(1888-89) Copper Token Rulau NY-Em 16, Roberts Dye Works

Coin Details

Description

Copper advertising token for Roberts Dye Works of Elmira, New York, circa 1888-1889. Roberts Dye Works was a textile dyeing and cleaning establishment in Elmira, a prosperous city in the Southern Tier region of New York State. Dye works and laundry businesses were common issuers of advertising tokens in the late 19th century, as the competitive nature of the cleaning industry encouraged promotional spending. Elmira was known as a manufacturing and transportation hub during this period. Copper, 22mm. Gilded Age commerce embraced tokens as advertising tools, with merchants commissioning increasingly elaborate designs that reflected the era's emphasis on visual branding and consumer appeal. New York merchant tokens are among the most diverse and heavily collected in American exonumia, reflecting the city's dominance as the nation's commercial capital. Authentication relies on die characteristics, metal composition analysis, and comparison with known genuine specimens.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Upstate New York merchant token from Elmira's commercial heyday. Roberts Dye Works tokens are among the few Elmira attributions in the Rulau catalog. Textile industry advertising tokens form a specialized collecting category within American exonumia.

Cross References

Rulau NY-Em; PCGS #888679