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Message:: [QUOTE="BRandM, post: 1119413, member: 22729"]Nice tokens Traci. I can't help you with the sesquicentennial piece, but I am familiar with the Professor Johnson token. His full name is William Johnson, and he was N.Y. City perfumer in the 1850's and 60's. He made soaps, hair dyes, blacking (shoe polish), and a bunch of other chemicals. The portrait is actually that of Louis Kossuth the Hungarian revolutionary of the late 1840's. He was very popular in the U.S. and when he came to this country for a visit in 1852 (the date on your token) he was treated like royalty. Apparently Johnson used his celebrity to help sell his products. The good professor issued a bunch of different tokens, mostly in the 1850's. They're documented in Russ Rulau's token catalogue, which is one of the "bibles" for collectors. This particular token is designated NY 401 by Rulau. All of his tokens were struck by the Scovill Manufacturing Co. of Waterbury, CT. Unfortunately, they're all fairly common and not worth a lot, but still it's a nice historic piece.  Bruce[/QUOTE]