Can anyone ID this old coin? I've about exhausted all of my google search guesses. I believe the coin is made of copper. It measures 27.3 mm in diameter. One side is very well worn while the other appears to portray an oil lamp sitting upon a book. The handle of the lamp resembles a snake. Thanks for looking.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40415...=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

Incredible! Thanks Para.

3 minutes! OMG that was fast!

Three Minutes!

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
3 minutes! OMG that was fast!

It may be a SIGforum record. I spent the better part of an hour scouring the web. I now suspect my error was searching for a "coin" rather than a "token". Once again, SIGforum saves the day.

I think it interesting that Latin words were used on a token replacing money, for obtaining valuable books. Imagine back then creating a token and saying "you know what, I'll use the Latin phrase SIG ITUR AD ASTRA so everyone knows what I'm talking about." It was reportedly written by Virgil in the Aenid to say "Thus one journeys to the stars." I suppose reading books has always taken us elsewhere, mentally, but for pre-Civil War culture, to reference the Aenid, I'm impressed.

A literacy depot token. Very interesting.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/medal...ngc/a/131648-29836.s

1845 M. P. Morse Pittsburgh Merchant Hard Times Token Literary Depot M - Pa

http://numismaclub.com/unt/105...ot_m___pa___590.html

I searched Google Maps for No 85 Fourth Street in Pittsburgh (though the city still had no "h" in the name at the time of the coins striking). There's a Fourth Ave in the city downtown, and it's basically where the PPG Building is now. There's a Fourth Street across the river on the South Side, but that building looks to be early 1900s to my eyes. It would have been cool to find an old structure tucked away somewhere. The city of Pgh has more than a few structures that go back that far I'm sure.

What I find fascinating is the amount of wear the token displays. Based upon the condition, one may conclude these private tokens circulated concurrently with US minted legal tender coins.

Google "lens" finds it in seconds.

Never heard of it

Y'all ought to be charging tuition, there's so much info here.

skywag needs to understand that sometimes, you just know things. I just happened to know this one. On the other hand, I've never heard of "Google Lens".

Recently, I've had reason to do exhaustive image searches in the period of the mid-19th Century, and this came up for me in a recent search.

I always say the obvious, so here goes again!

I love this forum! The owner(s) run a nice tight ship and as important, the forum members know what they are talking about. Love ❤️ it!!

quote:

Originally posted by hjs157:
What I find fascinating is the amount of wear the token displays. Based upon the condition, one may conclude these private tokens circulated concurrently with US minted legal tender coins.

Or it could have been someone’s “lucky token” carried daily for 30 years in a pocketful of change.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Or it could have been someone’s “lucky token” carried daily for 30 years in a pocketful of change.

I actually have two of these tokens in my possession; the second exhibiting more wear than the first. They were among a small number of mid-to-late 19th century coins I inherited from my mother. When I was young, I recall her telling me they had belonged to her grandfather who was born in 1850. At the time of his death in 1930, these coins would have had the buying power of ~$50 in today's currency.