Vintage Zinc Missouri Tax Tokens, 5 Mills, Circa 1930s, Lot of Two

Description

Vintage Zinc Missouri Tax Tokens, 5 Mills
Circa 1930s, Lot of Two
Missouri like eleven other states, issued sales tax tokens during the Great Depression and World War II. These tokens were used to pay the sales tax, or they were received by the buyer as change when the tax wasn't an even cent and they didn't have tokens available.
The Joplin, Missouri, Chamber of Commerce lobbied the state to use zinc from nearby mines and 33 million mills (of tokens) were produced and in circulation until 1943, when metals were needed during World War II.
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut, produced these sales tax tokens around 1935. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
There were 66.9 million zinc five-mill and one-mill tokens minted They were issued from 1937 to 1942, and they were demonetized December 31, 1961. The tokens are about 22mm in diameter. They were issued in two varieties: center hole 2.5mm in diameter (about 45% of those minted), and center hole 4.5mm in diameter (about 55% of those minted) (the exact percentages aren't known). Both of these tokens are the small-hole variety.
The tokens are identical on both sides. There is a map of Missouri in the center. In the middle of the map is the hole. At the top of the map is "Sales", and at the bottom of the map is "Tax". To the left and right of the map, and by the perimeter, are large numerals "5". In an arc by the top perimeter is "Missouri", and in an arc by the bottom perimeter is "Receipt".
The tokens show quite a bit of tarnish from age and use. They are black from oxidation (zinc oxide), and spots that are white from oxidation (zinc hydroxide) can be seen. On side 2 of token #1, the "M" of Missouri is pretty much obliterated, and the first "I" of Missouri is partially oxidized away. On side 2 of token #2, the "E" in "Sales" has been partially damaged by oxidation. Otherwise, the lettering and maps are fairly crisply minted on both sides. Please see the photos. Because of the darkness of the tokens, the photos have been enhanced to better show the condition.