The Token and Medal Society is an American

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

organization founded in 1960. The organization specializes in the study, collection, and research of different types of

exonumia Exonumia are numismatic items (such as tokens, medals, or scrip) other than coins and paper money. This includes "Good For" tokens, badges, counterstamped coins, elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, wooden nickels and oth ...

History

The Token and Medal Society was founded on November 19, 1960, in Detroit and formally incorporated on April 8, 1966. Among the founding members were well-known numismatists Q. David Bowers,

Clifford Mishler Clifford Leslie Mishler (born August 11, 1939) is an American author and numismatist. He has served as president of the American Numismatic Association. Early life Mishler was born in Vandalia, Michigan and attended Northwestern University. Ca ...

, and

Russell Rulau Russell Alphonse Rulau (September 21, 1926 – November 12, 2012) was an American numismatist. He was involved in coin collecting for over 60 years. From his earliest days as a casual collector, Rulau contributed to numismatics as a writer, editor ...

. TAMS encompasses a wide range of material, including

civil war tokens Civil War tokens are token coins that were privately minted and distributed in the United States between 1861 and 1864. They were used mainly in the Northeast and Midwest. The widespread use of the tokens was a result of the scarcity of governme ...

hard times token Hard-times tokens are American large or half cent-sized copper tokens, struck from about 1833 through 1843, serving as unofficial currency. These privately made pieces, comprising merchant, political and satirical pieces, were used during a ti ...

s, subway tokens and others. Members of the Token and Medal Society also work to attribute and identify "maverick" issues, which are tokens and medals for which the origin is unknown. The organization hosts an annual meeting and awards presentation in conjunction with the

American Numismatic Association The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics (the study of coins) along educational, histori ...

World's Fair of Money summer convention. From 1983 until 2010, the Society issued their own medals commemorating its annual meetings. Due to rising costs, the 2010 medal was the last in the series.

TAMS Journal

Since the organization's beginning, it has published a bi-monthly magazine, ''TAMS Journal''. Many of the magazine's past issues have been digitized and are currently available on the

Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...

Numismatic Portal.

References

External links

Token and Medal Society Website
Numismatic associations 1960 establishments in Michigan {{US-org-stub