Arago: Trade Check Tokens

Owney received this token, good for one drink or cigar from C. E. Mitchell’s “Express Saloon.” Mitchell emigrated from Germany in 1858, settling down in Cloverdale, California. His saloon may have been a popular stop for railway and railway mail workers working on board the San Francisco and Northern Pacific Railroad. This type of token is known as a trade check. These tokens were used much as coupons are today, offered by merchants as a lure to increase customers’ purchases.