A Love Token for Christmas...-and, anyone near Schaumburg?

Remember the love token collection I posted about earlier this year?  (Click here to read the original post.)
I hadn't found any of these romantic coins until last week when one very special token appeared.

Love tokens typically have one side that was filed down so that they could be embellished with initials.
This one  had both sides filed down...

...so that the occasion could be noted.  "Xmas '90".  That would be 1890.  While I'm not a fan of "Xmas", I can certainly understand how it would be difficult to include "Christmas" on the surface of a dime!

(Sad isn't it, that the only Christmas photo I can show you is this beautiful old token.   There is nothing else in my home yet to indicate that the season is here!  Pathetic!  The past two weekends included out of state trips for family events and my weekdays are just flying by. Tomorrow has been designated for a long awaited trip to Ikea.  I'm up after midnight because the refrigerator is howling like a banshee and I've just transferred everything that matters down to my little freezer...just in case it gives up the ghost tonight.  I suppose Christmas will come whether my home is looking lovely or not; it wouldn't be the first time!)
:)

I'm linking up with Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday because, my goodness, there isn't much that's thriftier than was the 19th Century gent that turned a humble dime into a beautiful token of love.

(Remaining love tokens are available in my etsy shop. 

Love Tokens - Symbols of Victorian Romance

  

Nothing exemplifies the passion and romance of the Victorians more than the simple love token, given as a gesture of love or affection. Coins were taken from circulation, smoothed down and hand-engraved with the initials of a cherished friend or lover.  It's been decades since I've acquired any.  The stars aligned this week and I was able to purchase a small collection.

(Update - this token is sold.)

A token may also have been used as a proposal according to the Love Token Society: "A young man desiring to get married in 1876 may have taken a dime from his pocket and engraved, or had an engraver engrave, his last initial, (family name), and his girlfriend's first initial on it. If she accepted and wore it they were considered engaged..."  How romantic is that?

Most were made from a Seated Liberty dime, dating from the 1850s thru the 1880s.

(I've got one gold love token in my collection; it's in such a safe place that I couldn't find it to show you a photo!  Am I the only one that 'loses' special things on a regular basis?)

This one was made from a quarter, and had a pin attached to use as a brooch.

Some tokens feature unusual motifs

(Update - this token is sold)

 Take a closer look at the whimsical rabbits!

I've yet to find one with my initials, but am still searching.

 

A few tokens will be available in my etsy shop;

while some will be added to my collection.