The Well-Dressed Numismatist

At the recent Central States show, a show attendee asked about a set of Brooks Brothers tokens in his collection. He had consulted the Brooks Brothers company archivist without success and asked if Newman Portal might be able to solve the problem. Indeed it was, quickly locating a reference to the tokens in the April 1979 issue of TAMS Journal. The Journal reported “Brooks Brothers, purveyors of clothing for men and boys, offered tokens in three denominations, which could be given as gifts and later redeemed by the recipient for merchandise of his choice. The pieces were an antiqued bronze $25, a silver finish $50, and a gold vermeil $100, which could be purchased in a gift box. Unfortunately, the company chose to call the tokens ‘coins’ in their advertising.” The “coins” are, of course, more accurately referred to as “good for” tokens. A google search located a contemporary Brooks Brothers catalog with images of these pieces. The tokens were likely redeemed close to the time of purchase and are presumably scarce today. Indeed, even the $25 token, adjusted for inflation, equates to $99 in 2022. Brooks Brothers declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, and current stores presumably would not honor these tokens.Link to TAMS Journal on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/515304