Myers Depot Metal Detectors

And old token... Can't find it anywhere... Help?

Skippy SH13

Skippy SH13

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I found this Billings, Montana token a few months ago rather deep in a field. It cleaned up exceptionally well (we have great dirt here for that). Near as I can tell, the "Topic" was a theatrical saloon at the turn of the 18th Century. The data I can find on it, though, has a different owner. I'm trying to figure out if this is older than 1910 (which is when the other owner shows up on the interwebs!)

Any ideas of the value/history on this one? It appears to be pretty rare.

Skippy
 

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Stiffwrists said:
Turn of the 18th Century?? I need to revisit my Montana history.

If you create a profile at that site, and login, it will show you historical sales data, if available.
Click to expand...

Yep, amazing how 1800's and 19th century can confuse a simple guy like me. LOL

Good catch. :)
 
I believe in the past, they sold regular cigars in saloons for 2 cigars for a nickle. So if someone wanted two cigars, he gave a dime of a nickle. If it was a dime, they gave him back the 5 Cents in trade token. If he wanted a nickle, they took the token and gave him a nickle back. Money was not numerous in the past. I worked the Cripple Creek Mining District for a number of years and found a lot of tokens and lot of coins.
Melbeta
 
That is a great find. I've lived in Yellowstone county most of my life. I have only really studied the history since I started detecting in 2017. The earliest Billings city directory that lists the "Topic" is 1903-1904. It was located in the historical city center downtown area very near the railroad depot. The original proprietors were a couple of fellas named Anton Minder and John Bain. The saloon and the theater were housed in different buildings about 1/2 block apart. It was later sold to a fellow named Gilbert O"Grady, who also owned a concert hall called the Garden, located a couple of blocks away. Early Billings was a pretty rough place. Lots of saloons, brothels, and the like. Your token is a great piece of memorabilia. Thanks for sharing!
 
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