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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cwtokenman, post: 174982, member: 2100&quot;]Jim, since you have made the effort to do some research, I thought I would offer this information on the chance some of it may be new to you.</p><p><br /></p><p>From <i>Scouting Exonumia Worldwide</i> by Rudy J. Dioszegi,</p><p><br /></p><p>Forrest and A. Grave Williams, brothers, started the Excelsior Manufacturing Company at Pig Corner in Portsmouth, Ohio around the turn of the 20th century. They began by making Sam Brown belts and spats. As the firm grew, it was moved and expanded to the Williams Manufacturing Company. From this beginning, with the help of Brian Mathews, the Excelsior Shoe Company was started in early 1910. The company subsequently became the manufacturer of &quot;The Original &#039;Boy Scout&#039; Shoe for Boys&quot;. The shoes also had the official imprimatur of the Boy Scouts of America organization.</p><p><br /></p><p>The medallions - considered the first United States Scout medallions - were apparently issued between July, 1910 and January, 1914. The original group of medallions are dated July, 1910, while subsequent issues omit all reference to date. There appears to be eight major varieties.</p><p><br /></p><p>To date, two manufacturers are evidenced for these medallions. 1st, the Schwaab Stamp and Seal Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2nd, The Whitehead &amp; Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. Schwaab appears to be the first manufacturer commissioned as some of that company&#039;s medallions have the date imprinted while no dated medallions bear the Whitehead &amp; Hoag name. Whitehead &amp; Hoag probably submitted a lower bid and was then the manufacturer. A peculiarity of Whitehead &amp; Hoag raises a supposition to the issues without the manufacturer&#039;s name on it. When allowed to manufacture items with the name Whitehead &amp; Hoag imprinted, the company was competitively priced. Otherwise, they would double the price of that item!</p><p><br /></p><p>Variety number 3F is apparently the only issue of the Excelsior medallion to be issued in sterling silver. This was a promotional ad of the Excelsior Shoe Company. When all the scouts in a given troop purchased &quot;Boy Scout&quot; shoes and it was properly documented, the Scoutmaster would be issued a sterling silver medallion in recognition of this accomplishment. It follows that this variety should be quite scarce.</p><p><br /></p><p>Similar medals without reference to &quot;Boy Scouts&quot; or scout shoes were also manufactured for other company products.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reference book also displays sample shoe ads from the Boy Scout Handbook, correspondence letters from Whitehead &amp; Hoag, and a post card picture of the Excelsior Shoe Company as it appeared on a postcard dated October 20, 1917.</p><p><br /></p><p>The token shown in the OP is of the 2nd major type. There are 16 sub varieties of that type (60 for all 8 types). I&#039;m not positive of when this book was published, as the newest date given in the front of the book is 1995, but it contains info for up to 1999 issues. Type 2 values range from $8 to $15 in ave. circ., $10 to $20 for Fine/VF, and $17 to $25 for XF.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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