The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 9, February 26, 2006, Article 18

OFFICIAL TOKENS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT?

Chick Ambrass also asks: "Were the ARCC tokens the only tokens
issued by the U.S. government?  Hard Times and Civil War tokens
were done privately, as were the various Hawaiian tokens listed
in the Red Book.

Another candidate could be the Palo Seco leper hospital in Panama.
It was financed and run by the U.S. and was adjacent to the official
canal zone, although it was not located IN the zone."

[This is another interesting question (and the sort of thing that
keeps The E-Sylum fun).  There are probably a lot of military
tokens that might fit the bill, issued by the armed forces for use
in the PX and officers' canteens.  But could these also be considered
private issues, like the Civil War Sutler tokens, issued by private
merchants who had a contract with the government?  For that matter,
the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, although backed by the
U.S., was also a separate entity.  So is it right to say the ARCC
tokens were "issued" by the U.S.?  Collectors of U.S. colonial issues
might argue that the Fugio Cent was a token issue, authorized by the
government but produced privately.  What do our readers think?  Were
there any official token issues of the U.S. government?  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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