Good for 5¢: Streator's Trade Tokens
by Richard O'Hara (Author), Cathy Treschak Higgins (Contributor), David Reed (Contributor)

A random collection of trade token images inspired the creation of this coincidental history of Streator, Illinois. Well illustrated in color, each token takes a place of honor amid other memorabilia and delightful short sketches of the people and places who made Streator such a lively place in the days of its highest peak of commercial enterprise.

Product details

Publisher : Independently published (April 13, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 73 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8737037758
Item Weight : 7.7 ounces
Dimensions : 8 x 0.18 x 10 inches

Trade tokens were colorful "coins" issued by individual saloonkeepers, merchants or institutions. They were returned to customers as change in lieu of genuine pennies, nickels and dimes to induce return visits to sell more groceries, beer, whiskey, fried turtle or other consumables. Towns across America used them frequently from the 1880s on, and many people had pockets full of these mementos of their days and nights.

These particular examples were used in Streator, Illinois and nearby communities during the period 1880 to 1950. This era was a high point in the city's commercial activity, when many small businesses were flourishing, including the downtown watering holes, pool rooms and cigar stores, the ancillary trades and institutions such as Brown's Business College, the Mason's and the Elk's, along with a group of tokens from neighborhood taverns which served working men and their families. Many rare examples are incorporated into this book, even the various bars and "ice cream parlors" in neighboring villages.

"Good for 5¢" is illustrated in full color, with delightfully-detailed images of individual tokens as well as selected portraits and scenic views of these historic days.

For more information, or to order, see:
Good for 5¢: Streator's Trade Tokens Paperback - April 13, 2021(https://www.amazon.com/Good-5%C2%A2-Streators-Trade-Tokens/dp/B092CLB6YH/ref=sr_1_1)