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Garrett's Improved Gold Changer, c1890 [168018]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Garrett's Improved Gold Changer, c1890 [168018]
SOLD
700.00USD+ (175.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Jun 18 @ 13:19UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Clement Garrett & Co "Improved Gold Changer." This unique cast iron coin changer appears to date to about 1890. While the machine notes patented pending, no information was found. The original company manufacturer plaque is present inside indicating the machine was made in Birmingham, England. There is no serial number indicating this is possibly one of the first made.
Coin change machines dating back to the 19th century are exceptionally rare. As with today they were an important part of commercial business, as folks needed to change higher demonization coins, in this case gold coins for lower denomination coins. In a very thorough search of international newspapers, it appears Garrett & Co. never advertised their machine. Specific news of gold coin changers were restricted to England during the 1902-1908 period. In 1902 mention was made in London of an upgraded gold coin changer that rejected base coins and showed the original inserted gold coin through a clear window until the change was proffered. The last mention we could find was in Nov 1908 where one of these machines was robbed out of a hotel in New Castle. It measures 9.5 x 14.5" and the bottom has 3 screw holes on each side to firmly attach the machine to a countertop. The face has embossed lettering in the cast iron. The one sovergn gold coin was inserted at left and the half sovergn at right. Each has separate change bins inside. The machine appears in working condition.
The term "gold changer" is a cultural term that developed after the California Gold Rush. It applies to agents and businesses who sought to obtain gold in exchange for bank notes, base metal, and silver coin. Interestingly in June 1869, in Birmingham (the place of this machines manufacture), a race horse competed by the name of Gold Changer. The term became very commonly used in the 1890s as gold hoarding took place more commonly in the USA and England. -FH


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