Strange Silver pattern Quarter 0

[Ratzie33]

So I’m not sure but I know Franklin wanted to equate barrels of wheat to currency. The eight dots on the tea mug I believe represent the original 8 revolting colonies. All American coins were required to have an eagle on the reverse. 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Ratzie33

[Ratzie33]

[Ratzie33]

First I thought maybe a bar token but the eight dots threw me.  25 does not dived by 8 evenly.

[Ratzie33]

There are also 13 points to the scalloped edge potentially representing the 13 colonies

[Ratzie33]

Also the flans on the scalloped edge suggest it was minted this way and not cut.

[Ratzie33]

Something else: I think if you were going to make a bar token you’d want something easy to carry around in your pocket. This is 24.3mm in diameter.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Ratzie33

[Ratzie33]

It is made out of silver.

[Ratzie33]

Usually drinks were 2 for 25cents, so again, the eight dots on the mug is unique. I do not believe this to be a bar token. Bar tokens express value clearly, like:  GOOD FOR “...” drinks. This has no such wording.

[l.cutler]

41 minutes ago, Ratzie33 said:

Usually drinks were 2 for 25cents, so again, the eight dots on the mug is unique. I do not believe this to be a bar token. Bar tokens express value clearly, like:  GOOD FOR “...” drinks. This has no such wording.

I think 25 cents expresses the value pretty clearly!  This is an interesting token, but I would say the mug and keg definitely point to it being  a bar token.  How much does it weigh?  Were you the buyer of this token on ebay?  

Edited December 19, 2020 by l.cutler

[Ratzie33]

Well here is the strange thing: the 8 dots. Why 8?

[Ratzie33]

A silver coin of this size would buy much more than 8 glasses of beer at the time I believe it was made.

[Ratzie33]

Bar tokens were rarely silver, if they were they were worth much more than 25 cents in beer, beer cost 2 for 25 cents at that time.

[Ratzie33]

https://www.historynet.com/good-little-bits-tokens-big-hit.htm. So why put the 8 dots on the cup?

[Ratzie33]

The coin is silver not metal or brass. 

[Ratzie33]

The reason why proprietors turned to tokens was because there were shortages in silver. Why make a token out of silver if not for a significant minted monetary reason? That is why I don’t believe it to be a bar token.

[Ratzie33]

But who knows?

[Ratzie33]

Then I thought 8 ounces of beer, or a colonial half pint but again, for 25c of silver you are not getting the right amount. But if we go back to the tea theory for a moment, the standard mug of tea held 8 ounces. 

[l.cutler]

Well obviously no one knows why the tokens maker chose to put 8 dots, could have been some ones favorite number.  What it obviously isn't is a pattern quarter, would they really put a mug and keg on a pattern coin?  Again, what is the weight?  How are you sure that it is silver?

[Ratzie33]

For 25 cents you should have the amount of beer the value of the coin offers in return written clearly on the coin. 

[Ratzie33]

The tea was smuggled in barrels to avoid suspicion over bags. Hence the eagle landing on the barrel. 8 dots for the 8 ounces of tea in a cup. A silver coin of this size would purchase an entire keg of beer so for it to be a bar token seems iffy.

[Ratzie33]

Tea smuggling

[l.cutler]

So I can safely assume that the weight does not support your wild suppositions and you really don't know that it is silver, or maybe you don't even have it because all you have posted are ebay pictures.  Many many bar tokens have a dollar or cent value because different drinks cost different amounts.  This is clearly not a pattern with a bar theme and very crude design.  OK, unless you can actually state some facts or at least common sense arguments, I am done.

[Ratzie33]

Aha I figured it out. It is a silver drinking token. Used to buy an entire keg of beer in colonial America which would then be shared among 8 glasses.

[Ratzie33]

Sorry about that.

[Ratzie33]

What makes it rare is its age and that the denomination is written on the coin clearly. If it predates the first quarters of 1796 or 1804, it is a piece of American history.

[Ratzie33]

The 8 dots represent the measurement of 8 pegs used to disperse the liquid. The eagle makes it American, the defined denomination makes it rare.

[Ratzie33]

The coin would be used to purchase a whole keg, shared among 8 peg glasses again and again.

[Ratzie33]

[Ratzie33]

Let’s call it the 25 cent peg.

[Ratzie33]

So I was looking at the period after the 25. It almost looks like a monogram... too elongated for a period. And why put a period there? EB

Edited December 19, 2020 by Ratzie33