"Bostonian Token"/vulgar coin (help needed with the term)....

savoyspecial

as a novelty i have started picking up examples of large cents with a particularly vulgar alteration done to the reverse of the coin.......i will not post a pic but it involves changing a vowel in the word CENT to make it a not-so-nice word......this practice seems to have been fairly prevalent in the 19th century because examples are quite easy to find today.......well, recently i heard a collector use the term 'Bostonian Token' in reference to coins with this alteration.......is anyone familiar with this term and how it came to be used in this way? (Why Boston??) thanks in advance...

lkeigwin

I went to school in Providence, RI and spent a little time chasing women in Boston. I get it.
Lance.

edix2001

cf. Boston Marriage

SkyMan

Hmmm, let's not forget the phrase, "Banned in Boston", was sometimes used in the early to mid 20th century to inflate sales of books etc. in other locales.

TONEDDOLLARS

I know a local B&M in Lexington Ma. that has a jar full of them

droopyd

I've seen many a large cent and half cent defaced in this manner - never heard the term "bostonian token" before, though, and i lived there for nearly a decade.

rld14

I want one of those!

I have read that these originated in the south during reconstruction, on the other hand, how many large cents were still circulating during reconstruction?

Quarternut

The term is 'bawdy' token IIRC. (Perhaps that is not right but meant for another type of coin, I am unsure at this point.)

I have seen and have owned many examples of these on both large cents and Flying Eagle cents. There is also a somewhat related type that has the eagle on the FE coins carved into a phallic symbol. They are not particularly rare and can be found on many different years of coins.

However, there is no way to tell when these were done or for what particular purpose. I have heard different explanations for them, but the most prevalent is their use in brothels as a token for a service. (No one that I know of has any concrete proof of this that I have seen)


QN

Shamika

I've gotten lucky in Boston.

TennesseeDave

One Cant?I don't get it!

Quarternut

One Cint?

HoledandCreative

I calll them E2Us. I know someone who collects them by date. They also come in Half Cents and 2 Cents. I have never seen a non-copper one. Wanna part with the dealer's name that has a jar of them?

abitofthisabitofthat

I have always heard them referred to as brothel tokens. I got in trouble with one once (a brothel token that is, not an actual brothel). I had bought a deal that included a bunch of late date large cents. All had issues - cleaning, corroded, etc. Anyway, I had not really wanted them and just put them all in my junk box. I had no idea one of them was a brothel token. A few months later a woman was looking through the junk box at a show, picking out some inexpensive coins for her son when she noticed it. She was really offended, gave me an earful, and, of course, left without buying anything. Since that incident, I always remember to take a quick look at the reverse of large cents, just to be sure.

ricko

Out of all the coins shows and shops I have attended, I have never encountered one of these. I have seen the 'potty' coins, and of course the 'heads and tails' coins... but this is a new one. Quite a novelty, I would like to get one of these. (I have a section of my collection that is rather eclectic.) As an aside, the female customer that left in a huff was either highly intolerant or secretly titillated. Cheers, RickO

Mission16

Hm. I lived in Western Mass for 17 years and never heard that term for them. And any derogatory remark directed toward Boston was invented in Western Mass as payback for sucking all the tax money away from us.


I found one of these in a collection my Dad bought. Luckily it was caught before it went out on the table.

Ricko- I'll send you the one I have. PM sent

ricko

Thank you very much Bert. That is most appreciated. Cheers, RickO

CaptHenway

Neither I nor the other numismatist here have heard the term.
TD

Billet7

Not a commonly used term. Must be a colloquialism specific to some area or era. The term I most commonly hear is a "brothel token." I think you would have a tough time finding information on the subject. Even in the Wild West of the mid to late 1800's people were generally embarassed to be associated with brothels, so you are not likely to see recorded evidence of the coins being used or what they were used for; either because they wanted it to remain hidden from public scrutiny, or because those involved were not educated enough to record such events. Has anyone ever found one of these coins in high grade? Every one I have seen is in a fairly low grade.


One Cynt? (You know...sometimes.)

TONEDDOLLARS

Lexington coin Lexington Ma.

LanLord

<< <i>One Cint? >>

You guys got it all wrong, it's One Dent

WinLoseWin

There was a bit of commentary regarding this in one of the Bowers and Merena auction catalogs maybe somewhere around the mid 1980's to early 1990's, have no idea what sale it was.

Think it was under a bulk lot that had one in it. QDB often would add some interesting commentary or info under various lots here and there. It was kind of funny seeing this one brought up while avoiding the word. I do seem to recall a reference to bored civil war soldiers. Not sure if it was stated as fact or just one theory. They are usually on coins that would have been circulating at the time. Maybe someone else knows which sale it was.

edix2001

You know who has a very nice one of those? -- Mike Hunt.

Quarternut

<< <i>You know who has a very nice one of those? -- Mike Hunt. >>



Ya really had to have been a teenager in the early 80's to understand where that comment comes from ... luckily I was!


Aww memories...thanks for the chuckle!

QN

WinLoseWin

I thought I saw that mentioned on the 1st page of this thread but it seems to be gone now.

Hey did anyone else see... Uh, nevermind.

ricko

"Ya really had to have been a teenager in the early 80's to understand ..." That was around LONG before the '80's. Cheers, RickO

Quarternut

<< <i>"Ya really had to have been a teenager in the early 80's to understand ..." That was around LONG before the '80's. Cheers, RickO >>



Maybe...but I sure remember it from a swine infested teen movie!

QN

Billet7

I wasn't a teenager in the early 80's, but I too am familiar with good ole Mike. I think the "gag name" is timeless since it began with "Porky's" which was later revitalized by The Simpsons. Bart has used a ton of gag names in his prank calls, though I don't recall "Mike Hunt" ever being used.

MadMarty

If I remember right someone had one of these in a PCGS slab.

Billet7

NO!!!???? I'm gonna have to see that!

savoyspecial

it is true, a member here owns an off center Large Cent/altered C*NT in a PCGS holder (non-Genuine)

PCGS will not holder these even in Ginny holders.

CaptHenway

<< <i>If I remember right someone had one of these in a PCGS slab. >>



You trying to get bammed again??????????????????????

WinLoseWin

I wonder if Mike sent any coins to get the old ANACS photo certificates where the name was printed on them. That and a PCGS coin, if one exist, or another relating to the thread subject would make an interesting, yet childish and yet funny exhibit.

Of course all for the purposes of serious scholarly study of said coin related items.

lordmarcovan

<< <i> I do seem to recall a reference to bored civil war soldiers >>

I do seem to recall that, too. But then I've heard other things attributed to bored Civil War soldiers (and rightfully so), like the carved bullets. Relic hunters sometimes find .58 Minie bullets carved to resemble the tip of a certain male anatomical part. (They also carved their lead bullets into miniature skulls and dice.)

I reckon it was a popular form of "trench art"- it went on in WW1, too, and in WW2 they were making those rings out of Walking Liberty halves.

Of course this is not to suggest that soldiers and sailors are solely responsible for all coin alteration. There were lots of bored or creative people around with nothing better to do, apparently. What I find strange is that one doesn't see as much of it today, when coins are worth a lot less. The guy from yesteryear who messed up one of his coins was risking more, financially speaking.

droopyd

<< <i>I wasn't a teenager in the early 80's, but I too am familiar with good ole Mike. I think the "gag name" is timeless since it began with "Porky's" which was later revitalized by The Simpsons. >>



Those jokes were old when I was a kid in the early 60s.

ricko

I received one of these today from Mission16 (Bert) in the mail. Excellent specimen. Thank you very much Bert. Cheers, RickO