Rare civil war store card token. Jody? Can ya help..

..I was told before by someone that has a token book that this token is a rare one. Only 5-9 known to exist. Never was given a value though. Can anyone help with this one.
I believe Jody said she has a token book. Any help will be appreciated. I know its in pretty rough shape but I love finding civil war tokens. They all have their own uniqueness to them. Some I find are in great shape. Not this one. Jim

 

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It is:

S. Holland & Son/mortar and pestle/Druggists/Jackson/Mich.

CWT 525A-1a

Rarity: R8 (estimated 2 or 3 specimens survive)

Reverse Die: 1098

Metal: C

Edge: PL

These are very scarse and there is no known price guide for them.
Their value is solely dependant on what a collector is willing to pay.

 

(LOL) Didn't catch that part.

 

There was an example that sold at auction last year, (maybe Bowers) that was PCGS F-12 it brought about $600.
If this were mine, I would have NCS conserve the coin, or if it cannot be conserved, have Anacs grade it, then send it to auction. Offering for general sale will not bring its true value.

Great Find!

 

Sorry Jody for the she thing. Thanks for the information though. What is "mortar and pestel" Also can you tell me what the letters stand for, the "CWT525A-1a" ??
Wow, I didn't know there were only 2 or 3 known. I thought there were a little more than that out in the world. What are the odds of me finding one with a metal detector? Pretty slim I would say. Fun stuff.
Hey National, What are the cost involved in having a token conserved? If they decided not to do it am I only out the shipping expenses? Anacs will grade tokens? Must be or ya wouldn't of said so. I don't know what I wanna do with the thing. I love it because it was the first one I found that had my hometown on it, "Jackson". I have since found a few more with my home town on them. One is a patrioctic token though. In a lot better shape. Jim

 

Jim,

I'll answer the questions that I am able to.

A "mortar and pestle" are the designs on the token that depict the tools a druggist would use to crush and mix ingredients to make up his prescriptions.

CWT 525A-1a is an identification number that stands for this particular Civil War Token.

I'm afraid I don't know much about slab companies or the services they offer.

But in case I didn't mention it, thank you for bringing this rare token to the attention of the forum. I can only speak for myself, but this is very exciting.

 

Here is one other ID number. The FULD Number is:

MI525A-1a

FULD shows 5 to 10 examples known. Still R-8 and very rare. Now with these known numbers, they could represent examples cataloged repeatedly.

 

Thanks all for the info. Like Jody said, it is pretty exciting to find or have something that is rare. Thats the fun for me of metal detecting, ya never know what the next signal dug may be.
One other neat find that comes to mind as an example of an exciting find, there are a few more as well. Is the time I found a confederate North Carolina civil war button at an old home right up the road from my house. The fun of it was that I didn't even know what it was til I posted it on a metal detecting forum and some guys there were all excited telling me what I had. Not a replica or anything. Was told it was probably a souvenir of a civil war soldier that came back home. That was another fun find. Enough rambling. Thanks again, Jim

 

Just wanted to update this thread with a few clarifications that were provided by a friend who has devoted his collecting efforts almost entirely to tokens.

This token is one of two varieties for that merchant, both with an R8 rating. (5-8 known)

The cwt ID number should have included the two letter abbreviation for the state, and is properly written as: MI525A-1a

A couple of facts about cwt's are that about 70% of the approximately 14,000 varieties have populations of 20 or less.
Even the common varieties only need a population of 5,000 to receive an R1 rating.

Bryan Kanzinger's 2002 guide book does give values for nearly all cwt's.
MI525A-1a comes in at $200 in F/VF, $400 in XF, and $600 in Unc.
The other variety for that merchant must be a little harder to find. The only value listed for MI525A-2a is $750 in Unc.

I think this only reiterates what many of us have known all along. You can never have enough referance materials. My book was a general guide to all US tokens. Specialized books on specific subjects, as a rule, are always better.

I want to thank cwtokenman for his advice and knowledge, and his willingness to share them.

 

Could not agree more. Make sure that you update your library with each new edition. Many new finds and new interpretations happen in this hobby each year. Specific coin clubs are also a wealth of info that should not be overlooked.

 

Thanks Jody for the additional information. Since the one I found it so corroded its probably not worth more than $50.00. Worth a lot more than that to me though. It is from my home town and I love it. I'll post another one I found that is in better condition. Maybe you could give me some info on that one as well. Thanks again, Jim