Bars and
Saloons
used tokens to allow customers to accept free drinks without having to drink them at that time. Also the tokens would often be used when drinks were two for twenty-five cents; the patron would pay his quarter and receive a drink and a token.
Another usage popular in bars was on domino and card tables. Players would "rent" the table for a time, receiving tokens in exchange for the amount paid. Losers would pay the winner with a token, which supposedly was good only for merchandise in a disguised attempt to circumvent gaming laws, but would often be redeemed for cash by the bartender.
Red Stag Saloon
New Orleans, LA
Saloon Token
Good For 12 1/2 At The Bar
Marble Hall Saloon - J.T. Carlin
New Orleans, LA
Bottle Deposit Token
Tokens were used as deposit checks primarily by
Grocery and
Restaurants in much the same manner as the bottle deposit checks used by
dairies.
When a customer bought a drink, he also paid a deposit (usually five cents) and received a token. When the empty bottle was returned with the token, the patron would be refunded his nickel. This would prevent people from bringing in a large number of bottles.
Quarti
Good For 2 1/2 Cents
A type of token used primarily in the New Orleans area was a 2½¢ denomination known locally as a "quarti," also spelled "quartee." This name likely comes from the fact that the value was one-tenth of a quarter.
These were used in many types of businesses such as restaurants where the product such as poor boys and plates of red-beans-and-rice were priced at two for five cents. Unfortunately, most of these quarti bear only the initials of the issuer, making a definite attribution difficult if not impossible.
Bottle Deposit Token
