ALASKAN BINGLE TOKENS Public Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 5, Number 27, June 30, 2002, Article 6
ALASKAN BINGLE TOKENS
Coincidentally, on my desk there happens to be a copy of
a 1955 pamphlet published by the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corporation (ARRC). Titled "20 Years of Progress in the
Matanuska Valley, Alaska," it includes an article about the
ARRC "Bingle" tokens. It pictures eight different denominations
of the tokens, but doesn't shed much light on their origins.
"The 'Bingles' were only in use about six months in the winter
of 1935-36 when they were called in... No one seems certain
where the name came from... Perhaps it was more than a
coincidence that one of the foremost and best loved preachers
in the valley at that time was also named Bingle."After asking Ron about it, he replied: "I've seen the pamphlet
but don't own one. The Alaskans use the term bingle for all
the tokens, not just the ARRC tokens. And the term appears
to predate the 1935 ARRC issue."- 2002-06-30
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