KKK tokens

[faribo]

A place I hunted today used to be used for Klan meetings. It is a huge park and I imagine that they had to have lost tokens there.

Does anyone know what they ring up as as far as an AT Pro? While they are reprehensible people, the tokens are a piece of history.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Dig everything.
Don....

 

[gunsil]

Klan was/is a secret society, most if not all the "Klan" tokens seen at flea markets, antique shops, and on ebay are fantasy items. Some folks say there are real ones but I seriously doubt it. I have been involved in the antique/collectibles business for almost sixty years and these things first appeared in the 1970s along with tons of spurious "Tiffany" buckles, bawdy house tokens, marshall badges, and many other fantasy items.

 

[smokeythecat]

I for one have no idea.

 

[faribo]

Klan was/is a secret society, most if not all the "Klan" tokens seen at flea markets, antique shops, and on ebay are fantasy items. Some folks say there are real ones but I seriously doubt it. I have been involved in the antique/collectibles business for almost sixty years and these things first appeared in the 1970s along with tons of spurious "Tiffany" buckles, bawdy house tokens, marshall badges, and many other fantasy items.

Well, that is good enough for me. When an expert says they are BS, I tend to follow the expert's advise.

 

[trdking]

I agree with Gunsil. They are all fantasy pieces. We have had many come across the pages here and none of them have been authenticated. Could find some silver though. Where there are congregations there are droppers

 

[Force_of_Iron]

I am pretty familiar with antiques and the things that fall out of old closets. I can tell you that in the Midwest these items are very much a real thing.

However, I do believe a lot of that perception is geography. In the Midwest and South the Klan was large. There are more items in these places. If you lived in the East or the West I can understand why you may believe they are all fakes. You are unlikely to see anything real come out of closet there.

 

[Force_of_Iron]

Well, that is good enough for me. When an expert says they are BS, I tend to follow the expert's advise.

Good point, follow the experts advice is good advice.

You do know though that sometimes experts lie to get something to make money on or fill their collections. Maybe they make it up to keep the perception alive that they are the expert.

In those cases you shouldn't follow their advice.

So how can you identify the good advice from the bad? Only one way "trust but verify" do your own research.

 

[gunsil]

The Klan was active in my county in NY, burned a big cross over a catholic camp (yes, they hate catholics), don't think they were bigger in the midwest than the northeast. My whole family is from the midwest, no Klan tokens coming out of closets there either. To an antique collector/dealer geography is not any part of a knowledge base, those tokens all came from England in the 1970s, many now show patina, and so far NOBODY has ever proved one to be real. Again, secret society, members never ran around telling people who they were. There are tons of spurious Klan items out there, if you think they are real feel free to spend your money on them, but don't expect to dig one up unless it was dropped in the last 40 years because they didn't exist before then. Yes, you can find them on Worthpoint and other auction result sites but that doesn't make them real.

 

[Escape]

Good point, follow the experts advice is good advice.
So how can you identify the good advice from the bad? Only one way "trust but verify do your own research.

I remember a Maverick episode I watched as a kid. He said, " Trust everyone but always cut the deck." When you stop cutting the deck and verifying information is when you're open to being duped because you are running on trust.
Best advise on this thread so far, Dig Everything.