Re: "50... IN TRADE"
When general merchandise stores made the decision to use tokens in their businesses, there were several options from which they could choose. The most popular with modern-day collectors was for them to have dies made that spelled out the name of the business, the location, and maybe even the proprietor's name and year. These remove most of the mysteries around the history of the token. Other businesses decided to leave out some of these items of information. Research can often fill in the missing items, but if the location was the missing item, then the token is called a "maverick". Again, through the use of business directories, local newspapers and history books, and genealogical resources, the location can often be determined with a fair degree of confidence. The other choice, an example of which you describe, is to go with a generic token. These are almost impossible to research because they have been used all across the country by all sorts of businesses.
They were available for the merchant to purchase from the companies that manufactured tokens. The advantage to the merchant was that they were less expensive than those made from custom dies, and they were usually available immediately since the manufacturers carried them in stock. The downside was that they might be purchased by anyone - for instance a generic 50¢ token could often be purchased in quantity of 100 for just a few dollars. So if a merchant chose this route, he would be susceptible to having people turn up to redeem tokens that he did not issue. That could lead to an immediate financial crisis! In the best case he would lose the advertising value of having his name out in front of the public.
John in ID
