Help on Brunswick Balke Token

[minton7]

I found this token at a school they are building... used to be old houses there before the old school they just tore down was built......... any help on IDing it would be greatly appreciated! It was found in southern ohio....

 

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[PBK]

It's a c. 1874-84 "pool check"— a token good for a game in a pool hall or billiard parlor. The J. M. Brunswick & Balke Co. of Chicago specialized in billiard tables and supplies, saloon furnishings, etc. Prior to 1874, J. M. Brunswick and Julius Balke were competitors. In 1884, B&B merged with the New York firm of H. W. Collender, becoming the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.

 

[minton7]

I thought my pic was clearer than it turned out.. so I will type what the token says:

Front: Good for 5 Cents(cent sign) in trade... with the initials... A.W in the middle

Back:The BrunswickBalke Collender Compy Check


So I guess mine is after 1884..... any idea how much after? Is there a way to trace the initials on the front to a business?

 

[PBK]

Thanks for the clarification.

Although your token probably dates from the late 1800's, the name Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. was used from 1884 until 1960, when it became Brunswick Corp.

This "A. W." maverick doesn't seem to be listed in either The Brunswick Token Story by Fowler, Magnuson & White or Hank Thoele's Guide to Makers' Tokens.

Maybe one of the forum's token experts such as John (Idahotokens) can attribute it for you.

 

[idahotokens]

"Initials Only" mavericks such as this one are next to impossible to attribute with any degree of certainty. There were thousands of people with any given set of initials who were in a business that could have used tokens.

If you assume the token didn't travel very far from where you found it (not necessarily a valid assumption) and find an old directory listing or newspaper ad for a billiard hall/cigar store/saloon that shows somebody with those initials, you sitill can't say for sure where the token originated. If you find a couple more like this one in the same area, then your location assumption would be more valid, but still, there may have been many people in the right business in the area with those initials.

John in ID

 

[minton7]

thank you John! The area of Ohio I am in is VERY rural.... Iknow that there were at least 2 house on this lot in the 1800's....... if I can find a business directory or if the newspaper has something.... I will be satisfied..... 50-60 yrs ago.... a store was over in town... and the guy that ran it was George Wilson..... sell I am thinking that his dad probably ran the store before he did, so I am going to check out to see what his first name was...... that wont be hard to find...... I am ver grateful for all the helps fellas!

randy

 

[LadyDigger]

Minton..... IASoldier recently found one of these tokens.... http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,251224.new.html#new

Annmarie

 

[intimer]

would be great to id this token. just initials makes it especially hard though.

let me know a town name and it can be checked against a dunn & bradstreet business listing.

mike

 

[stoney56]

You might try the nearest library and see if they have any old Polk directories for your area in the research section.

 

[LadyDigger]

I emailed the Brunswick Company and just received a response:

Trade tokens or trade checks were offered by Brunswick to their billiard
room proprietor customers throughout the 30's, 40's. They disappear from
Brunswick product catalogs by 1950.

Some of the catalog descriptions list the composition of the trade checks.
During World War II they were listed as composed of "special red fibre",
and as "not inflammable" and that the dye was not harmed by alcohol or
water. After the War tokens were offered in aluminum.

All of the archival literature we have available lists the denominations
the tokens were available in as: 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents "in
merchandise". They were sold to proprietors in lots of 100, 200, 300, 500
or 1000, with the billiard room name and address stamped for free on the
reverse side of the token.

Attached are some catalog shots from that era showing the tokens for sale.

(Embedded image moved to file: pic08260.jpg)(Embedded image moved to file:
pic06202.jpg) (These images did not show up...so I can't upload here. One was from 1938 and the other from 1942. I can email her back to see if she can resend the images, if you wish.)

Joan Ledanski
Administrative Projects Manager
Brunswick Billiards

Hope this info helps,
Annmarie

 

[allen]

really neat token !