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Schwaab Stamp & Seal Co.

A Catalog of Obsolete Dies

By Tom Casper

This new book will be of interest to anyone collecting tokens and medals. The book contains the history of Schwaab and photos of over 800+ Schwaab-made dies. About one half are Masonic Chapter Pennies. Other categories are Trade Tokens, Transportation Tokens, Fraternal Organizations, and Miscellaneous items.

While they made a lot for Wisconsin companies and events, they made pieces throughout the country. In the catalog there are pieces from 45 of the 50 states. Schwaab stopped producing tokens etc. in the 1950’s. Some of these dies have struck pieces that have never been seen in the marketplace. This book might be the only place you can see them.

The Schwaab Stamp & Seal Co. began in Milwaukee, WI in 1881. The owner, Anddrew Schwaab named the company the Northwestern Stamp Works and opened branches in St. Paul, MN and Chicago, IL. It was in 1888 that Schwaab changed the company name to Schwaab Stamp & Seal Co. Shortly thereafter the two branches were closed.



They had their own engravers who created the dies and had presses in-house to strike the pieces. They made all the items that exonumists so eagerly collect today. They include tokens, medals, badges, dog licenses, watch fobs, and employee badges.

Collectors of this type of material are always interested in knowing who struck the pieces. While Schwaab did hallmark or “sign” some of their pieces such as watch fobs and ribbon medals, most of the other material did not bear their name. With this book, collectors can check their token or medal and if it is pictured in the book, they will know it was made by Schwaab. There are no records of how the obverse and reverse dies were paired other than looking at a struck example.

Schwaab has stayed in business for more than 140 years and currently resides in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, WI. That is quite a milestone for any business. This book has been a labor of love and I appreciate the opportunity to share these die images with my fellow exonumia collectors.

The book is soft cover, spiral bound with 97 pages. It has a Table of Contents in the front and an alphabetical index in the back. It is convenient to look up a piece or check whether a piece is listed in the book.

The price is $29.95 plus shipping. They can be ordered from the author at email tcasper57@hotmail.com or Tom can be reached at 414-425-5444.

Only a very limited number of these book were printed.

 


 

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