Token Talk – North Shore Numismatic Society Vancouver

Club Meeting Tuesday 15th June – Ron Greene B.C. Tokens

9 June 2021 9 June 2021Club News, Token Talk

Hi everyone, The next North Shore Numismatic Society’s Zoom Meeting is Tuesday, June 15th. You can sign onto Zoom at 6:30 pm (Pacific Time), 9:30 pm (Eastern Time) and the meeting will start at 7:00 pm ((Pacific Time), 10:00 pm (Eastern Time). It is open to both members and non-members, so everyone is welcome. Program: This month, we have guest speaker Ron Greene, who will present a PowerPoint on “B.C. Tokens”. Ron is a long time numismatist and prominent collector of banknotes and tokens. He has authored several articles and recently created an extensive catalogue of B.C. tokens. Ron has…

Ottawa Tourism ‘Stickered’ Canadian One Dollar Note

10 September 2020 10 September 2020Bank Notes, Token Talk

The host banknote is a 1973 series one-dollar bill. Ser# AAP6338621 ‘Lawson & Bouey’ The sticker reads in French; L OFFICE DE TOURISME ET DES CONGRES DE LA CAPITALE DU CANADA FAITES LA PASSE EN APPEIANT SE NUMERO VOUS POUVEZ GAGNE UN PRIX 1-800-267-8214 Loosely Translated; TOURIST OFFICE OF THE CONGRESS OF THE CAPITAL OF CANADA “MAKE THE CALL” BY CALLING THIS NUMBER YOU CAN WIN A PRIZE 1-800-267-8214 (The phone number for the tourist office is still in active service) Little else is known about this promotional sticker, if they were attached to other notes, or if this stickered note…

$4.20 CottonMouth Currency, Trudeau protest note

19 February 2019 18 February 2019Funny Money, Token Talk

$4.20 CottonMouth Currency Merchant Scrip / Political Funny Money. The note falls into a number of collecting categories; Advertising, Merchant Scrip and Political Funny Money. The note was given out at Vancouver’s 4/20 (4/20/2018) Sunset Beach marijuana celebration and protest. The note appears to have a dual purpose, the first is to promote the Cotton Mouth Smoke Shop at 1120 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC. by encouraging customers to redeem the note for $4.20 toward their next purchase at the Davie Street shop. The second is to slow legalization of marijuana by the Trudeau government. The note is printed on 70mm…

Lucky Lunar Pig for CANUCKS, TD 2019

18 February 2019 19 February 2019Token Talk

This 2019, copper TD, “Year of the Pig” medallion in a lucky red envelope was give out in a limited number at the Canucks hockey game 02/12/19. LUNAR NEW YEAR 2019, TD logo, PRECIOUS METALS TD.COM

Wooden Nickel update

6 December 2018 7 December 2018Token Talk

Vancouver Numismatic Society at Hotel Vancouver 1971

I asked about Wooden Nickels at the last club meeting. There were 4 of us collecting them! Gene knew of several sources of information. He also remembered spending one at a coffee shop! The idea of wooden money came from America apparently – back in the 1930s when banks in Washington State issued them in an emergency. Dec 4th Canada Coin News have just published a fascinating article on Wooden money by Jesse Robitaille Collecting wooden money remains strong in Canada There’s a collector’s society too! “Founded in 1975 with 45 charter members and expanding beyond 200 members by the end of…

Club Meeting this Tuesday 20th + Wooden Nickels

19 November 2018 6 December 2018Club News, Token Talk

Does anyone remember wooden nickels? Many can remember being cautioned not to take a wooden nickel! Does anyone remember using them in shops ? I’ve been reviewing my collection of B.C. wooden tokens. Most are adverts for local businesses in Vancouver and British Columbia. A few have ‘made in USA’. Was there a local B.C. firm producing them as well ? We may find out more on Tuesday 20th 6.30pm at the North Shore Numismatic Society club meeting at our usual Bonsor 55+ .I’ll bring a selection of these fascinating pieces of British Columbiana. Here’s one from our sister club…

