EXPLORE LAGOON: PIONEER VILLAGE TOUR: Token, Currency & Silver Collection

 

TOKEN, CURRENCY & SILVER COLLECTION

This building was originally home to craft shops when Pioneer Village opened and later became the Doll Museum. The dolls moved to their new location around the early 1990s and this collection opened a few years later.

 

TOKENS

"The Utah pioneers had a problem. With United States money so scarce that men claimed they could recognize a coin that had previously passed through their hands, the pioneers needed something 'good for' a hair cut and a bath, a cigar, a beer and all the other goods and services they wished to exchange. Tokens or 'good fors' were created by enterprising merchants, and they were made in all denominations and many shapes and sizes out of brass, aluminum, copper (in mining towns) and even cardboard. Tokens made of zinc are very rare. The rule of thumb with tokens is the older the better."

 

      "This collection contains many types and varieties, originating in over two hundred and fifty Utah towns, in about one hundred and fifty Wyoming towns, and in over sixty Idaho towns. One of my favorites is from a saloon in Green River owned by Matt Warner, who became famous when he ran with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch before he became a lawman in Price, Utah.

      Tokens provide interesting, additional views and insights into the lives and times of the early West. I hope you'll enjoy this collection."

-David L. Freed

 

HEARST TROPHY, 1908

This trophy was presented at the National Irrigation Congress to the State of Utah by William Randolph Hearst for the Best Display of Products from Irrigated Lands. A plaque on the trophy reads "Science Bids The Desert Drink". The bowl's capacity is ten gallons and it stands 37 inches high.

 

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SOURCES

Lagoon

Deseret News

 

Updated 10 Aug 2007