1863 Civil War Token with Fish and rare coin...

[ewomack]

One of my favorite Civil War Tokens. Where today can you buy "Toys, Fancy Goods, Fishing Tackle, and Rare Coin?" If anyone knows of a place, please let me know!

And what exactly are "Fancy goods?"

[lordmarcovan]

Definitely a cool type, and irresistible for that nifty juxtaposition of fishing tackle and rare coin! 
 

(Just one coin was all they had in stock, apparently.)

[JeandAcre]

Wow, @ewomack, just --humor me, just for a minute-- Wow.

If you go back far enough, before I had access even to later antininiani and LRBs, I collected this kind of thing enthusiastically.  Promising you, to this day, I'll never regret having this stuff somewhere in my frame of reference.

With that as unsolicited background, for Civil War tokens, the 'store card' ones are unfailingly more fascinating than the ones with the political slogans.  Thank you, you get an entire dimension of socio-economic history entirely absent in the more formulaic variety.

...But even for the genre, this Has to Take the Prize.  Just loving this.  Summarily seconding all that @lordmarcovan said.

Edited January 12 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

I might know a 'plaice'. eBay?

'Fancy goods' is anything with no practical use. Like the 'rare coin'.

[JeandAcre]

Haven't checked, but I'm wondering whether, during this phase of the language, '(rare) coin' could denote 'coins,' along the lines of the current usage, 'coinage.'

[DonnaML]

They probably sold lots of notions, gewgaws, and fripperies.

[JeandAcre]

...Well, except that then there was the fishing tackle, which, in upstate New York, had to be of practical use.  How they fit all of it in one store has to be its own story.

[ewomack]

19 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

I might know a 'plaice'. eBay?

'Fancy goods' is anything with no practical use. Like the 'rare coin'.

I should have specified: a place that I can go to look at and be in the non-virtual presence of "notions, gewgaws, and fripperies." 😁 Full credit for this line of course goes to @DonnaML.

I accept that definition of "fancy goods" as very plausible. Similar to someone I knew, long ago, who would say "this room is for my pretties." And, upon entering said room, one only saw numerous, and largely valueless, resin collectibles.

19 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

Haven't checked, but I'm wondering whether, during this phase of the language, '(rare) coin' could denote 'coins,' along the lines of the current usage, 'coinage.'

I think the usage technically remains valid today, though less used, as a "mass noun" or a "non-count" noun that suggests excessive quantities. It means to insinuate - again, I think - that "we have so many coins we can't even count them, so we can only refer to our offerings as an insensible mass." So, that 1863 store may not only have been utilizing "fancy grammar" but also a highly connotative marketing tactic. In reality, they probably only had a few common corroded Byzantines. 😁

Edited January 13 by ewomack