Pidcock’s exhibition – 1800 copper farthing token from Britain

24 September 2017 24 September 2017Token Talk

This delightful elephant came to me at the coin fair the other week. The token is 21mm and 2.35g. And I googled and found this description on Yale British Art site – it seems my exact one! I’ve requested the photograph. It’s a copper farthing token issued 1800 by Pidcock’s Exeter ‘Change Menagerie and made by Charles James. I’ve heard that the engravers didn’t see the actual elephants so they anatomy isn’t quite right. But they’ve created a lively animal, feeding perhaps. On the other side is a bird-of-prey. http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3813281 “Undated copper Conder farthing token. The obverse depicts an elephant, with the…

Oom Paul 5 Cent Token Issue

11 June 2017 11 June 2017Token Talk

The maverick online token identifier used to have a listing of one other token and seemed to think it might be a token related to an American named Oom Paul. Now it lists it as being attributed to Wayne, Nebraska and says “also attributed to Saint John’s, Quebec, Canada” and “this token is from St. John’s, Quebec (now known as “Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu)”. The one web reference I did come across to Oom Paul and cigars and 5 cents is to an Oom Paul in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Oom Paul, I have no doubt, refers to Oom Paul Kruger of the Transvaal…

Token Talk: Brown & Davis, Junction City, Montana

27 December 2016 27 December 2016Token Talk

This was a token that was saved by my great grandfather who first arrived in Montana in 1881. It would seem to have been saved by him and kept with him for some reason (he did almost once drown in the Missouri River) as a memento. It would be quite likely that he did go through the place. Junction City was a rather wild Western town on the Yellowstone River which was first set up when a trading store was built in 1877. This store did well with miners and soldiers in the area and another store was thus…

Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver – 1964 token

26 July 2016 26 July 2016Token Talk

I rather believe that the purpose of this PNE token, which was issued for the 1964 fair (in Vancouver B.C.), was to let exhibitors and club display members in, so that they did not have to pay admission. When the coin clubs had displays at the PNE in the clubs section of the fair (in the BC Pavilion) we were given admission tickets so that club members could get in. These we used. They bore printing indicating the nature of their use. As for free passes, well it used to be (and may still well be) that every elementary school…

Token Talk: Royal Canadian Legion medallion

18 March 2016 29 March 2017Medals, Token Talk

Token Talk with Duff Malkin The weekend of the 23rd and 24th April was a weekend of the Kerrisdale Days. When I arrived I saw several booths outside of some of the banks and stores. Always looking for things numismatic, and even bank coupons will do, but not expecting anything, for Kerrisdale is not a great place to pick up tokens, I nevertheless looked for things and came across the Royal Canadian Legion booth. One also always looks at anything RCL because there are a few people interested in the military aspect of things. Thereon was a small plastic bag with what appeared…

Hudson’s Bay Company Scrips from the B.C. District

30 December 2015 8 January 2016Scrip, Token Talk

Sydney Hodgkinson we glimpse as a Hudson’s Bay Company man. In 1909 he’s working as an accountant at the H.B.C. Telegraph Creek trading post in the northern part of British Columbia. Sydney is an imaginative and lyrical chap – he writes to a friend in familiar verse, thanking him for a book: Sydney Hodgkinson worked with the mighty H.B.C. from 1908 to 1935. The trading posts were often in tiny, remote settlements. In the 1910 Henderson’s B.C. Gazetteer, where Hodgkinson is listed as an accountant, Telegraph Creek is noted as “a trading post, mining camp and post office in the Comox-Atlin district”…

Token Talk: Albert Roper, Sherman House, Fargo, North Dakota

26 December 2015 28 December 2016Token Talk

“The Sherman is rapidly acquiring the larger share of that energetic and particular class who are “known and read of men” as experts in the hotel line. The water supply is ample, extending to every apartment, and its system of sewerage the best of any hotel in the city. Appointments in the way of bathrooms with Turkish and all other lavatory processes as provided are most admirable. With respect to day boarders the custom of the house is exclusively transient. Under the management of Mr. Albert Roper, who has lately succeeded to the ownership of the property, the “Sherman”…

