I work with the Sandpoint Collection and wanted to chime in on the token topic.  Sandpoint is a northern Idaho railroad/lumber town and dates to about the late 19th and early 20th century.  The area known as the Restricted District (which included had a brothel, a bordello, a saloon and a saloon/dancehall) had 39 tokens excavated from this particular area.  The tokens range from slot machine, liquor, bread, state tax, cigar store, billiards, and tokens for various amounts (2 1/2 cents to 12 cents).  It will be interesting to see if during our analysis any of these tokens are linked to specific brothels or bordellos.  

Molly Swords ,MAHistorical ArchaeologistCultural Resources Specialist IISWCA Environmental Consultants [log in to unmask]


> Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 16:17:07 -0800
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Tax Token Question
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> I work in Barkerville, BC, an 1860s goldrush town in the Cariboo region, with some strong ties to Virginia 
> City, Montana (Boone Helm murdered here but is buried in VC).  We had identifiable brothels but they were illegal (our civil administrators were British don't you know) so we had no brothel tokens.  Seems to me though, that I saw some in Tombstone.
> 
> Richard Wright, B.C.
> On Feb 2, 2011, at 3:35 PM, McCourt, Kathleen wrote:
> 
> > While we are on this topic, I did an excavation on a Virginia City, Montana brothel 2 summers ago where I found several plausible "tokens" that were completely rusted and unidentifiable, about the size of quarters but a little thinner. As I said, they were rusted, with no writing or markings that could be made out. Has anyone ever encountered objects such as these in the West or elsewhere? 
> > 
> > Kate McCourt, R.P.A.
> > Montana Heritage Commission
> > 406.843.5247 x204
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jerry Schaefer
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 4:22 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Tax Token Question
> > 
> > Saloons, restaurants, and even brothels in the West  issues their own tokens.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> > Jerry Schaefer
> >  
> > ASM Affiliates, Inc.                     
> > 2034 Corte Del Nogal
> > Carlsbad, CA 92011
> > 760-804-5757 (office)
> > 760-804-5755 (fax)
> > http://www.asmaffiliates.com/ 
> >  
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of McMahan, Dave (DNR)
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 2:55 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Tax Token Question
> > 
> > I have seen a number of trade tokens with "Good For 2 1/2 cts." I'm not
> > sure about the S.H.
> > Dave
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ann
> > Raab
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 1:37 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Tax Token Question
> > 
> > I have been excavating a site in western Missouri that has confirmed
> > occupations 
> > in the mid-19th century as well as the late 19th century and early 20th
> > century. 
> > I wouldn't be surprised if there was a component that went into the
> > 1920s and 
> > 1930s, but probably not much later.
> > 
> > I have an item which looks like a tax token, but it doesn't fit into the
> > mold of 
> > a typical state-issued token. It is copper, very thin (about 1mm) and is
> > 27.2 mm 
> > in diameter (roughly a little more than an inch). The front of the token
> > is 
> > stamped "Good For 2 1/2 cts." The back of the token simply has an S. H.
> > stamped 
> > into it. There is nothing that identifies it as being from a particular
> > state 
> > and there are no other graphics or decoration. Also, in the research I
> > have done 
> > (very cursory) I have not found any state tokens worth 2 1/2 cents.
> > 
> > The "S. H." made me think of S&H Green Stamps, but I am not sure if they
> > had any 
> > tokens like these. I would think the company name would be more obvious
> > on such 
> > an item. There were also corporate coal mining interests in the area in
> > the late 
> > 19th and early 20th centuries. I wasn't sure if this could be a kind of
> > "company 
> > store" token.
> > 
> > Any information or ideas would be welcome!