Family storage surprises

On a recent visit back home, I decided to investigate a couple of old boxes of photos that had been sitting around the old family home ever since they had been brought from my grandparents' old house in East Texas.  The boxes were full of old pictures, old Christmas cards, postcards, newspaper clippings, obituaries... things that are as good as gold to a genealogist.

Buried way down in the bottom of one box was a small baggie, filled with Canadian currency and some other unusual coins.  I'll probably never know the story of how they got there, since to my knowledge no one in the family had ever been to Canada, but I was certainly intrigued by some of the other items that were with them.  These coins were not legal tender, but were either souvenir or promotional coins that provide a small glimpse into the history of American advertising.

This first coin, above, is made of aluminum and dates from 1900.  It was created as a promotional item for the White Sewing Machine Company.  The obverse reads "White Sewing Machine Co Cleveland O USA" ringed around the outer edge, while inside it reads "Exposition Universelle Paris 1900".  The reverse features an image of the sewing machine surrounded by the motto "The White is King".

The above flipping token was a promotional item for the Gillette Razor Company.  It was manufactured by the Whitehead & Hoag advertising company of Newark, New Jersey, and probably dates to c. 1910-20.  The presence of the elephant and "G.O.P." label suggest possible distribution at political conventions or similar events.

The above coin is certainly unique!  It's a commemorative medal for the Golden Jubilee of Jacksonville, Texas and dates to 1922.  Unlike the rest of the coins, the origin of this one isn't so mysterious, since the house it came from was within 15 miles of Jacksonville.  On one side is the image of a building labeled "Chessher Hotel" and the year 1872, and on the other is another building labeled "Liberty Hotel" and dated 1922.  As far as I can tell neither hotel that appears on the coin is still in existence.  The tarnish and weight of the coin indicate that it's made of silver.

This last coin is a trade token of some kind.  These were very prevalent in the US in the late 19th to early 20th centuries in rural areas and were used as currency in the issuing shops to trade for goods.  The name "August Wedemeier" is probably the proprietor of the shop that issued this token, which dates to 1914 or later.

All photos by the author.