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Cataloging Good For travel token on steamship 'Dolphin'
- Published: Jun 4, 2025, 6 AM
A recent appearance on eBay of Good For trade tokens issued on behalf of the Alaska Steamship Co.’s Dolphin vessel prompted the research and writing of an in-depth article on steamship tokens published in the June issue of Alaskan Token Collector and Polar Numismatist.
The article was penned by longtime newsletter editor Dick Hanscom, based on research by the newsletter’s Anchorage correspondent, J.D. Williams.
The newsletter is a longtime publication addressing numismatics of Alaska and is prepared and disseminated through Alaska Rare Coins in Fairbanks.
Hanscom’s article notes a report in the April 4, 1900, edition of the Daily Morning Alaskan newspaper in the port city of Skagway, where the port’s general agent Frank E. Burns was notified by the Alaska Steamship Co.’s principals that it had acquired a fleet of steamships, including the Dolphin.
The vessel was assigned to the waterway route from Skagway, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. The Dolphin arrived in Alaska from its berth in New York City.
Other newspaper accounts in the early 20th century explain that the Dolphin was a steel-hulled steamship, 220 feet long with a 40-foot beam and capable of reaching speeds of 18 nautical knots.
The Dolphin was built in 1892 at Wilmington, Delaware, by Hollins & Hollingsworth. It was capable of carrying 350 passengers — with 150 first-class accommodations and 200 in second-class — plus 600 tons of freight, besides fuel.
Along its travel route to Skagway from New York, the Dolphin’s passengers and crew reportedly encountered armed confrontations.
Newspaper accounts from Oct. 15, 1917, in the Cordova Daily Times in Alaska detailed that the Dolphin was sold by the Alaska Steamship Co. for an undisclosed price to Chilean interests.
Two weeks later, the Chilean flag was raised on the Dolphin as it began its coastal service under new ownership.
Token usage
Hanscom outlines that Tokencatalog.com attributes the 5 and 10 Dolphin tokens under Port Townsend, Washington, since it was one of the vessel’s ports of call.
The Alaska Steamship Co. was founded in 1897 by Charles Peabody, who resided in Port Townsend.
Collectors of Washington exonumia consider the tokens as Washington pieces. The 10-cent token is addressed in the Washington State token catalog as a Rarity 7, with likely fewer than 12 examples known.
The steamship company’s stockholders subsequently founded the Puget Sound Navigation Co. in 1898, according to Hanscom’s article.
The Seattle to Skagway route was ruled by the Dolphin from 1900 until its sale in 1917. It was also used in the Puget Sound area.
“Originally named the Al Foster and then The Foster, the vessel was renamed the Dolphin in 1899,” Hanscom wrote. “There is little likelihood that these tokens were used before the Dolphin was acquired by the Alaska Steamship Co.”
Advertisements of the Dolphin’s travel schedule were published regularly in the Daily Morning Alaskan from 1900 to 1917, an indication the tokens were likely used on this route. It can also be argued the tokens were used on Puget Sound excursions, based on information published in the Sept. 4, 1900, edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Hanscom reasons that the Dolphin tokens should share a dual attribution, for both Alaska and Washington.
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Community Comments
Cataloging Good For travel token on steamship 'Dolphin'
- Published: Jun 4, 2025, 6 AM
A recent appearance on eBay of Good For trade tokens issued on behalf of the Alaska Steamship Co.’s Dolphin vessel prompted the research and writing of an in-depth article on steamship tokens published in the June issue of Alaskan Token Collector and Polar Numismatist.
The article was penned by longtime newsletter editor Dick Hanscom, based on research by the newsletter’s Anchorage correspondent, J.D. Williams.
The newsletter is a longtime publication addressing numismatics of Alaska and is prepared and disseminated through Alaska Rare Coins in Fairbanks.
Hanscom’s article notes a report in the April 4, 1900, edition of the Daily Morning Alaskan newspaper in the port city of Skagway, where the port’s general agent Frank E. Burns was notified by the Alaska Steamship Co.’s principals that it had acquired a fleet of steamships, including the Dolphin.
The vessel was assigned to the waterway route from Skagway, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. The Dolphin arrived in Alaska from its berth in New York City.
Other newspaper accounts in the early 20th century explain that the Dolphin was a steel-hulled steamship, 220 feet long with a 40-foot beam and capable of reaching speeds of 18 nautical knots.
The Dolphin was built in 1892 at Wilmington, Delaware, by Hollins & Hollingsworth. It was capable of carrying 350 passengers — with 150 first-class accommodations and 200 in second-class — plus 600 tons of freight, besides fuel.
Along its travel route to Skagway from New York, the Dolphin’s passengers and crew reportedly encountered armed confrontations.
Newspaper accounts from Oct. 15, 1917, in the Cordova Daily Times in Alaska detailed that the Dolphin was sold by the Alaska Steamship Co. for an undisclosed price to Chilean interests.
Two weeks later, the Chilean flag was raised on the Dolphin as it began its coastal service under new ownership.
Token usage
Hanscom outlines that Tokencatalog.com attributes the 5 and 10 Dolphin tokens under Port Townsend, Washington, since it was one of the vessel’s ports of call.
The Alaska Steamship Co. was founded in 1897 by Charles Peabody, who resided in Port Townsend.
Collectors of Washington exonumia consider the tokens as Washington pieces. The 10-cent token is addressed in the Washington State token catalog as a Rarity 7, with likely fewer than 12 examples known.
The steamship company’s stockholders subsequently founded the Puget Sound Navigation Co. in 1898, according to Hanscom’s article.
The Seattle to Skagway route was ruled by the Dolphin from 1900 until its sale in 1917. It was also used in the Puget Sound area.
“Originally named the Al Foster and then The Foster, the vessel was renamed the Dolphin in 1899,” Hanscom wrote. “There is little likelihood that these tokens were used before the Dolphin was acquired by the Alaska Steamship Co.”
Advertisements of the Dolphin’s travel schedule were published regularly in the Daily Morning Alaskan from 1900 to 1917, an indication the tokens were likely used on this route. It can also be argued the tokens were used on Puget Sound excursions, based on information published in the Sept. 4, 1900, edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Hanscom reasons that the Dolphin tokens should share a dual attribution, for both Alaska and Washington.
Connect with Coin World:
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on X (Twitter)
Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.