1820 North West Company Token. W-9250. Rarity-4. Brass. VF-20 (PCGS).Holed for suspension, as issued. The upper obverse and reverse notably less worn than the lower parts of both sides. The surfaces are a lovely golden-olive hue and have escaped the harsh polishing, cleaning, or other damage with which many other specimens have met. The North West Company was one of the most significant companies involved in the North American fur trade during the 18th and 19th centuries. Founded in Montreal in 1779, it grew to be the biggest competitor to the Hudson Bay Company. This token was issued in 1820, valued at one beaver pelt. The following year the company merged with and into Hudson Bay Company. The tokens are believed to have been struck in Birmingham, England, by John Walker & Co for the Canadian and American market. Normally, these tokens are found very well worn and often corroded from having been unearthed in the region of the Lower Columbia River and Umpqua River valleys in Oregon. Here is a chance to buy a pleasing, trouble-free piece of Old Northwest history.From our (Stacks) Public Auction Sale of September 2006, lot 209; our November 2011 Baltimore Auction, lot 149.
