Tag: Transport
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New Haven USA Railroad token
A coffee token from an iconic American train The New Haven Railroad (1954 New Haven annual report showing the serif N over H design of the company’s logo, from Northwestern University) The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, commonly known as the New Haven Railroad or simply, ‘The New Haven’, operated in the…
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1977 Panama Un Centesimo
A little coin from a pivotal time in Panama The Panama Canal In writing about the 1916 2 1/2 Centésimos coin, we looked at the history of Panama up until that year. It is next to impossible to talk about the history of Panama without covering the Panama Canal. In the 1880s, the French attempted…
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1988 Turkey İ.E.T.T. Tünel token
A token to ride the shortest subway in the world This is my entry for Day 20 “T” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!T = Turkey. Obverse This is a token of the İETT, short for İstanbul Elektrik Tramway ve Tünel (Istanbul Electric Tram and Subway). The public transport operator in Istanbul, capital city of…
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1913 Ottoman Empire 20 Para Passage Token
An early 20th century bridge token from a fascinating city. This is my entry for Day 15, “O” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!O = Ottoman Empire. Obverse We have covered pieces from Istanbul previously, from a Byzantine Follis issued in the sixth century (when the city was known as Constantinople) to a more modern…
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2011 India Delhi Metro Token
A token from one of the largest railway-using countries. This is my entry for Day 9 “I” of the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge!I = India. Indian rail India is the globe’s overwhelming rail usage leader, with over 8 billion passenger trips per year making up more than a trillion kilometres travelled. Japan is a relatively…
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1933 Budapest transport token
A small section ticket with great imagery Obverse The obverse features the coat of arms of Budapest with the year, 1933, above and ·B·SZ·K·RT· below. These are the intitials of what translates as “The Budapest Metropolitan Transport Company Limited by Shares”. In 1873, the three main cities of Buda, Pest and Óbuda, were united into…
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Ward Beam’s Daredevils / