I've heard reliably that Hal Birt, Jr, a longtime Tucson Arizona coin dealer and author of the Arizona trade token reference (responsible for increasing the interest in Western trade tokens, along with James J. Curto), died last week from old age and the infirmities associated with being a long time cigarette smoker. Hal was about 81 (give or take a year or two). A very nice and informative man.

Hal Birt's book was titled Arizona Tokens and Scrip. It was published in 1990 and it is still the "bible" on Arizona trade tokens, although the Stack's Ford sale and the Schingoethe catalogs are now the bibles on Arizona scrip.