1 heck of a token

[Anonymous]

I found this baby not far from the main street on a small front yard. At first glance it looks to be a half cent. On closer inspection it appears there never was a date on the front. On the back it is worn quite a bit but there is a distinct outline of a seated liberty similar to a colonial Connecticut large cent with the partial letters "ENERAL" (which I have to assume is general - as in store) and at the foot of the liberty outline there is a very small but distinct "15 lbs w.". The rest is worn away. As you can imagine, I would dearly love to know how old this thing is. Anyone ever seen anything like it? Thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

Reverse side..........

 

[Anonymous]

If it is a store card it would've been made between 1862-4. There were thousands of different types made. Nice find Joe! <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
-Tim

 

[Anonymous]

You could very well be correct. It's intriguing however, that the obverse is a bust type coin which pre-dates the civil war. I haven't seen store tokens with bust type dies before which made me think it might be older.

 

[Anonymous]

I will try to locate my picture of it. Will post it when I do.

 

[Anonymous]

Congrats Joe,
No half cent coins were struck in 1837, So many merchants created their own 1/2 cent token. Several different types of half cent tokens were struck varying from each other, I found one of an 1837 1/2 cent token with an eagle on the front.
Congrats,
Paul (Ca)

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, that makes this an exciting find even if it is a bit worn. Gotta love it. Thanks much for the ID.