CANAL ZONE wooden nickel, (1960s)
$75.00
CANAL ZONE, no date (1960s), Obverse: ISTHMIAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY ANNUAL COIN SHOW AORIL ##-@( 1967 BALBOA CANAL ZONE, Reverse: buffalo L, USA WOODEN NICKEL, octagonal, red ink on wood, 37mm, AU
1 in stock
Description
Wooden nickels were a 20th century phenomenon of the USA and to some extent its neighbors. They were cheap to make and were useful advertising in the pre-internet era.
Canal Zone was a few miles north and south of the Panama Canal during the period of the USA lease, 1903-79. It was basically an American enclave with all kinds of American cultural elements.
A token is used like a coin but is not a coin. Rather, it stands for a coin without the value of the coin. Maybe its copper, but says its value is the same as a silver coin. Usually tokens were made privately, but sometimes governments got involved.
The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.
