Some very attractive bus tokens

Incheon

Incheon is South Korea’s third-largest city. About 20km from Seoul, it is on the west coast of the country. Lonely Planet advise that you can catch ferry services direct to China from here, or to the West Sea Islands. Close to the border with North Korea, the islands offer traditional fishing and impressive tides.

Obverse

Google Maps note that Incheon has long been a transportation hub, which is fitting for this piece.

I really like Korean bus tokens. Round with a hole and around 18-19mm diameter, they have, as many tokens do, the location name and purpose. I must admit, I do find the Korean text beautiful in itself. They also have decorative designs which tie everything together.

The obverse of this piece is divided into thirds. The top part has the text 일반, indicating it is a normal fare token. The bottom two segments each have a five-petal flower, which may be the Rhododendron schlippenbachii, the floral emblem of Incheon.

Reverse

The reverse has text above and below. The text above reads 시내버스 or City Bus. And the city name is below 인천. To either side are decorative vine-like designs.

Other cities

A number of South Korean cities have used similar bus token designs. Possibly all made by the same company, although I don’t have any information on the manufacturer.

Here is both a regular (top, copper-plated) and student (lower, white metal) bus token from Seoul, used in the 1990s. These feature a bus on the one side, and an open book showing a branch and a key on the other side.

This one is from Daegu, a city in the south-east of the country, and again features the three-segment design with floral emblems on the lower sections and vine design on the reverse.