It's Token Tuesday! Post 'em if you got 'em. 3 3

[Rod D.]

It’s almost Tuesday. Recent purchase (and photo credit) from GC. 

[Fenntucky Mike]

After several years of looking I recently acquired these, they are surprisingly scarce for some reason. Apparently there is a $5 token as well but I've yet to stumble across it.

[EarlyUS.com]

Edited June 27, 2023 by EarlyUS.com

[Redline68]

[Just Bob]

In May, 1916, CW Zimmerman, CJ Coppock, and PC Moore formed a corporation in Mobile, Alabama to operate general stores, and in June of that year, filed with the state of Mississippi to open a store in the town of Cybur. The store operated until 1923.

Tokens were issued in denominations of 5 and 10 cents, according to the Mississippi token book. Those are also the only denominations listed on Tokencatalog.com. This 25 cent token is unlisted in either reference. It may be unique.

 

 

[Henri Charriere]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:07 PM, Just Bob said:

In May, 1916, CW Zimmerman, CJ Coppock, and PC Moore formed a corporation in Mobile, Alabama to operate general stores, and in June of that year, filed with the state of Mississippi to open a store in the town of Cybur. The store operated until 1923.

Tokens were issued in denominations of 5 and 10 cents, according to the Mississippi token book. Those are also the only denominations listed on Tokencatalog.com. This 25 cent token is unlisted in either reference. It may be unique.

 

 

I am guessing the reverse reads: GOOD FOR, 25 [Cent symbol) -- IN -- MECHANDISE.

The obverse is unintelligible-- and riddled with raised dots. Using your other tokens as a guide, what should it read, especially in the middle?  What is the county or closest town today? 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Henri Charriere
Additional words

[Just Bob]

On 6/28/2023 at 10:45 AM, Henri Charriere said:

I am guessing the reverse reads: GOOD FOR, 25 [Cent symbol) -- IN -- MECHANDISE.

The obverse is unintelligible-- and riddled with raised dots. Using your other tokens as a guide, what should it read, especially in the middle?  What is the county or closest town today? 

The token was likely found in the ground, and the raised dots are the result of corrosion. You got the reverse correct: GOOD FOR / 25¢ / IN MERCHANDISE The obverse reads: CYBUR / STORES / COMPANY

The community of Cybur is in Pearl River County, to the northwest of Picayune.

I did not put periods at the end of the two sentences above because there are sometimes varieties that have (or do not have) commas, periods, apostrophes, etc. It is important when writing the description to copy it exactly to avoid confusion. I have actually discovered a "no period" variety, but it isn't a big deal to anyone - not even to me.

[Henri Charriere]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:24 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

After several years of looking I recently acquired these, they are surprisingly scarce for some reason....

First and foremost, they are scarce because they are "prison tokens" which were minted in limited quantity, not for circulation outside the walls or fences of the correctional facility, but inside in a controlled setting. Dunes was decommissioned after a dozen years of operation. The site, now lying in ruins, was built for a wealthy industrialist and his wife, both of whom died two years later.  At some point it was used to house the developmentally disabled. Any $5. denomination would be the scarcest of the series -- and command a higher price than all the others.

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 6/28/2023 at 4:27 PM, Henri Charriere said:

First and foremost, they are scarce because they are "prison tokens" which were minted in limited quantity, not for circulation outside the walls or fences of the correctional facility, but inside in a controlled setting. Dunes was decommissioned after a dozen years of operation. The site, now lying in ruins, was built for a wealthy industrialist and his wife, both of whom died two years later.  At some point it was used to house the developmentally disabled. Any $5. denomination would be the scarcest of the series -- and command a higher price than all the others.

True dat. It was also a seminary/boarding school and convent prior to being purchased by the state as a way of procuring the site for future use as a state park. As there was a moratorium on new land purchases by the DNR at the time the Department of Corrections stepped in and purchased the property, after which the site had to be utilized by the MDOC for a period of no less than 10 years. Eventually, after the moratorium was lifted, the MDOC sold nearly the entire site, except for a small parcel on which the mansion and correctional facility stood, to the MDNR and soon after the sale the Saugatuck Dunes State Park was opened. I think there was a state police post there as well while the correctional facility was in operation, or right after it closed, for a short period. Also, the site of the first appointed female warden of a male prison in MI and currently the location of one heck of a frolf (disk golf) course. The mansion and gardens were restored, and the site is now a very popular spot for weddings and other such gatherings, being surrounded by a state park (essentially part of it) with access to miles of hiking trails and public beaches on Lake Michigan doesn't hurt either. I was going to do a write up on this, but I haven't had the spare time to do so.

Just meant that being local to the area I am surprised I haven't crossed paths with these at a local auction, coin show, garage or estate sale, etc., as I've been keeping an eye out for them for quite some time. I realize that the relatively short time the facility was open, the number produced, and how the tokens were intended to be used would make them scarce in general, especially in comparison to other MI PTs, and that the $5 would be the scarcest due to the lower quantities produced. Most references list the $5 denomination but none that I've seen have images of it, I'm starting to wonder if it really exists. 

 

[Mr_Spud]

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/1/2023 at 7:01 PM, Mr_Spud said:

[I trust the reverse side of the IHC look-alike will meet with the approval of all charter members of the resident anti-counterfeit league.]  🤣

[Henri Charriere]

On 6/27/2023 at 2:59 PM, Redline68 said:

This token reminds me of the counterfeiter who for ten years was a thorn in the side of the U.S.S.S.  He misspelled Washington as WAHSINGTON on his one-dollar silver certificates in the 1940's. Here we have a depiction of the U.S. CAPITOL building -- clearly not a reference to money (capital) or the capital of the United States, Washington. Columbia, a "district," dates back to 1791. The error in spelling gives this token a special charm all its own.

