Here's a little history I just uncovered:
In 1861 the outbreak of the Civil War led to the most extensive series of tokens in U.S. history. Gold and silver began to be hoarded almost immediately; by early 1862, the only currency in circulation - other than paper - was the copper-nickel small cent. Some merchants resorted to paper scrip, bearer checks, or cardboard tokens.
From 1866 to about 1900 is the Saloon Token Era. Now saloon tokens are known from the Civil War, and after 1900, but hundreds and hundreds of varieties were issued beginning about 1875, primarily in the Southwest. These tokens have denominations such as 1 drink, 12 1/2 cents, 6 1/4 cents, or "a smile" (a small whiskey). They are highly sought after and many command three-figure prices, especially those with pictorial designs, ghost town tokens, and territorial issues (from Arizona Territory, Montana Territory, etc.). Another innovation of this period was the pool token or "Brunswick" token, after the billiard company that issued the overwhelming majority of them. Many of these were "GOOD FOR 1 DRINK." A few counterstamps are known from this period - OIL OF ICE and PARISIAN VARIETIES, 16.ST. & B'WAY N.Y. - are typical, but it is the end of the era for them; advertising counterstamps are almost totally absent after 1900. Merchant store cards and trade tokens are common from this period also, but they are not characteristically different from those issued prior to the Civil War. An extensive series of these tokens have designs commemorating the Centennial of American Independence in 1876.
Quite interesting!
JAM
