Up for auction is this White Brothers & Company, Shoe Manufacturers Token.  White Brothers & Company had factory in Boston, Massachusetts.  These holed Store Cards / Tokens were strung on the laces of the shoes sold by White Brothers in the 1890’s. Attaching one of these Advertising Tokens to every pair of shoes sold was a great way to advertise back in the1890’s.

The obverse of this token depicts a vignette of a Weeping Willow Tree at the center.  Around the edges along the upper half of the token reads: “WHITE BROTHERS & COMPANY”.  Around the edge along the lower portion of the token reads: “BOSTON. U.S.A.” and just above that centered it reads “WILLOW CALF.”, which was a type of processed grained leather with lines like Willow Bark. 

The Reverse of this token depicts a Horseshoe at the center, surrounded by squiggly lines in a manner that might be Persian or Arabic letters.  This token was obviously meant as a Good Luck Keepsake!

This token is in nice circulated condition, measures 24.5 millimeters in diameter, has a smooth edge, and appears to be struck in bronze.  It is holed at 12:00 to sting on to the laces of the shoes, so it is AS MADE at the Factory.  If this token were a coin, I would grade it as an XF / Au, as it has almost full luster and light wear in the willow branches of the tree.  I believe that the catalog number for this token is “Bos 119” in the Rulau Token Catalog.  Don’t let this token get away!

The token that you see is exactly the token that you will get, if you are the winning bidder.  Please look the photos over and judge the quality for yourself.

I will ship via USPS First Class Mail within the United States with Tracking.

New Jersey Sales Tax = 6.625%

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, or if you need better scans of the item, Bob [201] 843 1450 EBAY: Vette70

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Good Luck & Happy Hunting!