Hello tdec, This is a U.S. Merchant Token, Id NY65. Listed values in Rulau's catalog (2004) are 7.50 VG, 10.00 F, 25.00 VF, 60.00 UNC. In the years 1858 & 1859 Similar tokens (2 varieties for each year) were issued under the name S.H. Black, and in 1860 (2 var.) and 1861 (1 var.) similar tokens were issued under the name Samuel H. Black. Samuel Black was a popular electrotyper before the Civil War. His store cards seems to be an attempt to keep the large cent series alive as the government ceased production of the large cents in 1857, with Black issueing his tokens each year of 1858 thru 1861. His tokens were made of lead with an electrolytically fused layer of copper. These tokens were a demonstration of his trade. The tokens of these 4 years provide an trail of the 5 addresses and his brief partnership with Friend. His business disappears from the New York directories after 1861.