[Rod D.]

[Rod D.]

Butte, MT token. 

[Mr_Spud]

[Fenntucky Mike]

[Just Bob]

J.D. Gross owned general stores in the towns of Gip and Conway, in Leake county, MS from 1900 to 1934. This token is listed as unique, but I am aware of one other one that exists.

 

[Fenntucky Mike]

I've posted some of these before but I'm posting them again because I've found the last token needed to complete the full set of 8 as listed by Atwood & Coffee. 

The last variety I needed to complete the set was "P", unfortunately I wasn't able to find a better example but these were a lot more difficult to find than I was expecting. I'm currently working on a display and will pick up better examples if I come across any. 

[Just Bob]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:28 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

I've posted some of these before but I'm posting them again because I've found the last token needed to complete the full set of 8 as listed by Atwood & Coffee. 

The last variety I needed to complete the set was "P", unfortunately I wasn't able to find a better example but these were a lot more difficult to find than I was expecting. I'm currently working on a display and will pick up better examples if I come across any. 

 

Congratulations! It's always a good feeling when you can find that last piece that you need to complete the set.

[rrantique]

On 8/1/2023 at 7:30 AM, Just Bob said:

Congratulations! It's always a good feeling when you can find that last piece that you need to complete the set.

Congratulations Mike

[Rod D.]

Lutey's operated 11 grocery stores in Butte from 1897-1924 and employed 350 people. (verdigrisproject.org)  

Photo credit of store:  Library of Congress, 1979.

[Redline68]

[SilverGary]

[Fenntucky Mike]

This was an additional token that came in a lot I won, thought I'd post it for those Lincoln collectors out there. Also, Albert A. Grinnell had one heck of a banknote collection, I have a few of the auction catalogs from when the collection was sold.

 

[Henri Charriere]

The following prison token, circa 1914-1915, is self-explanatory. (The philosophy behind their introduction, and withdrawal from use may be found years earlier in this thread, along with other smaller denominations. I should like to thank @Fenntucky Mike for re-igniting my interest in attempting to complete this set which I have been reliably told lacks one other piece: the 50-cent token.

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 8/8/2023 at 12:04 PM, Henri Charriere said:

The following prison token, circa 1914-1915, is self-explanatory. (The philosophy behind their introduction, and withdrawal from use may be found years earlier in this thread, along with other smaller denominations. I should like to thank @Fenntucky Mike for re-igniting my interest in attempting to complete this set which I have been reliably told lacks one other piece: the 50-cent token.

Love these HC! Much more eye appealing than the Dunes tokens. Good luck with the 50-center. 

From Prison Tokens and Medals of the United States by Jerry Zara: "NOTE: There was a second striking of tokens accounting for the aluminum 5, and the variety of the twenty-five. Evidently these two denominations were more in demand calling for an additional mintage, the five was produced in aluminum, and an error was found in the "Y" of the twenty-five striking. Besides the more obvious "Y", the sunbursts are smaller, and the "T" in twenty is much larger. In a book authored by Mr. Thomas Mott Osborne, Warden at the time of the MWL [Mutual Welfare League] was founded. " 

[Henri Charriere]

OBLIGATORY EDIT: The facility depicted was razed in 1903 after over a thousand (1,000+) years in service. The Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) now occupies a part of its grounds. The deep, dark, chocolate-brown token posed an unusual challenge for the seller to photograph and to all appearances it appeared as a black ⚫️ in a 2" x 2" flip, but I was not deterred.

With an assist from my wife holding a small lamp at an angle equipped with a soon-to-be illegal incandescent bulb, I persevered and triumphed.

GREAT BRITAIN 1/2 Penny "Middlesex - Newgate" 1795.

OBVERSE:  Front view of NEWGATE prison. Lettering at Top: NEWGATE; on Bottom: 1795.

REVERSE:  Lettering:  PAYABLE AT THE RESIDENCE OF MESSRS SYMONDS WINTERBOTHAM & HOLT.

SPECIFICATIONS:

COMPOSITION: Copper;  COUNTRY:  United Kingdom;  ALIGNMENT: Medal DIAMETER:  27.5 mm / 28.6 mm; WEIGHT:  8.73 / 10.6 g. (I am unable to account for the discrepancies.)  Additional info on this and similar tokens may be found at coinscatalog.net and related websites. I am indebted to the OP for his graciousness in permitting to post the obverse and reverse of the piece in the following two posts. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Henri Charriere
Providing suitable photos on following posts.

[Henri Charriere]

NEWGATE PRISON TOKEN, 1795.  I conferred with my wife who deemed the previous descriptive post, originally sans photos, "totally unacceptable," and made a helpful suggestion: "Why don't you unstaple the flip? Accordingly, I post the photos taken moments ago, with the aid of three light sources, which are spread over the following two posts. [I may very well submit the token because it is far superior to similar tokens being advertised presently, which appear to bear unwarranted enhanced grades. For those who must know, I submitted my best offer of 25% off the asking price and fix the value at USD $37. It is the oldest "coin" I own and may be the oldest featured on this thread.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Henri Charriere
Rewritten

[Henri Charriere]

Following is the reverse:

[J P M]

I know it is not Tuesday but at my age I do things when I am thinking of them or I will forget to. We are in Wolfeboro on Lake Winni NH we took the grandkids to the arcade in Laconia .