This is a circa 1851 Dodd & Co. Hatters Merchant Token which has been graded MS62 by NGC and is encapsulated in one of their newer-style edge-view holders. This brass version of the merchant store card token has been attributed as M-OHIO-8 by NGC, but I believe NGC has misattributed the piece and instead it appears to be the M-OHIO-7 version of the token as there are six stars at the top instead of seven stars needed to be the M-OHIO-8 token. Either way, this is a somewhat common and popular token from the Dodd & Co. Hatters which were located at 144 Main Street in Cincinnati. The token, which closely mimics the design found on the Liberty gold coins of the era, is quite lustrous and flashy and looks much better in hand than the assigned grade would suggest. There are some light hairlines in the fields that are noticeable under a closer inspection that help to account for the relatively low mint state grade, but they are not too offensive. Otherwise, a very eye appealing example for the grade of this popular merchant store card. |