| During the
later part of the fur trade, companies began issuing these tokens as
payment for the furs brought into the posts. They were redeemable for
supplies.
One benefit of the token system was that it gave trappers the alternative of buying what they needed later without the cumbersome bulk of the fur bundles forcing immediate purchasing decisions on them. |
 |
| A major disadvantage was that the tokens were not cash, and thus were only good at the company store. Also, because the trade goods were still affected by economic conditions, the trapper was not guaranteed to redeem his tokens at the rate in affect at the time of the exchange. |
|
| Bruce Nail, January 2002 |
Click
on a coin to see it close up. |
