Is this Seated Liberty a game counter ?

dcarr

This item looks "vintage" to me. 1866 Seated Liberty with 8 stars and "HONOR" on the shield. The reverse looks like a portrait of James Monroe inside a wreath. It is the size of a silver dollar but it is made of, I think, copper-nickel alloy (also known as "German Silver"). It has a smooth edge and coin-flip orientation. It weighs 19.8 grams.

Obverse:
designscomputed.com/coin_pics/seated_game_obv.jpg

Reverse:
designscomputed.com/coin_pics/seated_game_rev.jpg

.

MedalCollector

This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Namvet69

Very cool detail for a prop coin. I'm sure it showed well on a saloon poker table. Peace Roy

ricko

Well that is different.... Nice obverse detail.... Cheers, RickO

CaptHenway

Nice piece!

coinsarefun

goldenEgg is correct and Daniel I’ve been searching for a nice example for a very long time.
Yours is wonderful.

Barberian

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Why don't they use regular US coins? All they'd need are culls for any scene unless the movie is about ruthless coin collectors of the old west. "Once Upon a Time in the Coin Shop", perhaps. Or "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Coin Dealers".

moursund

@Barberian said:

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Why don't they use regular US coins? All they'd need are culls for any scene unless the movie is about ruthless coin collectors of the old west. "Once Upon a Time in the Coin Shop", perhaps. Or "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Coin Dealers".

"A fist full of BU dollars"

TurtleCat

@moursund said:

@Barberian said:

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Why don't they use regular US coins? All they'd need are culls for any scene unless the movie is about ruthless coin collectors of the old west. "Once Upon a Time in the Coin Shop", perhaps. Or "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Coin Dealers".

"A fist full of BU dollars"

The Magnificent MS-70

tokenpro

The Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Co. originally made the James Monroe obverse for a Monroe Doctrine Centennial Celebration held in Los Angeles in 1923. They later muled that obverse with a number of other 38mm copper nickel tokens that they produced creating an unknown number of combinations. The 1866 Seated Liberty pieces were no doubt used as movie prop money but I feel that many of the other same size & metal mules were used in a similar capacity. The OP piece is cataloged by Fuld & Rulau as Dlr.-12 in their TAMS Journal catalog supplement; the Monroe obverse as cataloged also comes with a Souvenir reverse and a $1.00 reverse in place of the Seated Liberty. Each is obtainable and carry a R-5 to R-6 on a 1-10 scale.

Here is a L.A.R.S. storecard advertising their movie work:

moursund

@TurtleCat said:

@moursund said:

@Barberian said:

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Why don't they use regular US coins? All they'd need are culls for any scene unless the movie is about ruthless coin collectors of the old west. "Once Upon a Time in the Coin Shop", perhaps. Or "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Coin Dealers".

"A fist full of BU dollars"

The Magnificent MS-70

Hang 'em High Grade

MsMorrisine

nice exonumia

laptop - photos and links ok
phone - no images & links give a 403 - Forbidden error

coinsarefun

Here is one of mine. I need to find the others. Including yours
1923 Monroe Doctorine Centennial Los Angeles Stadium Compliments of Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Co.

.

moursund

@moursund said:

@TurtleCat said:

@moursund said:

@Barberian said:

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

And you are correct - that is James Monroe.

Why don't they use regular US coins? All they'd need are culls for any scene unless the movie is about ruthless coin collectors of the old west. "Once Upon a Time in the Coin Shop", perhaps. Or "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Coin Dealers".

"A fist full of BU dollars"

The Magnificent MS-70

Hang 'em High Grade

Don't take young children to those movies. They are rated PCGS.

dcarr

Thanks for the info. The item in question does seem to fit with the style of production seen from the 1940s through the 1960s, and also has traits pointing towards Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company as the maker.

Zoins

Very interesting token Dan! Thanks for posting it. I'm a big fan of tokens that have devices that emulate coins.

