Captainrich

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Area Token Collectors Organization (PATCO). My daughter has a laser engraver, so we bought some balsa wood at a craft store and created a mock-up of the old flat wooden nickels from the 1940's.

On 8/30/2023 at 6:36 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

I didn't get the chance to attend but would have loved the opportunity to have viewed these and the exhibit. Did you exhibit these at the WFM? If so congratulations. 

On 8/30/2023 at 10:40 AM, zadok said:

...impressive, kudos...i did not but my son did, he is working on a future display n observes looking at the winning displays to see what was successful n what wasnt...he commented on ur set being of much local interest....

Fenntucky Mike and zadok, thank you for your kind words. If you're curious, below is the 38mm bronze medal that was given to the exhibitors in Pittsburgh.

The 38mm clay gambling tokens below won a second place exhibition ribbon at the ANA's Worlds Fair of Money earlier this month in Pittsburgh. The exhibit was titled, "Gaming Chips of Pittsburgh's Max Klein."

I'm curious whether any NGC Forum members attending the convention saw the exhibit (the exhibit also contained many other Max Klein artifacts, such as bottles, whiskey glasses, playing cards, advertising trade cards, etc.).

Major Max Klein was the leading wholesale liquor dealer in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now known as Pittsburgh's North Side) during the late 19th Century. He was born in Rhenish Bavaria in 1843 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1859.
In 1861, Klein enlisted as a Private in Company F of the First Iowa Calvary. He was honorably discharged five years later as a Major, serving under General Custer.
In 1870, he established residence in Pittsburgh and started a wholesale liquor business at 52 Federal Street. He shipped his products, including Silver Age Rye, extensively to the East, West and South, according to the 1892 book "All Sorts of Pittsburgers," by Arthur G. Burgoyne.
There were also a lot of illegal gambling halls in Pittsburgh at the turn of the century and Klein did not hesitate to exploit this additional vice. In addition to personalized playing cards, Klein issued gaming tokens in four colors (red, white, blue, and tan).

Here are a few counterstamped seated liberty coins, specifically two halves and a quarter, advertising some "snake oil" type confections.

In the 1850’s, druggist Charles H. Goodwin of Exeter, New Hampshire, invented and promoted the concoctions Goodwin’s Grand GreaseJuice (G.G.G.) and Goodwin’s Grand Glittering Globules (G.G.G.G.).

Goodwin’s Grand GreaseJuice was for the “embellishment, preservation, growth and beauty of human hair,” while his Grand Glittering Globules was advertised as an “unrivaled breath perfume.” Copyrights for the products were granted in 1855.

Goodwin promoted his products by counterstamping a variety of U.S. and Canadian coins and tokens. Many of the varieties have been cataloged in Gregory G. Brunk’s American and Canadian Countermarked Coins and in Russell Rulau’s Standard Catalog of United States Tokens.