S.P. Moore Pool Hall token, Good For 5¢ In Trade, Newhall Cal., circa 1890s, presumed unique (meaning it is believed that this example is the only one in existence today). Brass, 21mm.

Borrowed from the owner in June 2006 for the purpose of photographing it. This is the only known type of token for S.P. Moore's Pool Hall.

Listed in Kappen ("California Tokens" by Charles V. Kappen, 1976) as S.P. MOORE / POOL / HALL / NEWHALL, CAL. // GOOD FOR / 5¢ / IN TRADE.

We must admit we're at a loss on this one. We don't know who S.P. Moore was, and we don't know where his pool hall was located. There were Moores in the area at the time; Moores ran the stagecoach station in San Francisquito Canyon in the 1850s (which is too early for this), and J.R. Moore was a merchant in Newhall in the 1930s. But the name S.P. Moore is unfamiliar.