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California fractional gold coins in $1/4, $1/2 and $1 denominations were minted during the Gold Rush
when federal coinage was scarce.
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Introduction
By Leon Worden
Signal City Editor
Saturday, March 22, 2003
xonumia. It isn't a disease, and there's no shame in being bitten by the bug. Some people are exonumists and don't even know it.
Or are they exonumismatists? Either way, the word ("exo" meaning "outside of" and "numis-" meaning "coin") pertains to the study and collecting of things that aren't quite coins — i.e., tokens, which are used in commerce or barter and generally have a stated denomination; and medals, which commemorate an event and aren't used in trade.
Tokens have a long history in California. Some of the best known and dearest examples were made during the gold rush when federal coinage was scarce. Private companies melted gold dust into tiny $1/4, $1/2 and $1 pieces from 1852 to 1856 to facilitate commerce in the West. Production resumed in 1859, primarily for souvenirs. Either round or octagonal, most early pieces depict the bust of Miss Liberty, but they were heavily counterfeited in the 1900s (and anything showing a bear is fake), so be careful if you're offered one for sale.
Nothing quite so exotic hails from the Santa Clarita Valley, but local businesses and community groups produced their share of medals and trade tokens over the years. They were popular from the 1940s through the 1970s, and collectively they form a nostalgic window into the period.
Note: Although many appear in collector guides, there is no comprehensive listing of local exonumia, so this discussion is limited to the items the writer has encountered. Also, some exonumists include other para-numismatic materiel in their discipline, such as badges, buttons, patches, pins and ribbons — but there are too many of those to include here.
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