By, Bill Myers Bill won Best-of-Show with his Pogs exhibit at
the The United States has deployed soldiers to many areas of the
world since the terrorist attack on 9-11-01. Wherever soldiers
are deployed, there are merchants available to provide services
for the soldiers. Since the Revolutionary War, merchants, called
sutlers, have followed the soldiers to provide their services
and the Sutler Tokens are a numismatic reminder of that era. In
1867, due to corruption in the sutler system, only authorized
traders were allowed on post. In 1889 this system was replaced
by canteens. Finally, in 1895 the exchange service was
established to provide support for the soldiers, which today is
provided by the Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). They
provide services including a Post or Base Exchange (PX or BX),
barber shop, beauty shop, gift shop, movie theater and food
court. When soldiers were first sent to Afghanistan, there was a
shortage of coins in the AAFES system, so small cost items such
as candy were used as