Gustavus Lindenmueller 1863
Civil War Tradesman's Token
Gustavus Lindenmueller, a New York barkeeper, issued large numbers of tokens bearing his name and likeness in 1863; by some estimates he circulated as many as one million of them. The tokens were larger than a quarter and likely circulated with a value of two cents. When the Third Avenue Railroad brought him a large quantity of his tokens that it had accepted in payment for train tickets and asked him to redeem them, he blatantly refused. This is generally believed to have been the incident that brought Congress’ attention to the irresponsible nature of private money. On April 22, 1864, Congress outlawed the private issuance of any one- or two-cent coins. A month and a half later, on June 8, it prohibited private coinage of any denomination.
Gustavus Lindenmueller 1863
Civil War Tradesman's Token
Gustavus Lindenmueller, a New York barkeeper, issued large numbers of tokens bearing his name and likeness in 1863; by some estimates he circulated as many as one million of them. The tokens were larger than a quarter and likely circulated with a value of two cents. When the Third Avenue Railroad brought him a large quantity of his tokens that it had accepted in payment for train tickets and asked him to redeem them, he blatantly refused. This is generally believed to have been the incident that brought Congress’ attention to the irresponsible nature of private money. On April 22, 1864, Congress outlawed the private issuance of any one- or two-cent coins. A month and a half later, on June 8, it prohibited private coinage of any denomination.