Hello together,
my name is Ernst , I was born and raised in Romania but now I live in Germany.
This is my first post on this Forum, I hope that someone can help me.
I collect with(for ) my nephew romanian tokens. A few weeks ago I bought this token. The name on it is a romanian one but the town is Tonawanda.
Does anybody know something about this token? Maybe someone from Tonawanda?

Greetings from Germany. And yes, we actually have a member from Tonawanda (a place near Buffalo, NY, in the US) here - our very own Dockwalliper! Maybe he can help you with that token ...

(Edit: Hmm, same scratches? http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...em=190162170840 )

Christian

This is the style of a USA token from the very late 19th century, or early 20th century, and Tonawanda is some native American name for that part of NY state. My guess is this was issued by someone of Romanian extraction in Tonawanda NY during that time.

Hi Christian,
you have a good memory....
Same scratches, same piece....

Its not listed in my book but its likly a "good for 5 cents" token for the buisness. In the next day or two I should be able to find out What the buisness was, where it was and when it was open.

Hi Dockwalliper,
thank you for your support. This is the other side,I have missed to post it , sorry !

I searched several city directories between 1880 and 1920 plus a large obit file and didn't find the name anywhere.
Its possable the token is from the Town of Tonawanda and not the city. I left the pic for the local token expert and hope to talk withhim next week. I haven't given up yet.

I got a call from the local token guy this morning. He said this is not a token he has seen before and he would do some research.
He called back about 3 hours later with some info.

George Nicoliciu and his wife Florence first show up in the City of Tonawanda in 1916. He is listed as a laborer in the directory.
In the 1920 directory he is listed as a Poolroom operator(Pool hall, Billiards) his residence was 109 Morgan street and that may also be where the poolroom was located because there is no buisness listing for it. By 1923 he is gone. Probably prohibition put him out of buisness. He must have moved out of the city because there is no obit for anyone with the name on file.
109 Morgan street would be just a couple blocks from my house. I'll have to drive by some time to see the house.
Your token will be added to the next edition of "Tokens of the Tonawandas" could you please tell us its exact size for the listing? I am guessing its aluminum, 23,24 or 25 mm.

Thanks

It must have gone back to Romania as a souvenir sometime early in the century.

I'm impressed. Great job nailing down the token.

Amazing! I'm impressed too!

Hello Dockwalliper,
I am very impressed about the results of your research regarding this token!!! Thank you very much.
The token is made from aluminum and has a diameter of 25,5 mm
If you want better scans, send me your private mail address.
Ernst

Ernst, Your welcome. The search was fun and it was great to add a previously unknown token to the book. I hope this is not your last post on CP. I'm sure members here would love to see more of your collection.

Cool stuff going on in this thread! Way to go Doc for the finds! Welcome to CP, Ernst! Stick around.

I drove past 109 Morgan. Its a really small home but it does have a basement and a large garage that could have housed a poolroom. It appears that it truely was just a pool room.