Old Drum Whiskey Token

[Steve in PA]

I went down to the neighbors yard after work last night. Dug 15 more coins including a 1907 IHP. But the most interesting find was this large, half dollar size whiskey token. Has anyone ever found one of these before or know when they were issued? I've been able to find a few for sale on the internet, but no information on their time frame or history.


Here is a non dug one for comparison

 

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[Red-Coat]

Nice advertising piece, rather than token as such.

The Calvert Distillers Corporation in NYC was founded post-Prohibition, in August 1934, as a holding company for the Calvert Distilling Company and Maryland Distillery, Inc. It was acquired by the Seagram-Distillers Corporation that year but continued to operate under the “Calvert Distillers Corporation” name until 1954 when it was merged into Seagram’s subsidiaries.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Very cool !

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Really Cool!! Congrats!!!

 

[Mackaydon]

The hole was pre-drilled; the token was perhaps attached to each bottle as an advertising token.
Don....

 

[A2coins]

Awesome info I love stuff like that wow thats an amazing find Id be very happy with that hunt I would rather have that than a pile silver any day just for the History sake.Great find my friend.......Tommy

 

[Mudflap]

That's cool one! Old Crow

 

[HI-McDunnogh]

Unique for sure!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

"Across the Nation, the Taste Sensation... Old Drum Brand Whiskey"!

This is going to be the new slogan below my Tnet avatar.

A beautiful looking find Steve,
Dave

 

[Steve in PA]

"Across the Nation, the Taste Sensation... Old Drum Brand Whiskey"!

This is going to be the new slogan below my Tnet avatar.

A beautiful looking find Steve,
Dave

Haha, I'll be watching for your new slogan to appear Dave

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice advertising piece, rather than token as such.

The Calvert Distillers Corporation in NYC was founded post-Prohibition, in August 1934, as a holding company for the Calvert Distilling Company and Maryland Distillery, Inc. It was acquired by the Seagram-Distillers Corporation that year but continued to operate under the “Calvert Distillers Corporation” name until 1954 when it was merged into Seagram’s subsidiaries.

Thanks for the info Red Coat. You have been a good source of info since joining the forum

The hole was pre-drilled; the token was perhaps attached to each bottle as an advertising token.
Don....

Thanks Don. That makes sense.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very cool promotional piece!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

That’s a nice one Steve! Congrats

 

[Mudflap]

Steve..... Now you have to find an Old Frothingslosh medallion .... if there was such... grin

 

[ToddsPoint]

So is this KY whiskey? Unusual that it say blended whiskey instead of Bourbon. Maybe Canadian? Gary

 

[Steve in PA]

So is this KY whiskey? Unusual that it say blended whiskey instead of Bourbon. Maybe Canadian? Gary

I'm not a whiskey/bourbon expert, but it says 90 proof, 75% grain neutral spirits, Calvert Distillers N.Y.C

 

[Steve in PA]

Steve..... Now you have to find an Old Frothingslosh medallion .... if there was such... grin

Well if you are going to find one of those, Pittsburgh would be the place to find it.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Neat find. These guys are so smart on here. I am glad you got more information on it. Congrats!

 

[Red-Coat]

So is this KY whiskey? Unusual that it say blended whiskey instead of Bourbon. Maybe Canadian? Gary

Domestic production in the US I believe, although under ownership of a Canadian company.

During prohibition in America (1920-1933), Canadian whiskey production flourished and there was a fair amount of bootlegging across the border. After prohibition ended, Canadian companies were best-placed to capitalise on the re-opened American market since they had the benefit of recent expertise, technology and equipment under their belts versus US companies that were re-opening after more than ten years of inactivity.

Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Ltd (DCL) of Montreal were one such company. Although they set up an HQ in new York to administer their operations in America they realised that (for reasons related to taxation and logistics) they could reach more of the US market if they had production facilities there rather than being a Canadian exporter. To be granted a permit for alcohol production in America, foreign investors had to have no record of bootlegging convictions and, since DCL had kept a clean sheet, they were good-to-go.

Through acquisition, they obtained the Rossville Union Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana (1933); the Calvert Distillery in Relay, Maryland (1934); and then built a huge new distillery in Louisville, Kentucky (completed 1937). DCL were specialists in vat-blended whiskies and brought that same expertise into their American operations, including for the production of 'Old Drum'.