Mrs. M.A. Van Houton was a milliner who faced stiff and increasing competition in 1863.

Started by her husband, B.R., in 1850, Mrs. Van Houton's 68 E. Town St. store saw at least four competitors open their doors within blocks in 1863.

In response, Mrs. Van Houton, who lived at the same address as her store, increased her advertising budget and added hoop skirts and corsets to the hats and bonnets she already carried.

In October, a few days after yet another hat store opened at 182 S. High St., Mrs. Van Houton placed an ad in The Columbus Express announcing her fall open house.

In the ad, she said she was "thankful for past patronage with hope for a continuation of your favors.''

Mrs. Van Houton's store withstood the competition and remained in business for several more years. Her store's location is now part of City Center mall, most likely the part occupied by Jacobson's department store.

Misspelled name

W.K. Lanphear of Cincinnati struck Mrs. Van Houton's tokens from a single pair of dies that features Mercury on the front and the name and location of Mrs. Van Houton's store on the back.

While there is no record, Mrs. Van Houton (ON) was probably not too happy when the tokens arrived. A Lanphear engraver had misspelled her name as Van Houten (EN).

To collectors of Civil War tokens, Mrs. Van Houton's tokens are doubly desirable: They are scarce in their own right, with an estimated surviving population of 200 to 500 pieces, and they were issued by a woman.