Token Germany Beer

'Gut fur 1 glas bier' means, of course, 'good for one glass of beer.'

Merchants issue tokens as promotions and, at least in times past, they were very effective advertising. Many different types were manufactured, and a collection of old beer tokens makes an interesting conversation piece. They are not expensive.

Token collecting is a small subset of numismatics and does not command a large collector following. Therefore demand is low, and that keeps prices low. The example in our picture is in average condition and would sell retail for about $2 US dollars, maybe a smidge more. If it were completely uncirculated, the price would go up towards $10.

The token in our secondary picture is in much better condition than the token in our main picture. It also has a date during the Civil War. As such, the 1863 token is much more desirable than the dateless octagon token. It should sell in the neighborhood of $60.

If you go on eBay and do a search on 'beer token' you will see hundreds of offerings in the range of $1 to $50. Don't be fooled by eBay items that have not sold. Unsold items on eBay generally have strongly inflated prices.

Further, if you have such a token for sale, figure that a coin dealer might pay one-half of retail price, or less, for your token. That kind of mark-up is necessary to keep the dealership afloat.
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