4429

Custom House Saloon Token, Tahoe City, c.1880s, Extra Rare [167070]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Exonumia - Tokens Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
Custom House Saloon Token, Tahoe City, c.1880s, Extra Rare [167070]
SOLD
350.00USD+ (87.50) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Jun 18 @ 15:20UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Very rare; we have not offered one of these in over a decade. GF / 12.5c / Custom House / J.B.C. / In / Trade // The J.M. Brunswick & Balke Co.'s Check / (Man's head pictorial). Brass, round, 25mm. This choice token dates from 1882, when Joseph B. Campbell took sole ownership of the saloon and billiard parlors. Built in 1872 on a pier opposite the Grand Central pier in Tahoe City, it was originally owned by Campbell and James O. Forbes. It was the fourth saloon built at Tahoe City, and soon became the "custom" to go there and all who came to town aboard the steamers, such as the Gov. Stanford, went through the swinging doors, including perhaps every major San Francisco financier, as Tahoe City is the closest point to the Central Pacific Railroad at Truckee. In the early years, it was marked by a drunken gunfight. Campbell ran two billiards rooms- one for the ladies. He also had a post office and general merchandise store in addition to the saloon which boasted of Boca Beer and Tahoe Lager. The wharf was extended 250 feet to deeper water to accommodate all shipping. The local newspaper, the Tahoe Tattler, was published in the Grand Central Hotel across the wharf, though it only lasted from July 1881 to January 1882. Campbell died about 1900, and his brother Frank continued the business. These brass tokens, the size of a quarter, are very rare. It is believed there are no more than three known today. Ex. Lerch Collection

Date: c.1880s
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: Lake Tahoe
Provenance: