Token US Sutler 1860 to 1865

A sutler was a vendor who followed Civil War armies and sold goods such as those found at a modern post exchange (PX). Sutlers supplied items such as tobacco, candy, dried fruit, canned goods, writing materials, and sometimes liquor to the soldier who could afford his high prices. Many Civil War sutlers issued metal tokens to insure themselves the trade of soldiers to whom they extended credit. Sutler tokens are highly prized today. An active group of collectors follow them and fight fiercely to obtain the best specimens. They are valuable.

Each token stands on its own merits, so we can offer only general guidance here. Our requester Chuck has a sutler token from J T Strong, sutler to the Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) 66th regiment. Referring to (where else?) SutlerToken.com, we find Chuck's token (on the Ohio page) as number OH-66-10B with rarity factor R9. Rarity factors are important, and range generally from R5 for common tokens to R10 for very rare tokens.

Here are some very approximate catalog values for sutler tokens as a function of rarity factor

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R5
worn: $150 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $180
well preserved: $250
fully uncirculated: $380

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R6
worn: $220 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $300
well preserved: $380
fully uncirculated: $520

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R7
worn: $300 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $380
well preserved: $520
fully uncirculated: $680

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R8
worn: $380 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $520
well preserved: $680
fully uncirculated: $900

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R9
worn: $520 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $680
well preserved: $900
fully uncirculated: $1200

SUTLER TOKENS rarity R10
worn: $800 US dollar approximate catalog value
average circulated: $1000
well preserved: $1300
fully uncirculated: $2000

Remember these are inflated catalog values and they are very approximate. If your token is stained, cleaned, scratched or otherwise damaged, value goes way down. Be sure to read out Important Terminology page for an explanation about interpreting catalog values.
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