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V18 2015 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 43, October 25, 2015, Article 22

LOUIS GOLD ITEM IDENTIFIED AS A TOOL CHECK

In a follow-up to an earlier E-Sylum article, Matthew Wittmann of the American Numismatic Society reports a tentative identification of the "Louis Gold" token in the ANS collection. -Editor

Louis Gold 1258 obverse Louis Gold 1258 reverse

A reader has (we think rightly) speculated that this is a “tool check,” i.e., a tag that was attached to a particular tool in an industrial or construction setting that identified it as the property of the company. Individual or contract workers would thus “check out” and return tools as needed. See, for example, this eBay listing for a metal tool check from the Hudson Car Co., which includes the warning ”Penalty for loss twenty five cents.”

It has also been observed that there was a man named Louis Gold who was a prominent NYC builder during the early 20th century. Gold was a Russian Jewish émigré and has a fascinating life story, which you can read more about in the profile reproduced from the Brooklyn Eagle below. The short story for our purposes is that Gold owned a large building company, one that more likely than not employed a tool check system for its workers. The inscription “LOUIS GOLD” and accompanying serial number would make perfect sense in this context.

To read the complete article, see:
MYSTERIES FROM THE VAULT: LOUIS GOLD BADGE (www.anspocketchange.org/mysteries-from-the-vault-louis-gold-medal/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
QUERY: LOUIS GOLD MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n19a32.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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