Trade Token

[CAP]

Hello everyone,

I dug this aluminum trade token near an old mansion site in S.C.. It reads on one side, "Mutual Mercantile Company Store not transferrable Greenville S.C.. The other side reads, "Good For 100 in Merchandise". I have two questions. How do you research one of these and how can I clean it further?

Thanks,

Chris

 

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[lonewolfe]

www.google.com for research and

usually, it doesn't pay to clean an aluminum token too much because you'll more than likely not be able to get the rust off anyway, and you may harm it further,

soak it in olive oil for a good week and see if it helps loosen the crud some, then use a soft tooth brush to remove any flakes that will come off, and call it good. That's what I'd do.

HH

Lonewolfe

 

[idahotokens]

Hi, Chris--Nice find! In answer to your question about researching tokens, that can be a lifelong project (I speak from experience!). If the work has not already been done for you in a catalog of tokens of a particular state, then you have to do the research yourself. In the case of this one, it is not in Tony Chibbaro's book, South Carolina Tokens. It is not at all unusual to find tokens that are not listed in the various books - since few records have survived from the makers of tokens, the token books rely on what has been reported. Unlike coins, where the mints kept pretty good records about what was produced, tokens were ordered from small businesses that saw little need in preserving records. Back to the research. City Directories, State Gazetteers, Dun & Bradstreet reports, newspapers, county or local history books, etc. are the best resources for researching tokens. Unfortunately, you almost have to be in the state where the token was used and at a large university or public library to find these references. Yes, you can sometimes find leads by Googling, but you can hardly ever do much more than verify that the business was in the town. and you already know that! If you are lucky, you might hit upon a date, but it would be of more interest to know when a business started and ended. Tough work, but rewarding. On cleaning, I agree with Lonewolf - soak in olive oil for a LONG time and see if the crud will brush off. Best, John in Idaho

 

[allen]

still looking for my first token, of any kind. nice find. keep on diging !!

 

[dirtfishing]

Hey CAP, I have several aluminum tax tokens that date from the 30's. Aluminum didn't come into mainstream production untill about 1910, and most of the aluminum tokens I have seen were attributed to the 20's or 30's. I would think that would be the time period you are looking at. I believe during WW2 most aluminum was needed for the war effort and aluminum token production mostly ceased.

 

[jt70]

Cool token.

I like tokens. I have never found an aluminum one though. I did find an aluminum "play coin" just this morning. It was a little rusty too. I used a product called "nevr-dull" that i bought at Wally's. It is like cotton or something with a petroleum product in it. It cleaned up the item fine and didn't appear to scratch it or anything. No guarantee it would work for you but it might be worth a shot.

Regards

JT

 

[JARMAN]

Nice find,I seem to find more Alum,tokens then other tokens.I have a few that I hope to get to the research on sometime.Good luck on yours.