Oyster Tokens: A Bit[coin] of Commercial Oyster Shucking History

1866 Price Bros. Oyster Token, Baltimore, MD

Our sister website, Harbor Island Oyster Co., recently began accepting bitcoins for payment. (Nevermind that the Bitcoin CEO was just arrested.  The Facebook twins are still in, so it's totally cool?!) What are bitcions? Old-schoolers would call it funny money. They are an electronic currency with no country, no middleman, no paper or metal coins. The value can flucuate wildly and new bitcoins are hidden in the world's vast network of computers. The idea may need some refining, but the concept of an international, market driven currency is interesting and maybe inevitable.

25 cent brass token from the Pinckney Oyster Co. Ridgeland, SC

What do bitcoins have to do with oysters? Bitcoins, of sorts, have a history in the oyster industry. From the late 1800s to as recently as the mid-1900s, U.S. oyster pickers and shuckers were paid in brass or steel tokens issued by individual commercial shucking houses. Depending on where the shuckin' was taking place, the system varied a bit. Northern pickers received tokens after each quart or gallon picked. At the end of the day, they could turn the tokens in for cash. In the South, tokens were given to pickers and shuckers at the close of each business day. At the end of the week, the workers could spend their tokens at the company store, which usually overcharged for the goods sold.  

S.S. Barnes & Co. Oyster Token, Baltimore, MD
Picture Courtesy of the Smithsonian's American History Museum

As always, oysters were the great equalizer. Some shuckers were fast. Others slow. You got paid for what you shucked. "That was the purpose of the tokens ... so that workers could work as fast or as slow as they wanted," says South Carolina token collector, Tony Chibbaro.

Each token was usually worth between 10 and 25 cents. In 1900, the pay for shucking a gallon of oysters was 25 cents. In a 1970 interview, John Thomas of the vintage New Haven Thomas Oyster Co says that a good oyster opener could open 20 gallons a day - the record was 45 gallons in one day. 

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How Much Are They Worth?

Like everything having to do with oysters these days, the value of oyster tokens has been ticking up. Tokens from the Civil War can run upwards of $150. Post Civil War tokens are about $50. Twentieth century tokens are about $10. There are exceptions, of course, but that should give you a good start. On Chibbaro's website, which specializes in South Carolina tokens, you can buy oyster tokens for $7.50 to over $100.  

Brown & Bennett, 1 Gallon Oyster Token,  New Deal, MD

Thomas Oyster Company payment tokens.
Pictures from Christopher Shaefer on www.citypointnewhavenconnecticut.net.
Modern quarter for size reference.

Moore & Brady Oyster Token, Baltimore, MD

Thomas Jamison Oyster Token, Aberdeen, MD

Oyster Token from Standard Fish & Oyster Co.,  Appalachicola Florida

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OYSTER SHUCKERS, LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Today, oysters are stilled shucked by hand because, despite every advancement, no machine has been able to replace an oyster shucker. On the Gulf Coast, some shucking houses are using an oyster shucking machine but it still requires oversight from an experienced shucker. Other hand held machines have been tried … but none replaces a good shucker and a good knife.

J Kanzler 1933 Patent Application
for an Oyster Shucker

Webb World Industries Florida Cracker

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COMMERCIAL OYSTER SHUCKING TODAY

Oyster tokens are no longer used, but workers still get paid by the gallon.  The average gallon of oysters holds about 100 East Coast oysters. Workers receive $9-$10 a gallon (in cash, not bitcoins), up from 25 cents in 1900. A good shucker still shucks 10-20 gallons a day. Check out this video about oyster shucking from Taylor Shellfish Farms:

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Every good shucker needs a good shucking knife. Check out the Valentine's Day Special at Harbor Island Oyster Co. Buy any oyster knife between now and Feb. 14, 2014, and receive a free oyster shell pendant necklace.