FT-2 (1857) Hudson's Bay Fur Trade 1/2 Made Beaver Token ICCS Certified EF-40 BR #927

FT-2 (1857) Hudson's Bay Fur Trade 1/2 Made Beaver Token ICCS Certified EF-40

The issue of fur trade tokens was introduced by the Hudson's Bay Company in the middle of the nineteeth century. The land north and west of the Province of Canada was the domain of the Hudson's Bay Company, and their description is best left to them. From the Hudson's Bay archives: "Made-beaver" was a local technical term denoting the fixed unit of the locality. A skin from an adult beaver, prime in quality and in perfect condition, was the actual unit or "made-beaver". In practice this constituted the standard against which the value of all other furs and commodities was measured.
In some instances, a difficulty was experienced in arranging the practical parts of the "made-beaver" as the tally sticks or tokens in existence did not provide for such divisions of value. The brass "made-beaver" tokens of the values 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8, introduced between 1854 and 1870 bear on the obverse the coat-of-arms of the Company and on the reverse the monogram HB, the initials EM signifying the district "East Main", the value of the token, and the letters N.B, incorrectly inserted by the die-cutters in place of the monogram M.B. ("Made-Beaver")

Specifications:
Composition: Brass
Weight: 6.7 to 6.9 g
Diameter: 27.1 to 27.3 mm
Thickness: 1.8 mm
Edge: Reeded
Die Axis: ↑ ↑
Alternate Reference Numbers: BR #927, LR #487