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Fort Laramie,Dakota - Goshen County - S.E. Ward Sutler Token *Territorial* : 50c -

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Medals & Tokens Start Price:375.00 USD Estimated At:750.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Fort Laramie,Dakota - Goshen County - S.E. Ward Sutler Token *Territorial* : 50c -
Obverse: S.E. Ward Sutler U.S.A. / Good For / 50c / In Suttlers / Goods / Fort Laramie D.T. Reverse: blank. Curto DT70. 33mm, copper, well struck, EF condition, mahogany toned, a small amount of verdigris center left edge. "Seth E. Ward was the fort's sutler from 1857 to 1863 and then from 1865 to 1867 when he was retitled post trader; he retired in 1871; a substantial hoard of the S.E. Ward tokens surfaced in 1994, and consequently, values are to be considered speculative." (Cunningham) DT80b. At the age of twenty-four, Seth Ward, was already a veteran fur trapper on the plains. After the rendevous of fur traders in St. Louis, Ward went to work for Robert Campell and his partner, William Sublette. Ward worked for Campbell for ten years. At that time he "gained a lucrative contract as 'post sutler' - the merchant given the . . . Exclusive trading privileges - at Fort Laramie. Appointed in 1857 by Secreatry of War Jefferson Davis (later president of the Confederacy during the Civil War), Ward stayed on in that post until 1871" [Roberts, "Trader Seth Ward's Blizzard of a Lifetime," no page]. Ward retired to Missouri with his wife and ran a farm that was close to Kansas City. He was a prominent citizen there who held positions on the boards of corporations and banks as well as being active in volunteerism. Roberts' records, "Ward died in 1903" [Roberts, "Trader Seth Ward's Blizzard of a Lifetime," no page].