1800s German Spiel Marke, General Garibaldi Type.
Obverse : bust of general Garibaldi Reverse : "spiel marke" Diameter : 22 mm. 1 inch = 25,4 mm Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian general and politician. He is considered one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland". Garibaldi was a central figure in the Italian Risorgimento, since he personally commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led eventually to the formation of a unified Italy. He generally tried to act on behalf of a legitimate power, which does not make him exactly a revolutionary: for example, he was appointed general by the provisional government of Milan in 1848, General of the Roman Republic in 1849 by the Minister of War, and led the Expedition of the Thousand on behalf and with the consent of Victor Emmanuel II. He has been called the "Hero of Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in Brazil, Uruguay and Europe. These earned him a considerable reputation in Italy and abroad, aided by exceptional international media coverage at the time. Many of the greatest intellectuals of his time, such as Victor Hugo , Alexandre Dumas , and George Sand showered him with admiration. The United Kingdom and the United States helped him a great deal, offering him financial and military support in difficult circumstances. In the popular telling of his story, he is associated with the red shirts worn by his volunteers in lieu of a uniform.
These tokens were used either to teach mathematical operations to children (children still learning Roman numerals in school), or as counters in a game, or shopkeepers used them to count on an abacus-like grid.