Promotional tokens (All) – findings

Advertising or address stamps are not, like magician's stamps, in a strict interpretation of numismatics consideredmaterial belonging to the field, because, with few exceptions, they did not represent any of the functions of money, see definition. To be preserved and still remind the holder of the issuer, they were of fancy design resembling coins, or were intended to give the impression of being a talisman for the shfortune, which is often indicated on them, and therefore feature symbols of good luck, most commonly four-leaf clovers and horseshoes.

Their character is more similar to that of medals, which they approach in their top versions. The earliest Czech advertising stamps are already recorded in W. Killian's inventory of the collection of Czech stamps from 1858. Their minting spread from the turn of the 1860s, especially in Prague, but also in Pilsen, Teplice and other cities. The older name of address stamps originated from the fact that the address of the publisher was indicated on them. A number of such issues date from the period before the Jubilee Exhibition in Prague in 1891, where companies presented themselves with splendid stamps. The address stamps were attached to the delivered products as an advertising attention, therefore in rare cases they were additionally punched with holes. This practice continued during the First Republic.

A special kind of advertising stamps were game stamps, which were given as a treat when shopping. Their most unknown representative are the mintages of Vilímek's publishing house in Prague with the legend Czech stamp to play. The full article can be found in the magazine Coins and Banknotes No. 5/2013