THE GERBER COLLECTION OF HACIENDA TOKENS
Hacienda tokens are, correctly, tokens issued privately to facilitate the internal economy of an hacienda, where for example the small change of workers' pay could be recycled through the company store. The tokens could also circulate outside the bounds of the issuing hacienda, as long as their ultimate redemption could be anticipated. The hundreds of varieties are known today, and their relative commonness taken together, are evidence of their importance in the small change economy of Mexico in the late 18th and the 19th century, when the bronze production of even the central mint in Mexico City was sporadic. Repeated attempts of the central government to remove such material from circulation were always futile. Because of their often poor production and rapid circulation they are commonly found in heavily circulated condition.
The earliest dated hacienda tokens come from the late 18th century, although most of them are undated; many bear only a monogram or some device rather than a clear name; many have no mark of value. Some have nothing to do with haciendas; the term "hacienda token" has spread to cover any kind of private small change such as store cards, struck or cast, made usually of bronze but sometimes of brass or lead, or even vulcanized rubber.
A Collection of five-hundred forty-six miscellaneous privately produced issues struck in various base metals and ranging in date from the late 18th Century to the mid 20th Century, a large number of Hacienda tokens are included as well as Tlacos/Pilones, storecards, transportation tokens and work tallies, housed in Wayte Raymond pages, some circulated, many unlisted in Rulau and Grove, a fascinating lot for any advanced student of Mexican numismatics as one of the most extensive collections ever to have been offered at auction (lot)
Details
A Collection of five-hundred forty-six miscellaneous privately produced issues struck in various base metals and ranging in date from the late 18th Century to the mid 20th Century, a large number of Hacienda tokens are included as well as Tlacos/Pilones, storecards, transportation tokens and work tallies, housed in Wayte Raymond pages, some circulated, many unlisted in Rulau and Grove, a fascinating lot for any advanced student of Mexican numismatics as one of the most extensive collections ever to have been offered at auction (lot)