I have always had an interest in commercial history. Commerce was and is the beating heart of society. Everyone at some point uses and buys things. Everyday objects can teach us about the way people lived. They are a very physical historical source, that have been held and used by ordinary people. This blog is about one of the smallest of these objects: Trade tokens. We have a large collection of them in the National Museum of Ireland’s Art and Industry Division, almost 5,000. They offer little snapshots of history such as NMIHC:1937.126.11, a trade token for McSwiney, Delaney & Co, Lr Sackville St, 1853. This was the precursor to Dublin’s famous Clery’s Department Store, and it was established in 1853, the year that is given on this coin. Another token (NMIHC:1909.1584) is payable at the PANTHEON PHUSITECHNIKON, 1799. This was an unusual Dublin building on the corner of Kildare Street and Stephen’s Green. It had a viewing tower with windows all around it, from which you could see across the city. It was a huge toy shop, and you can picture the excitement of a child who was given a token to spend there. There is so much history in one little token. It was demolished in the mid-19th century, but its image lives on in this token. 
 

A large part of our token and coin collection came from a numismatic collection built up by the Royal Irish Academy and transferred to the NMI in 1890. This has been designated the suffix RIA to denote where the collection originated. One example from this collection is HC:RIA.4755, Michael Kearney Distillery. This was a 17th century distillery in Wexford town.  Wexford has a strong history of distilleries; however, I have been unable to source this particular distillery.  This small coin places this distillery in that location.  A distillery lost to history is remembered through this tiny token.   
 

These are just a few examples of the stories that can be learnt from one of the smallest objects in our collection.