(1923) Token Benice 30A Copper Anchorage-Gold Nugget

Coin Details

Description

This copper trade token from circa 1923 is cataloged as Benice 30A and was issued in Anchorage, Alaska Territory. The token features a gold nugget design element, distinguishing it from the related Benice 30A variant without the gold nugget. The Benice catalog, compiled by Dick Benice, is the standard reference for Alaska trade tokens, documenting the hundreds of tokens issued by merchants, trading posts, saloons, and service establishments throughout the territory from the Gold Rush era through statehood in 1959. Anchorage was founded in 1914 as the headquarters for the Alaska Railroad and grew rapidly during the 1920s as the railroad transformed transportation and commerce in the territory. Trade tokens were essential in Alaskan communities where federal coinage was chronically scarce and the distances between towns made banking services unreliable. The gold nugget on this token references Alaska's identity as a gold-producing region, an association that remained central to the territory's self-image decades after the initial Klondike and Nome rushes. The copper composition is standard for Alaska trade tokens of the period, which typically circulated at face values ranging from five cents to one dollar.

Rarity Notes

Benice 30A with gold nugget is scarce. Alaska trade tokens from the 1920s are actively collected, and Anchorage pieces from this early period of the city's history are especially valued.

Cross References

PCGS #544045; Benice 30A (with gold nugget); Anchorage, Alaska Territory; see also PCGS #623174 (without nugget)