New Westminster Political Club

19 November 2015 19 November 2015Token Talk

New Westminster directory listings mention the Veterans’ Political Club in 1948, 1949 and 1950. They do not mention them in 1947 or in 1951. In 1948 it is listed as Veterans Political Club Unit 4, B. Stoney (sec.) 1121 ½ Brunette. A Bud Stoney had a residence at 1914 8th Avenue in New Westminster. In 1947 the same residence belonged to a salesman named Herbert A Stoney who was married to his wife named Betty. It would seem that this might be the Bud Stoney in question. But then again maybe not for I came across a mention of a…

1969 Nanaimo Bathtub Race Token

29 October 2015 16 October 2015Token Talk

The Nanaimo Bathtub Race began in 1967 and the race entailed crossing the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo to Vancouver. The distance travelled was 36 miles and all conceivable types of watercraft entered the competition. The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society began issuing tokens commemorating the annual race in 1969 and has continued to do so each year. In 1969, The Diners’ Rendezvous restaurant in downtown Nanaimo, owned by Wong Bros Enterprises Ltd., decided to issue its own token to commemorate this event and at the same time, promote their own business which was celebrating its…

Scarce Golden BC Dairy Token

28 September 2015 27 September 2015Token Talk

I had some luck at a VNS show in the 1990’s. This token showed up and I had not heard of it so I bought it. Golden, B.C., is not really a noted token issuing place. It was a dairy token so I rather assumed that it would be from the 1930’s or 1940’s before the plastic dairy tokens came in. But no, this one turned out to be earlier (around 1910’s which was unusual. Since this token was found at about the same time things were going on line. I was able to find out that a Basil Ashton…

Christian Tokens in Vancouver

22 September 2015 22 September 2015Token Talk

The “Jesus Saves / (cross) / Eternal Life” and “Lord is Coming / (cross in circle) / Millenium” aluminum pieces were distributed in the early 1970’s and perhaps earlier in the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as well as Seattle, Washington state (and very likely many different places in North America) by people wishing to spread their message. It worked like this. They would drop the items on the street (which was usually, it seems, Granville Street here), someone else would pick it up thinking it was a dime, read the message and either a) keep the item or…

Token from the PNE, Vancouver

9 September 2015 6 September 2015Token Talk

At this small booth there was a roulette wheel and one could win the prizes seen. However, one had to buy tokens to put one’s bet down and these were being sold at three for five dollars and five for ten. They are plastic and orange in colour and had (or have) a paper label stuck to them. I say “had” as there were many with this label worn off or mostly worn off. There were others, however, that were not so bad, but it took a number of purchases to find them. I used all the worn items. All…

Eastern Townships Bank, Keremeos, B.C., cheque

1 September 2015 1 September 2015Bank Notes, Token Talk

Not knowing some banking history I thought it very unusual to see a “Eastern Township Bank” cheque from Keremeos, BC. I thought Eastern Townships usually relates to a group of towns back east and that it would be unusual for such a group to have branches out in British Columbia. I did know, however, that the Bank of Hamilton (Ontario) had at least one branch out here, so… For those mainland Vancouver types who do not go much into the interior, Keremeos is a village (which is sort of again another reason for wondering why an Eastern Townships bank office?)…

Medicine Man Charlie’s Wooden Nickel

14 August 2015 14 August 2015Token Talk

Token Talk with Duff Malkin Medicine Man Charlie’s Wooden Nickel What can give me a good buzz is the discovery of something I did not know about and which is somewhat unusual and I did not expect to see. This following wooden nickel is one such item. It is quite thick for a wooden nickel (7mm or about ¼ of an inch, which may have been more relevant in Canada’s pre-metric days). Ranier Provisions is in Gastown at 2 West Cordova. It is a licensed restaurant. I am not sure whether it is the “Rainier of Gastown” referred to on…

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