Had another good day at my new spot....

perdidogringo · Aug 6, 2026

I went out detecting today even though I didn't feel like it. I'm glad I did! I found a 1905 barber dime, a 1911 barber dime, and a five cent token from a saloon that used to be located at 9401 Ewing in Chicago. Here is some history of the saloon for this token according to AI:

This token is a rare, pre-Prohibition saloon trade token from 1907, issued by a tavern owner named Hallisey in Chicago, Illinois. The History:

The Location: Stamped "9401 EWING", this token directly matches the address of a famous surviving building at 9401 S. Ewing Avenue on Chicago’s East Side.
Schlitz Tied House: Built in 1907, the building was a "tied house" owned by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Schlitz built the tavern and leased it to Hallisey, who was legally tied to selling only Schlitz beer.
Target Audience: The saloon catered to the thousands of immigrant laborers working at the nearby Iroquois Iron Company steel mills.
How It Was Used: Stamped "GOOD FOR 5¢ IN TRADE", it was given out as change or promotional currency. Workers used it at Hallisey's bar to buy a standard 5-cent draft beer.
Rarity: Having a highly hyper-specific four-digit street address stamped onto a merchant token is incredibly rare, making it a highly sought-after artifact of Chicago's industrial and brewing history.

DizzyDigger · Aug 6, 2026

Sweet!!

SilverCoinHound · Aug 6, 2026

Great finds!

robertk · Aug 7, 2026

That arrowhead is a good reminder to be careful while retrieving targets.

E-Trac-Ohio · Aug 7, 2026

Good thing you talked your self into going on a hunt - congrats on the great find ! :occasion14:

perdidogringo · Aug 7, 2026

So it turns out that AI was wrong about the address and the resulting history on the token. I soaked the token and was able to get more of the dirt off and it turns out the etching actually says, "Hallisey Bros Tavern, 3401 5th Ave" which is in the Garfied Park area on the West side, just North of the 290 expressway.

For those interested, here is the revised history of this tavern advertised on the token (I've also attached another photo of the token after soaking it in distilled water):

The Owners: John & William Hallisey
According to early 1910s Chicago City Directories and census records, John and William Hallisey were brothers born to Irish immigrant parents who originally settled in Illinois.

- John Hallisey acted as the primary manager of the business and lived just a short walk away from the saloon.
- William Hallisey co-owned the venue and partnered with his brother to run daily operations.

Life at 3401 W. 5th Avenue

In the 1910s, 3401 W. 5th Ave (located at the diagonal corner of 5th Ave and S. Homan Ave) was a bustling neighborhood hub. John and William ran a traditional Pre-Prohibition saloon layout. At that time, it was very common for tavern owners to operate their business on the first floor of a building and live with their families in the apartments directly upstairs.

The brothers successfully operated this neighborhood spot until National Prohibition went into effect in January 1920. When the sale of alcohol became illegal, the Hallisey brothers, like thousands of other Chicago saloon keepers, were forced to close their doors, pivot to selling "near-beer" and soft drinks, or retire the partnership entirely. Your token dates precisely to this golden era of their family business!

The building that housed the Hallisey Bros. Tavern at 3401 W. 5th Avenue was demolished during the early-to-mid 1950s.
While a single specific "demolition date" stamp for a residential saloon structure from that era is rarely preserved in public city logs, the exact historical event that caused its destruction is well-documented:

The Construction of the Congress (Eisenhower) Expressway
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the City of Chicago and Cook County began aggressively clearing land for the Congress Expressway (later renamed the Eisenhower Expressway / I-290). This massive infrastructure project required a wide, deep trench right through the West Side.

Because the diagonal stretch of 5th Avenue runs parallel right alongside where the expressway was built, hundreds of historic buildings directly intersecting or sitting immediately adjacent to the path—including the corner lot at 3401 W. 5th Ave & S. Homan Ave—were acquired through eminent domain and completely leveled to make room for the highway trenches, exit ramps, and subsequent urban renewal zoning.