Watch List notes:

Chile
Nitrate 119 Token Collection of Vulcanite Composition, Total of 119 different types from the extensive array of primarily 19th century issues by many companies and government branches near the nitrate mines. Use of vulcanite (vulcanized natural rubber prepared as patented by Charles Goodyear and his brother in the 1850s) flourished in this domain. Potential collectors should obtain the acclaimed 1980 TAMS green-jacketed volume CHILEAN NITRATE MINE and RELATED TOKENS (review the comments under lot 26424 in our CICF April 2013 catalogue). This lot is believed to be the initial collection assembled by Dana Roberts. All denominations are in units of "$" which is likely Pesos; most have a dollar-sign (standard symbol) to the left of the numeric value but some do not include it for unclear reasons. In this collection are eight different styles of pieces with "5" as their numeric peso valuation; four have the $-symbol including two each being a gigantic 50 mm in size. Two others do not include the symbol; one is a massive 55 mm (for comparison, a USA Morgan dollar is just 37.5 millimeters) while the second is 36mm. Final two show "2" as their valuation on one side but with that level canceled by a deeply incused cross-mark and with the opposite side's center simultaneously being marked "$5"; quite an unusual pair! There are 16 examples with value "2". Twelve, in four different colors, have the $$ sign while the other four, in three different colors, do not indicate any unit. The value "1" pieces dominate the group with 49 different examples present !! The side where the valuation is shown appears with the four different colors (note that the backside is sometimes of a different color! For example, sometimes the valuation side is black while the backside is green). Russet color is most prevalent with 15 showing the $ symbol and two without it; those final two are more interesting because their units are "1 Peso" and "1 HectoLitro". Second most prominent is black with 15 examples, again having just two without the dollar-sign symbol. Tan-colored pieces number 10 with all but one having the $ symbol. Least prevalent is green with just 7 examples, again with just a single piece not sporting the $ symbol. Of the lower values, there are seven pieces showing "50" Centavos (assumed). The value "20" and the value "10" both are represented by 13 different issues, while the tiny "5" has but three samples. Finally there are ten random pieces with no peso or dollar valuation, but which clearly were issued with similar metallic composition and fit the series in style; a few of these are indicated as REALES and are likely earlier issues. While most attributions are likely, they certainly cannot be guaranteed, particularly relative to similar emissions in nearby rural Peru. Quality is typical for such issues, most of which heavily circulated, often for decades, in the rural areas where "small change" was never plentiful. Sold as is, NO ReturnFrom The Dana Roberts Collection and Study Group

Estimate: 500-1000 USD