Alaska Sentinel, Wrangell, November 26, 1908.
NOTICE

The above news article was reported in the October,2023 issue of this newsletter. This token sold in December 2023 on eBay for $915. The token is aluminum,34.2mm in diameter.

J.D. Williams called this to my attention. I had not seenit on eBay, for reasons that will become apparent.

Whenever a newly discovered token appears, my paranoid side blares out warnings. I look for reasons that itis legitimate, or possibly a fake or fabrication.

The token has the same error as the 50¢ brass, showing the abbreviated company name as N.P.T&P.O.,so my first thought was they used the same punch. Butthe 50¢ is good for merchandise, but the newly discovered $1 is good for coin!

Now, I say punch because all the lettering is incuse. Itwould make more sense for a punch to be used ratherthan a die.

As to the denomination side, the lettering looks the sameon the square brass $1 and the newly discovered round$1 aluminum.

J.D. Williams notes what he sees as differences (seethe large illustration on the next page):

The comment on the $ sign might be there, but I amseeing the same angle coming off the top of the S. Asto the other differences, I think they can be attributedto wear. The square brass $1 is a well used token.

The only way to know for certain is to have images thatcould be superimposed to see how the lettering linesup.

Now as to this possibly being a fabrication, J.D. said hefound the lot description suspect. I had not paid muchattention to it, but went back and re-read it.

I had to laugh. Recently when I was putting some coinson eBay, I was offered the opportunity to let AI writethe description. It was horrible. It is apparent that theseller used this option and let AI describe the token.The seller listed this in Collectibles & Art > Souvenirs& travel memorabilia > U.S. > Alaska. So that is whereAI got the idea of a souvenir and reminder!

The seller states that the token was from his father'scollection and that there was only one. The seller dabblesin tokens and this was the only Alaska token offered atthis time. The majority of his offerings are collectibles.A listing under collectibles most likely resulted in it notbeing seen by as many Alaska token collectors as possible.

A saltery was established at Klawock about 1869 byGeorge Hamilton. He sold his trading and fishing postin 1876. The North Pacific Trading & Packing Co. wasincorporated under the laws of California in 1877.

For more information, or to subscribe, contact Dick at: alaskararecoins@gmail.com.