By ERIC C. RODENBERG
AntiqueWeek Associate Editor

RENO, Nev. – The power of an antique - or collectible - is its ability to “connect” with history.

The collector who finds a genuine Kansas saloon token can be satisfied that its history is colorful indeed. Who knows, Fred N. Holabird asks; that token may have once been in the pocket of the legendary Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill Cody, Soapy Smith or any of the cast of Wild West lawmen, cowboys and desperados.
There’s very little to say about the Wild West without mentioning the word “saloon.”

During his past 25 years as a Western Americana dealer and auctioneer, Holabird has learned there is one item, maybe quirky and quaint, that has caught the recent fancy of collectors – the saloon token, that metallic, coin-sized coupon that could be redeemed for, if not a drink, at least a discount. Saloon tokens were often given in change or used as an advertising piece.
But little has been written about saloon tokens.

As a result of perhaps that historical oversight, Holabird – a trained geologist – began a three-year quest digging into the history and availability of saloon tokens across the United States. In 2008, he wrote the Collecting Guide to the Pioneer Minor Coinage of American Saloons, as a gathering place for this burgeoning field of new collectors.

The qualification for consideration as a saloon token is simple: the word “saloon” must appear on the medallion. Beyond that, though, the definition of a saloon may be somewhat broader.

Originally, the word “saloon” meant a place where people could meet and socialize. As such, many mid-19th century “saloons” were coffee houses, ice cream parlors and restaurants (such as chop houses). But, saloon tokens - particularly those from the late 19th and early 20th centuries - were meant to be exchanged for inebriating spirits.

And, although, most of the medallions can be found in the West, saloon tokens can be found in nearly every state of the union. Many of the Eastern tokens, although difficult to find, also carry a great sense of history.

“People didn’t understand how rare some of these coins are,” Holabird says. “Most of them are found in the Wild West. That’s where the heavy drinking was, on the wide-open fringes of civilization. But, it’s very difficult to find them in the South …
Georgia, South Carolina – and Florida, you might as well forget it. It doesn’t matter what kind of money we’re talking. It took us three years to write the book – and as hungry and aggressive as I am in this trade, I had a difficult time … those collectors that have them, just won’t give them up.”

Tokens bespeak of our strange national history related to the sale and consummation of alcoholic beverages. They reflect the mores and laws of a younger, changing nation.

Some states simply outlawed saloons; others merely burned them down. In tiny Wilkinson, Ind., (current population 356) enraged locals successively dynamited three saloons, according to Holabird’s book.

So far, no known examples of tokens have been found from Vermont, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Anti-saloon and other alcohol-restricting laws may explain those states’ lack of tokens. While many tokens – known as “mavericks” within collector circles – have no location stamped on the tokens, there were also many “anti-saloon” tokens that have become highly collectible. These are anti-liquor medallions distributed by the Anti Saloon League, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and other prohibition organizations.

“The Nation is Founded on Manhood and Womanhood,” declares one such token, “the Saloon is Built on the Wrecks of Both.”
Although the interest in these tokens continue to grow, Holabird has no idea how many collectors there are. Despite selling these items as a part of Western memorabilia for more than two decades, he admits it is difficult to put an estimate on such a collectible.

However, that may all change in December. On Dec. 8, in Reno, Holabird’s company – Holabird-Kagin Americana – will be conducting the first exclusive auction of saloon tokens, comprised of more than 650 tokens gathered from old watering holes across the United States. Amazingly, 44 states will be represented in the token auction.

For the auction, Holabird has fashioned estimates that generally range from $100+ up to $1,000+. Some of the more common tokens, such as those from California, Nevada and Alaska (particularly gold-fevered Skagway), will begin at $40+.

The tokens from the less common states, such as Hawaii, Florida and Georgia are estimated in the $300 to $900 range.

Collectors may not only collect by states, but cross-over collecting may go into saloons with mining, lumber and railroad themes. There are also tokens with unique saloon names – Old Tub, Dummy Line, and The Frigid Zone saloons; or historical,
The Klondike Saloon in Alaska owned by Soapy Smith, “King of the Frontier Con Men” or The Second Class Saloon, “The Only Second Class Saloon in Alaska,” said to be once owned by Wyatt Earp.
Of particular interest to collectors are the “pocket mirror” tokens. They are tokens, usually good for a free drink or discount, with a celluloid image of the saloon or bargirls, more often than not scantily clad. Dating from 1899 to about 1910, it is thought that these tokens were passed out by the saloon girls themselves. These tokens, at the Holabird-Kagin sale, are estimated at $1,000+.

But good things – or bad, depending on your perspective – never last forever.

Once the 20th century got well under way, saloons began to fall in disfavor. The Temperance Movement’s Anti-Saloon League began pushing prohibition of alcoholic beverages to new limits. By 1910, many states had become “dry” and by 1916 the number of saloons across the country dropped drastically. In 1919, the Anti-Saloon League conceived and drafted the National Prohibition Act. The new law, also known as the Volstead Act was sponsored by Congressman Andrew Volstead (who although a non-drinker, was not known as a “temperament” man, attributed with chewing a pound of tobacco a day).