Alaska and Yukon Tokens: Private Coins of the Territories, 3d ed.

371 Pages·2009·13.25 MB·English

by  Ronald J. Benice

Alaska and
Yukon Tokens
ALSO BY RONALDJ. BENICE
Florida Paper Money: An Illustrated History,
1817–1934(McFarland, 2008)
Alaska and
Yukon Tokens
Private Coins of the Territories
THIRD EDITION
R J. B
ONALD ENICE
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
To Dan and Sylvia
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Benice, Ronald J.
Alaska and Yukon tokens : private coins of the territories /
Ronald J. Benice—3d ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4481-6
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Tokens—Alaska—Catalogs. I. Title.
CJ4909.A4B46 2010
332.4'04309798—dc22 2009038647
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2010 Ronald J. Benice. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: Arrangement of tokens from Chatanika, Circle, Cordova,
Dawson, Fairbanks, Juneau, McCarthy, Nome, Salchaket and Valdez
(author collection); background ©2010 Shutterstock
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. Traditional Alaska Tokens 7
2. Alaska Transportation Tokens 285
3. Alaska Food Stamp Change Tokens 302
4. Alaska Prison Tokens 306
5. Alaska Metallic Identification Chits 308
6. Yukon Territory Metallic Tokens, 1897–1945 313
7. Yukon Territory Plastic Tokens, 1946–1989 332
Bibliography 347
Index 351
v
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I
NTRODUCTION
This book is about Alaska and Yukon numismatics during their territo-
rial years. Tokens were privately issued substitutes for coins widely used from
the 1890s gold rush through Alaska statehood in 1959 and about 1990 for the
Yukon Territory. This is a catalog of tokens known to have survived along
with information about their rarity and their current value. It is also a his-
tory of these tokens—who issued them and when they were issued. Old pho-
tographs and advertisements for these business establishments add to the
picture of life in these colorful years.
It has been 30 years since my first edition of Alaska Tokens became the
standard reference for Alaska tokens. In this third edition, I have expanded
the scope across the border into the Canadian Yukon Territory. Its numis-
matic history during the gold rush era was similar to Alaska’s. Indeed, many
of the same people and businesses appeared in both countries.
Since the 1994 second edition, 239 previously unlisted Alaska tokens have
been discovered, bringing the total to 2013. There are 55 newly listed issuers
included, bringing the total to 883. These numbers do not include the
105 transportation tokens listed in Chapter 2 or the 310 food stamp change
tokens listed in Chapter 3. The known token population has grown consid-
erably since the 1965 Gould-Bressett-Dethridge and Fernald-McDowell cat-
alogs; each listed about 700 tokens. I have preserved the numbering system
from my second edition. To preserve alphabetical order for the new listings,
I used decimals whenever necessary to fit a new issuer between previously listed
issuers.
Alaska prison tokens are listed for the first time in Chapter 4. I hope this
will stimulate more interest in this little-known collecting specialty and moti-
vate collectors to publicize their unlisted prison tokens. Chapter 5 presents a
significantly expanded listing of metallic identification chits issued by mines,
railroads and steamship companies.
1
Introduction 2
I have divided the Yukon Territory tokens into two chapters. Chapter
6, with 69 tokens, covers metallic issues from the gold rush through the end
of World War II, while Chapter 7, with 87 tokens, covers postwar plastic
issues, including gaming chips and checks, through 1989.
The Alaska token listings have generally been restricted to legitimate
monetary issues before statehood in 1959 since most post-statehood issues were
souvenirs, novelties or fund-raisers. Military tokens spanned the transition to
statehood, but were legitimately used and reused as money. Single-use paper
items, wooden nickels, poker chips without denominations and tool chits
have been excluded. Transportation tokens are in a separate chapter and have
been updated to the present. Paper scrip and clearinghouse certificates,
although not tokens, are included because they are closely related and are not
covered in any other reference. Play money issued for carnivals and festivals
did not circulate and is not included.
Valuations of the tokens are given in U.S. dollars for each example and
have been revised. The increased popularity of numismatic items as col-
lectibles and investments, coupled with inflation, has produced dramatic
increases in the prices being paid for truly rare or unusual tokens. On the
other side of the coin, additional specimens—even hoards—of once-scarce
tokens have surfaced, causing declines in value. The values are based on actual
sales prices of identical or comparable tokens from dealers’ price lists, auc-
tion sales, convention bourses and the internet. The emergence of eBay as a
major public marketplace for token sales has provided more insight into how
scarce or common some tokens really are.
Ultimately a token is worth what a rational, knowledgeable collec-
tor would pay to a knowledgeable seller who is not under financial duress.
Tokens can be collected in many ways other than trying to get an example of
every denomination from every issuer in every town. The following factors
reflect how the different ways collectors set their interests and goals affect prices.
Rarity is, of course, the most important criterion, but is not the sole
determinant of the value collectors place on tokens.
Location. One popular way to build a collection is to seek one token
from every town that used tokens. If there are many common tokens from a
town, then scarce tokens from that town will sell for less than equally scarce
tokens from a town with no “easy” tokens.
Composition. Copper tokens are more popular than aluminum tokens.
Bi-metallic tokens are very desirable. Tokens with gold nuggets on them are
extremely popular. Paper and cardboard tokens are not as widely collected as
metallic tokens and sell for less than a comparably scarce metal token.
3 Introduction
Design. Tokens with pictures are more desirable than those with text
only. Tokens with incuse text are very popular.
Text. Tokens with slogans or comments about gold or copper are more
valuable than those with only a denomination and a merchant’s name.
Denomination. Unusual denominations, e.g., 21⁄ ¢, 4¢ and 5 barrels of
2
herring, are more desirable than traditional denominations.
Shape. Ovals, triangles and rectangles are more interesting to many col-
lectors than the more common round, scalloped or octagonal tokens.
Historical interest. Tokens from towns or people with an especially
interesting history are more valuable. Tokens issued by saloons are popular as
a separate collecting specialty crossing state borders.
Other tokens from same issuer. Many collectors are satisfied with one
token from each issuer, so scarcer denominations from an issuer of multiple
denominations have less of a scarcity premium.
Age. Tokens from the 1890s are worth considerably more than compa-
rably rare tokens from the 1940s or 1950s.
Dated tokens. Tokens with a date are more valuable than comparable
undated tokens.
Place name. Tokens with the town of issue or, better yet, town and
state are more widely collected than those with only the issuer’s name. In fact,
many collectors will buy only tokens bearing the place of issue.
Attribution. Tokens with no place name issued by businesses with com-
mon names used in many cities and states, e.g. northern, pioneer, horseshoe
and palace, are worth less. If the attribution is doubtful they are worth con-
siderably less.
Condition. Token collecting has not been significantly impacted by the
emphasis placed on condition that has swept the market for coins and paper
money. Certainly a collector will chose a higher grade specimen over a lower
grade, but the premium would be small. Bent, holed and corroded pieces are
quite acceptable among token collectors.
One area of particular interest concerns “unlisted” tokens, i.e., those that
are not listed in this book. These are invariably touted on the internet and
in auctions as rare and valuable. Before buying such a token, the reader should
consider the range of possibilities:
• It is indeed a rare, previously unknown Alaska token.
• It is part of a large hoard of a previously unknown token.
• It isn’t Alaskan—with just a town name but no state name it could
be from Douglas, Arizona; Fairbanks, Maine; Haines, Florida or
Juneau, Wisconsin; etc. For example, the Cordova Saloon, J. H.