Jetons - A Brief History

Reckoning counters were first produced in France in the 13th century and were used in England shortly afterwards. They were known as Reckoning Counters in England, but on the Continent they were commonly known as Jetons (from the French 'jeter' - to throw). This name indicated that they were counting pieces used for 'casting accounts'.

In the early days they were used in counting houses of governments and by merchants. Their use made calculations easier at a time when Roman numerals were in use - before the days of the arabic numeric system that we know today. In order to carry out calculations these counters were placed on squared (chequered) boards, cloths or tables - hence the word 'exchequer. Their value in the calculation being determined by their position on the board.

Before the introduction of specific counters for this purpose, it seems that wooden counters and sometimes real coins were used in accountancy. The low relief designs on the counters made it easier to stack them on the chequered board.

Reckoning counters achieved their greatest popularity in the 16th century and the centre of production became Nuremberg, with the counters being produced by a series of Mintmasters, with numerous members of the same family being represented. There are groups of 'stock' jetons with similar designs and different legends which were produced by these families. they usually have the mintmaster's name in the legend. Although others produced jetons, four families dominated the jeton production. These were the Shultes, Krauwinckel, Lauffer and Lauer families.

By the end of the 16th century, the role of the jeton began to change. As well as the base metal jetons, there were now examples being struck in silver. Although both base metal (and some silver ones) were still being used in accountancy, this use was declining with the introduction of arabic numerals. The use of arabic numerals gave rise to written methods of calculation.

The base metal jeton became popular as a counter for use in the gaming houses which were increasing in number in the early 17th century. This use of the jetons was to continue until the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the later base metal jetons were also produced for advertising purposes. One of the Nuremberg producers, the Lauer family, is also well known for the production of a series of 'Toy' coins - minature coins probably mainly intended for use in dolls' houses. These were produced from the late 1880's until about 1906. The Lauer firm was in the family's hands from 1783 until 1906, when ownership passed to the Rockstoh family. In recent times the firm continued to produce medals, badges and electoplated ornaments and components.

Probably the most common design for the gaming jeton or token is that of the English 'Spade' guinea or half guinea which was produced in large numbers with legends which were usually different to those on the real guineas and half guineas - the difference often being created to avoid being accused of counterfeiting, since the design (and colour) of these 'tokens' was usually very close to that of the real coins.

At the other end of the scale were the silver jetons. Whilst some of these retained the original function as reckoning counters, most were to have a new role as presentation pieces - initially given as New Year gifts to employees of Government departments. Other organisations followed this example and these presentation pieces became particularly popular in France.

Between the base metal reckoning/gaming/advertising counter and the silver presentation jeton is a very large group of historical jetons (or medalets) which became popular around 1600. These were often used for political advertising, but there is a great variety of designs in existance.

Some of the early jetons are found with a hole in the centre. This was done officially in the case of English pieces to clearly distinguish them from real coins (the designs were similar) whilst others exist with 'unofficial' holes. These were made by merchants who were required to pierce any jeton they had received as a false coin and nail it up for all to see - probably intended to deter those trying to pass the jetons off as real coins.

The table below shows a few examples of the many different types of Jetons produced and clicking on the box labelled 'Pic' will take you to an image of the jeton. Clicking on the 'Back' button on your browser will return you to this screen.

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