Tracking Down Mavericks

Most merchant-token collectors are probably familiar with those pesky tokens that usually have nothing in their inscription except a name, denomination, and possibly a street address. In other words, they are what collectors refer to as “mavericks”: pieces that can’t be attributed to a city and state from their inscriptions. The term, incidentally, can be traced back to 19th-century Texas when a lawyer named Samuel A. Maverick refused to brand his herd of cattle. Other ranchers started referring to unbranded (and thus unidentifiable) cattle as mavericks.

In the late 1970s, I started doing research for a catalog of Washington, D.C., tokens. Fortunately, the District of Columbia public library has shelves with a virtually complete run of city directories. I made numerous trips there to learn what I could about the token-issuing merchants. 

I was especially interested in a group of 29mm copper-nickel tokens that were struck with incuse lettering and with the same inscription, which in most cases consisted only of a number in the center and a name around the rim, on each side. I was able to attribute seven of these tokens, most of which were mavericks, to Washington, D.C., merchants. Since 1982, when the book was published, I’ve seen one more.

A Common Denominator

While compiling information, I noticed an interesting common denominator: every company that issued this type of token was in business in 1885. So, although I’ve never been able to identify their manufacturer, my research does give me a general idea of when they were struck. You might wonder why seven Washington, D.C., merchants would issue the same type of token around 1885. Very likely it is because the die-sinker had a sales agent who visited business establishments, explained the benefits of using tokens, and took orders to have them struck. 

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few of these tokens. They were used by merchants in many parts of the country. Those with unusual names are often fairly easy to attribute. On the other hand, a person named “John Jones” was probably in every city. If the token in question bears that name, there’s usually no way of determining which “John” issued it.

Thomas Kearns

Two of the three examples illustrated herein are typical tokens of the style just described. Both have just a name and a number incused on each side. I purchased the Thomas Kearns token a few years ago, and the seller assured me that the issuing merchant was located in Park City, Utah. I did a newspaper search, and sure enough, a Thomas Kearns lived in Park City during the 1880s. He moved there at the age of 21, established several profitable mines, and became a wealthy man. Much later in life, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and he also owned a newspaper. 

Kearns died in 1918 after being run over by an automobile. He led a fascinating life, which could be the subject of an entire article. After learning a lot about him, I was left with a nagging thought: how can I be sure this is the man who issued the token? Although his name is uncommon, I recognize the possibility that another man with the same name could have issued it.

Dominick McCaffrey

I’m much more confident about the attribution of the second token. The issuer’s name is less common than that on the first token, and a middle initial helps to strengthen the attribution. Dominick F. McCaffrey was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1863, and at a young age he started boxing professionally. He became a popular figure in the world of boxing, where he gained a reputation for being willing to fight heavyweights who were bigger than he was. In 1885 he fought John L. Sullivan for the heavyweight championship, followed three years later by a match against Jack Dempsey. In 1890 his opponent was Jim Corbett. McCaffrey lost all three contests.

After retiring from the sport, McCaffrey worked at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York City, teaching the art of boxing. According to an article in the December 31, 1926, issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper published two days after his death, he then moved from New York to Nebraska, where he was involved briefly in a cattle-raising business. 

McCaffrey moved back to his hometown of Pittsburgh, and in 1889 purchased a saloon formally owned by Harry Alden. An announcement to that effect in the February 18 Pittsburgh Dispatch noted that “the saloon is well located, being in Union Square, and McCaffrey would soon make it popular.” Assuming he actually was the token’s issuer, it is safe to assume that he did so for use in the saloon. 

As it turned out, McCaffrey only operated his establishment, which he had named New York Saloon, for a few months. In November 1889, he sold the business back to Alden and announced that he would soon be fighting John L. Sullivan in San Francisco. Details of the arrangements are murky, but the fight never occurred. McCaffrey had several more fights, ending up with a record of 15 wins over 30 fights.

On March 15, less than a month after its opening, a fire destroyed the six-story building.

The Richmond Hotel

Attributing the third token was easy since, unlike the other two, its inscription includes the town. When the Richmond Hotel opened for business on February 21, 1887, at the corner of Main and Eagle Streets, it was described as “the finest between New York and Chicago.” The building had been erected in 1856 as a hotel. Eight years later, it became the home of the Buffalo library, the Fine Arts Academy, and the Society of Natural Sciences.

In 1886 Stafford and Company leased the building and completely rebuilt it for use as a hotel, even adding one floor. On March 15, less than a month after its opening, a fire destroyed the six-story building. Several people lost their lives. It was eventually rebuilt and opened in 1889 as the Iroquois Hotel.

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A version of this article appears in the September 2024 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).