Background

Trade Tokens were made starting around 1817. The tokens were made as a substitute for real coins, which were in short supply. An added benefit was the advertising platform provided.

A few companies made the dies for these tokens. Trade Tokens continued to be made through the ‘Hard Times’ and ‘Civil War’ token periods

Numerous Scarce Issues

Merchants had tokens made in various quantities. Some are scarce, some rare with mintages of less than 10, though the typical production was 100 or more. There are scarce and rare issues available as a result.

Russell Rulau developed the comprehensive book “Standard Catalog of US Tokens”. The 4^th Edition was published in 2004. This Catalog is the industry standard for US Tokens, including Trade Tokens.

Example Trade Tokens

Here are some example trade tokens, including a Fruit Dealer, a Miller, a Druggist, and a Patriotic token.

Here are more examples of Trade Tokens. Included are the Washington Market Exchange in New York City, a Glass Works, and a Hairpin Manufacturer.

And finally four more (there are thousands of others). A Masonic Token, a token manufacturer (Osbourne), an Apache Reservation Trading company in San Carlos, Arizona, and a ‘Spiel Marke’ (German for ‘Play Money’) token.

Summary

This has been a brief look into US Trade Tokens. They are popular among collectors in a broad price range and are an interesting window into US history. Thousands of different issues were made in the 1800’s. They can be inexpensive to collect and very rewarding.