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Question about railroad "buffalo control" token
comma
Posts: 1,529 ✭✭✭
Hey guys! Started to get into US tokens.
A few questions.
First of all, is it allowed to post about tokens here?
Second, I just picked up this railroad token. Has anyone seen this one before? Are fakes made of these? Just love the subject matter. Does anyone have any other info on these? Are there other "buffalo control" tokens out there?
Thanks!
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I have not seen that one before and I do not have access (at the moment) to my book....Someone will have information soon....$100 is significant....Cheers, RickO
It is a fantasy token that has been around at least 30+ years. There has never been a similar real piece reported. All "tokens" with a L.A. Stamp signature should be viewed as fantasies as that is not the way the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Co. signed the tokens that they struck.
So this would be a reproduction? How much would it be worth? Anything?
Thanks
1970’s fantasy.
Thanks for the help guys! Had a feeling it was too good to be true
It's not a reproduction which would mean that something the same or similar was issued -- there have never been the same or similar pieces reported over the years since the 1860's on.
It is a complete fantasy, thought up, designed and struck in order to make $$$ from sales mainly to wholesalers and eventually to the general public and naive collectors often through flea markets and some unknowing or less scrupulous antique and coin dealers. There are many other similar "old west" tokens sold by the same source and other notorious sources such as Blackhawk Productions who wholesaled these and many of the fantasy large brass brothel tokens by the hundreds and thousands in the 1970's through 2000's. They have no real numismatic value other than being an example of the entrepreneurial wandering mind (although there is actually a catalog on the fantasy tokens which tries to ignite them as a topical collecting area).
Some of the other similar L.A. Stamp fantasies include ones purportedly from:
-- Holoway Stage Line, Goord For Return, $75 (uniface)
-- Wells Fargo & Co, Mexico Senal, Transferencia Union Pacific R.R. (uniface)
-- Any Locomotive Goin West, U.P.R.R. 1st Class Good Until 1887 (uniface)
Others refer to Indians, other transportation & military -- these are just the ones signed L.A. Stamp -- there are 100's of other fantasies in several styles with many being large brass pseudo-brothel tokens with all incuse lettering.
Not all of this sort of fantasy token will have "LA STAMP" on it. I bought one like this about 30 years ago for cheap. I assume it was actually made in the 1970s:
PS:
That Pioche Nevada Trading Post token recently sold on eBay for $6:
https://ebay.com/itm/163887885446
Neat fantasy token but a but unrealistic. Not sure what you could do to a buffalo back then that was worth $100.