The Hudson's Bay Company tokens represented the unit of

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

used in the fur trade for many decades. The largest—one " Made Beaver"—was equal in value to the skin on an adult male beaver in good condition. Smaller sizes represented one-half, one-quarter, and one-eighth of a Made-Beaver. One side of the brass token bears the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

's coat of arms and the other its value. Charlotte Gray 'The Museum Called Canada: 25 Rooms of Wonder' Random House, 2004 Before these

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

tokens came into use, a Made-Beaver was represented by a stick, porcupine quill, and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

disc, a musket ball, or anything else agreed upon by trader and

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

. The trapper would be handed a number of units agreed upon—representing the value of his catch—and with these would make his purchases from the store. The tokens were designed by George Simpson Mctavish of Albany Fort in 1854.

References

Hudson's Bay Company Token coins {{Exonumia-stub