(1876) White Metal Token Pa-Ph 910, J.W. Gilbert's

Coin Details

Description

This white metal Centennial token (Pa-Ph 910) was issued by J.W. Gilbert's, a general merchant of Philadelphia. A Philadelphia establishment with four varieties in Pa-Ph 910-912. Numbering places these in white-metal merchant section. Pa-Ph 910-912 includes closely numbered variants. White metal production costs were a fraction of those for copper or brass, allowing merchants to spread their advertising budgets across greater quantities of tokens. Manufactured by Lingg & Bro. of Philadelphia, the firm that produced more Centennial merchant advertising tokens than all other manufacturers combined. The Rulau catalog assigns each Centennial token a geographic prefix and number — Pa-Ph for Philadelphia issues, NY-NY for New York — with separate entries for each metal variant of a given die. The Centennial drew nearly ten million visitors to Philadelphia between May and November 1876, a figure that transformed the city's economy and created a booming market for portable souvenirs.

Rarity Notes

Pa-Ph 910 in white metal is encountered with moderate frequency in the Centennial token market. Condition census runs from well-worn to occasional choice examples.

Cross References

Pa-Ph 910; PCGS #525280