1820 North West Company Token. W-9250. Rarity-4. Brass. AG Details--Scratch (PCGS).

Holed, as issued. A presentable example from this scarce issue with warm brassy olive-gold surfaces and traces of tobacco patina throughout. The usual granularity shows beneath magnification, the surfaces with a few scratches that explain the PCGS qualifier. The reverse is flawed at center, obverse at lower right, the latter side also with a carbon spot on the portrait. Little detail remains on the reverse, although the beaver is discernible, the bolder obverse has a clear date and well outlined portrait. 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. However, this example remains relatively well-composed and probably survived through different means.

PCGS# 952. NGC ID: 2B6H.