my first token and cuff links (i think)

burglarifyoulike · May 13, 2009

found my first token. i was very excited, it's something different. found near an old home site in WV. found htese cuff links in my parents field about 50 yards from one of the oldest homes in our area. was going through some dirst dug up by the state to move a telephone pole. there seems to be an insignia of some type nad maybe some letters around the top, but they are in such rough shape that i can't make it out. not sure how to clean, thought about ultrasonic cleaning but i'm thinking they may be too fragile. thanks for looking!

shaun7 · May 13, 2009

them cufflinks look nice and old!

idahotokens · May 13, 2009

What does the token say? PIANO IN COMUNIZI ? How about the other side?
John in ID

thrillathahunt · May 13, 2009

Hello,

Could you post a better pic of the token please. Front side.

Thanks.

JimBeHuntin' · May 13, 2009

Nice token and cuff link ... continued good luck on your next hunt!

Sniffy · May 13, 2009

nice job finding those

burglarifyoulike · May 13, 2009

idahotokens said:
What does the token say? PIANO IN COMUNIZI ? How about the other side?
John in ID

thanks for your interest. i inspected it a bit closer, and it actually seems a bit easier to see now than right after cleaning. it looks like it says "piano in comuntzis" of course, that doesn't make any sense, so the letters could be different but difficult to read especially around that spot of corrosion.

Finman · May 13, 2009

Congrats on your first token!!!! :thumbsup:

HH Joe

burglarifyoulike · May 13, 2009

thrillathahunt said:
Hello,

Could you post a better pic of the token please. Front side.

Thanks.

thanks also for your interest. i've been down messing with the settings on my camera until i wore out the battery and i am unable to get a better picture than the bottom in my first post. sorry :-[

burglarifyoulike · May 13, 2009

idahotokens said:
What does the token say? PIANO IN COMUNIZI ? How about the other side?
John in ID

pn the front it says "good for 5c in trade" the picture is the best i could do with my camera (sorry). oh, and i inserted the picture of the front after the cuff links (accidentally)

STH69 · May 13, 2009

It definitely says piano?

allen · May 14, 2009

those are both really nice looking finds... :thumbsup:

idahotokens · May 14, 2009

Well, this maverick token is going to take some serious research! The Good For 5¢ In Trade reverse is pretty standard-looking for tokens ca. 1910-50, so that doesn't help a lot. My first thought on the obverse wording was a nickelodeon token. And the suggestion of the Italian word root may indicate this token was for use "in the piano in the Italian community center", but that is just a guess. Many years ago, Dave Bowers put out a publication "A Tune For a Token" that cataloged tokens for music machines, player pianos, etc. I'm fairly sure I have a copy, but need to find it. Anyone else have it?
John in ID

Colonial Copper Zeus · May 15, 2009

I wonder if those cufflinks are old Militia / military. Is there any detail at all on the face of them?
Chris

burglarifyoulike · May 15, 2009

burglarifyoulike said:
STH69 said:

It definitely says piano?

Click to expand...

i'm pretty sure it does say "PIANO" since the "I" is the same as the "I" in "IN". all the letters are caps

burglarifyoulike · May 15, 2009

idahotokens said:
Well, this maverick token is going to take some serious research! The Good For 5¢ In Trade reverse is pretty standard-looking for tokens ca. 1910-50, so that doesn't help a lot. My first thought on the obverse wording was a nickelodeon token. And the suggestion of the Italian word root may indicate this token was for use "in the piano in the Italian community center", but that is just a guess. Many years ago, Dave Bowers put out a publication "A Tune For a Token" that cataloged tokens for music machines, player pianos, etc. I'm fairly sure I have a copy, but need to find it. Anyone else have it?
John in ID

WOW, you really know your tokens! thank you so much for your input. the nickelodeon idea sounds likely- thanks again for your interest!!

burglarifyoulike · May 15, 2009

Colonial Copper Zeus said:
I wonder if those cufflinks are old Militia / military. Is there any detail at all on the face of them?
Chris

there does appear to be some type of insignia , but they are in such bad shape that i can't make it out and am not sure how to clean them, if at all - i'm afraid they might sort of disintegrate.

Deno · May 15, 2009

Sweet finds. I bet there is some good stuff left there.

idahotokens · Aug 11, 2009

Okay - better late than never! At a recent meeting, I spoke with numismatic authority and author, Q. David Bowers, about this token. He had written a publication years ago called "A Tune for a Token" which cataloged nickelodeon tokens. He was not familiar with this one off the top of his head, but yesterday, when he returned home and was able to access his reference material, he pointed me to a listing in the new David Schenkman book, "West Virginia Merchant Tokens". In it, in the section for tokens from Morgantown is listed:
IN COMUNTZIS PIANO // GOOD FOR / 5¢ / IN TRADE 21mm Rd Br

And the statement, "During the teens and 1920s the Comuntzis Brothers ran a confectionery that, according to a local collector, was located at 368 High Street. During the early 1940s the business operated as Comuntzis Restaurant." So, this token was used to play the player piano in this business - that would have been in the earlier period of operation of this business as those machines went out of style and were replaced with other devices by the mid-1920s.

John in ID