Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cwtokenman, post: 145086, member: 2100&quot;]Thanks for the compliment cloudsweeper, I do get a bit passionate about tokens at times, and its nice to hear of someone checking them out and developing some interest in them. Before I started this last job, I used to put on an occasional talk in the local jr/sr high schools in history class and present the info from a numismatic viewpoint. It seemed like most of the kids paid attention and could relate to historical events fairly well from a money perspective. The best part was handing out late 1600s to early 1800s tokens/coins (just culls as I sometimes passed out nearly 100 in a day) to everyone in each of the classes, and asking them to think about the hands that were passed thru, and what purchases they had made. That was my big attempt at making history class a bit more bearable, and perhaps stir some interest in collecting as well, but I digress.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would echo your reasons for interest in tokens, and would add that they are much more &quot;personal&quot; than government issues. I rather enjoy reading the background info on a particular person/token issuer, kind of a short trip back into time for me at least. I definitely lean towards the CW tokens, obviously. Hard Times tokens can get a bit pricey in the upper grades, and unc ones do not show up all that often (on ebay). But I was never one to be overly picky as to a certain minimum grade requirement before purchasing, and some are simply not available in high grade. Either type can provide hours of enjoyment. I feel CW tokens provide more opportunity to discover a new variety than HT tokens though if that floats your boat at all.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Stuporman, Jody pretty much hit the mark with the authenticity issue. Fake cwts are pretty scarce, and most of the ones I have seen were made while these tokens were circulating. These were usually poorly done base metal castings with a copper or brass wash to color them. All that I have seen were mimicking very common tokens. These would hardly fool anyone. Interestingly though, many of these crude fakes display considerable wear, with little of the original coloring left. That makes me think that because coinage was in such short supply (a few months after the war started, there were only about 8 coins in circulation per person, and that is including what was sitting in the banks. Banks at the time were paying up to a 30% premium for turning in coinage) that it really did not matter if it was a fake, as it could still be used. The tokens themselves I suppose could be considered as &quot;fake&quot; money, but their use was very widespread. I actively persue fake cwts, and I only manage to pick up one or two per year on average. Buying cwt slabs to prevent buying a fake is IMO about like using Sasquatch repellent. You may never buy a fake cwt, and you may never see a Sasquatch, but does the &quot;protection&quot; deserve the credit? I suspect you may not be overly familiar with cwts, as many are not, but if you have the time and inclination, peruse the cwt section on ebay and let me know if/when you find a fake cwt that is not described as such. </p><p><br /></p><p>There are many instances with regular coinage that I would certainly admit authentication is a valid issue. But as I had mentioned before with the numerous basic types of errors (early cwt slabs I would guess had somewhere near a 25% error rate on the label, of course not counting their misuse of the numbering system nor grading issues), how could I have much trust in them. To put that in a regular coinage perspective, what if 25% of NGCs slabs of normal Lincoln cents had errors such as calling it a Washington quarter or an Indian Head cent, or if the label indicated it was made of brass, or obviously had the wrong year or mint mark, or incorrectly spelled &quot;Lincoln&quot;, or indicated it had a reeded edge, etc. If about 1 of every 4 slabs had such obvious errors, would you find that to inspire confidence in their abitilites? Granted, they seem to do a better job currently, but when they first hit the scene, there was several occasions when I had posted long listings of their errors for what few auctions were ending that given day.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in