Tokens

About 1885, merchants all over the United States started using a form of advertising called a trade token (or chit, or bingle, or "good for"). When a customer bought something, they were given a token that resembled a coin. On the obverse, the token gave such information as the name of the business, address, town, state, etc. On the reverse, something like "good for 5¢ in trade" or "good for 1 cigar" were often used. When the customer returned to the store, they were given credit or their purchase was discounted by the amount stated on the token.

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