Need some coin ID help - pics included

golddustin

I was given a small boxful of coins, all in the the 'windowpane' type holders as shown. There was nothing truly remarkable... a lot of environmentally damaged coins, etc. But there were a few nice Peace & Morgan dollars, and some decent Barber & seated dimes. She made a point of showing me this coin, saying that of all of her dad's coins, this was always her favorite.

Since there was no date, no mintmarks or inscriptions, I figured it was California fractional gold, but I checked the Redbook, Breen and then my U.S. Patterns book, and could not find anything resembling this piece - is it foreign, fake, a token, or what??? Thanks for the help in advance.

Julian

This is a game counter, made to look like a gold dollar. I imagine that there are collectors somewhere for them, but I have never seen a book cataloging them.

golddustin

Thanks Julian. It doesn't appear to be actual gold metal, although there was the chance it had picked up some olive toned patina at some point, plus it doesn't feel heavy enough to be struck from gold - I'm thinking it's brass. I wonder if my grandpap was taken by somebody, or just took a shine to that piece? I didn't have the heart to tell my Mom that I thought it was not a gold coin, but I still wanted to be sure.

Do you have any idea when these pieces were used? Circa early 20th century, perhaps?

jonathanb

The definitive reference on counters is a multi-part series by L. B. Fauver. Stack's used to sell them -- see under Fauver alphabetically here. That's the old Stack's site. They might still sell them. I don't know. I don't have copies myself. You might be able to find them somewhere else, using the bibiliographic info on that page.