Arago: Baggage Tokens and Tags

Owney received this token on May 14, 1893. The donor inscribed his initials on the back side of the token, “B.E.N.” along with the town name Chinook, Montana, which is near the Canadian border. The token itself is from a railroad that was serviced by the Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad (“M.&N.W.R.R.”) as well as the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Company (“StP.M&M.RY.”). The token would have been used as a receipt for checked baggage along one of the lines. As neither line appears to have passed through Chinook, it is impossible to say where Owney actually received this token.