As you can see, it is worth two and a half cents. These tokens were popular starting in the 1840s when a shortage of the metals needed for making coins meant that the government minted less of them. This meant it was hard to make change, so stores minted their own tokens which were good for store credit. We are thinking that this is the oldest thing he has found to date, possibly from the late 1800s or early 1900s, as stores continued to make them into the 20th century.
The story-teller in me wants to know how it got to Nebraska. Was someone just passing through in the 1800s? Was it a good luck charm that was dropped in modern times? Did someone from Grangeville go to school at UNL? I don't think I'm ever going to find out!
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