J.F.Richhart 5 cent business tokens

[Deathpoet]

I have recently found two so called store or business tokens while searching for Civil war relics,They are about the size of a nickel made of brass and marked as follows. (first one)J.F.R. slot machines and cigars and a large 5 on back.(second one) J.F. Richhart slot machines and cigars and a large 5 on back with the words Good for 5 cents in trade.Any informationon these would be a great help ,thanks very much

 

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[diggummup]

Well first off welcome to the treasurenet forum! I'm surprised no one has jumped on this yet,knowing how the peeps are on here when it comes to a good mystery relic or token in this case.Just one question for you,Were these tokens found anywhere in or near the vicinity of the Omaha Council Bluffs in Saunders county Nevada Nebraska,more specifically the township of Wahoo?

 

[PBK]

The second token is listed with a different spelling— J. F. RITCHHART— in the "Older Unidentified" section of Alpert & Smith's book on arcade and slot machine tokens. At the time of publication (1984), it was valued at $5.

 

[Deathpoet]

Hello,Thanks for the welcome! And info.Ok The two tokens were found by me on the Battlefield Of Cedar Creek Virginia,(on private property with owners permisson.They were found where i only find relics,nothing post civil war except shotgun shell hulls Thats why i was intrigued when i dug them. And the spelling is Ritchhart and not Richhart.Maybe a returning veteran lost them while visiting? Would like to know the time period when the tokens were made? thanks

 

[PBK]

Found one genealogical entry for:

J. F. Ritchhart
9 Dec 1854
27 May 1908
Buried in Ashland Cemetery, Saunders County, Nebraska.

Further checking turned up an 1890 listing for "Ritchhart J F, loans notary, 2521 N." in South Omaha, Nebraska.

It is unclear whether these two individuals are the same.

 

[idahotokens]

This token was listed as Maverick #9010 by the Token and Medal Society, but has yet to be attributed. Thanks for commenting on the differences in spelling as I see that the TAMS listing was missing the "t", so that will get corrected. I did a little poking around on Internet genealogy sites and found a John F. Ritchhart, born Dec 1852 who was listed in Lincoln, NE as "(something - can't I read) Proprietor Wholesale Cigars". He is the only Ritchhart with initials J. F. that I have found, and the occupation is promising. I will try to look at the census microfilm next time I am at our genealogical library to see if it can be read.

The token is probably from the 1900-1920 timeframe. The slot machine was invented around 1890 and became popular all across the country within the next few years. It is definitely not a Civil War era token. Also it is not at all unusual for trade tokens to migrate around the country.

And diggummup, don't you mean Nebraska rather than Nevada? I had never heard of confusing those two states, but it is probably done all the time. People always confuse Idaho with Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, but I hadn't thought of other combinations.

John in ID

 

[idahotokens]

Oops I forgot to say that the census listing I found was 1900.
John in ID

 

[diggummup]

And diggummup, don't you mean Nebraska rather than Nevada? I had never heard of confusing those two states, but it is probably done all the time. People always confuse Idaho with Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, but I hadn't thought of other combinations.

John in ID

Doh! Open mouth and insert foot. I do believe your right there John! Thanks for pointing that out.I'll edit it now.That's some good information you gave.The J.F.Richhart I found was listed in 1875 as a publisher of the "Independent", the local newspaper in Wahoo,Nebraska.He left the paper in 1876.What he done after that I don't know.BTW-the Richhart I found was spelled without the "T".