versions. I got the penny for around $18
I agree - there's some fun history in those, and they're often available cheaply. I think most people (even fairly well educated numismatists) just don't recognize them. For example: http://www.cointalk.com/t220021/
Yes, they are confusing. I think there were about a thousand varieties of each one. (maybe that's an exaggeration, but not by much). I just get the ones I can find and put them in my stash. I keep upgrading and I have about 20 really good ones now. They were all minted early on, and if you compare them to US tokens they are very inexpensive. I found a bunch in a coin shop in Portland, Maine and the owner was almost talking me out of buying them. I got all the ones I could afford. I have a book I found called Coins of Canada from 1985 which has all the tokens. There are a lot of them.
Gorgeous and interesting coins/tokens fellas ... Yah, I don't collect them, but only because I already have so many other incomplete sets on the go at the moment (but I'll tuck these gems away in my mind => new cool sets to start, that I'll never complete) :burger:
You should be able to find some in Manitoba. They were mostly in the eastern side of the country, but I'm sure that some are kicking around out there. They usually cost from $5-$10, so they aren't too hard on the wallet. I just get a 20 coin sleeve and collect them when I see them.
I was looking at Australian tokens in my 1800' Standard Catalog, and they are a lot more expensive. The cheapest one I could find from the 1800's went for around $75. I think Canadian tokens are the thing to buy now. There is no way they won't become more popular. US hard times tokens and Civil war tokens go for around $30-$45 nowadays, so that market is a lot more expensive too. I think these Canadian tokens are early, some dating to the beginning of the 19th century and they can be found relatively cheaply.
I think it's a split open codfish. They used to lay them on racks, salt it and make dried cod, which was then transportable. They would use it in Bacalao in Portugal for example. It was a major commodity until recently.
Look around in Detroit, or over in Windsor, Ontario. I'm sure there are some around. They were issued in lower and upper Canada, which means Quebec and Ontario both had their own tokens.