Here are the two Monroe busts side by side for comparison. Thanks for posting yours Stef!

Zoins

I found 4 sales of this on eBay/WorthPoint with some good info. It is cataloged as Kappen K-115.

• https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/counter-movie-prop-money-1866-seated-2019670520
• https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/hollywood-paramount-pictures-1866-3830862369
• https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1866-liberty-counter-token-hollywood-128903514
• https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1866-liberty-seated-james-monroe-3143347232

One has such as long description, it was cut off!

eBay seller wrote:
Obverse: (Liberty seated with 8 stars around and HONOR on shield) / 1866

Reverse: (Bust of James Monroe facing half left within a circle, wreath around all)

White metal. About 38 mm in diameter.

Nice high grade but there are a few dark spots which would probably come off with a light cleaning if the buyer has the inclination to do so. Catalog number: Kappen - Hollywood, CA K-115 Also listed on Richard Greever's online token database as TC-314215 . The piece is mentioned in a Token and Medal Society (TAMS) article "BLACK MAGIC" by Virginia Culver. This rare token/medal would make a nice addition to any collection of vintage movie or magic memorabilia. Background information: This series of very attractive silver dollar size medals, struck by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company circa 1920's - 1930's, is most often thought of as Movie Money. At least one type, however, with the obverse side picturing the Monroe bust and the other side featuring a close replica of an 1866 Seated Liberty Dollar, was reported to have been used as a magician's palming coin. They have generally been attributed to Hollywood due to the use of the Paramount Pictures logo on the reverse of two types, but they were probably used as movie prop coins by other production companies as well. The majority of the types show the bust of U.S. President James Monroe within a circle and surrounded by a wreath. This obverse is paired with a variety of reverse designs. The idea of using the Monroe bust may have had something to do with the 1924 Monroe Doctrine Centennial which the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company commemorated by issuing a number of other medals featuring his portrait. Some of the reverse designs include the word "SOUVENIR"; "FRIDAY / THE / 13TH / LUCKY / PIECE" within a horseshoe; "$1.00" within a circle of 24 stars; and a beautiful Chinese courtyard with a Phoenix Bird above. Others in this series feature a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the obverse and "SOUVENIR" on the reverse, and another with a Liberty Head facing right within a circle of 18 stars and a Chinese courtyard scene with a Phoenix Bird hovering above on the reverse. The courtyard scene when paired with the Monroe bust is the most common type of the series. The scene has been attributed by some to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. One rare type, classified as a So-called Dollar, was struck in nickel plated copper for the 1935 California-Pacific Exposition in San Diego. The obverse shows the Exposition fairgrounds within a circle of eight stars and it has the Paramount Pictures logo on its reverse. It is listed as a Rarity-6 (21 -75 known) in Jeff Shevlin's 2018 catalog So-called Dollars from the Pacific Coast Expositions as catalog number SH 22-2 NPC. This series of medals are known to have been struck in brass, white metal, aluminum, copper or brass plated base metal, and nickel plated copper. They are all considered very scarce to very rare depending upon their design and the metal used. This is a fun and challenging series to collect. Many are not listed in either of Kappen's California tokens catalogs, and there are probably other undiscovered die pairings yet to be found.My seller info:My father, who is a retired coin dealer, has for years been sending me old tokens and medals from Hollywood and the Los Angeles area as he ran across them. He figured that they would be of more interest to people in my area than in Oregon where he currently resides. It is now time for me to part with some of these interesting and historic items. Some of them picture movie stars of bygone days. Others are vintage "movie money" used by the production companies to represent coins in their movies, and still others are advertising or employee tokens used at Paramount and other famous studios. A few of the tokens are from businesses that operated in the Los Angeles area from the early 1900s to the 1960s. He also has...

Zoins

@GoldenEgg said:
This piece is generally understood to be a movie prop coin manufactured by the Los Angeles Rubber Stamp Company.

I've seen this in several places now. A challenge would be to identify any movies it appeared in