"1860" Token TC-44932 Bronze 29mm Fort Benton

Coin Details

Description

This bronze token dated "1860" and measuring 29 millimeters is cataloged as TC-44932 and originates from Fort Benton in Montana Territory. Fort Benton, established in 1846 as a fur trading post by the American Fur Company on the Missouri River, became the innermost port of the steamboat trade and a critical supply depot for the Montana gold fields during the 1860s. The quoted date and the Fort Benton attribution suggest this token served either as a trade piece during the frontier period or as a later commemorative celebrating the fort's significance in Western expansion. Fort Benton was the head of navigation on the Missouri River, the farthest point that steamboats could reliably reach from St. Louis. During the Montana gold rush of the 1860s, thousands of miners and settlers passed through the fort on their way to the diggings at Virginia City, Bannack, and Last Chance Gulch. Tokens circulated widely on the frontier where official coinage was scarce, and merchants, trading posts, and sutlers issued their own scrip and tokens to facilitate local commerce. The 29mm diameter places this piece at a standard size for merchant tokens of the era.

Rarity Notes

Frontier-era Montana Territory tokens are scarce. Fort Benton pieces are especially sought after by collectors of Western Americana and territorial tokens.

Cross References

PCGS #967654; TC-44932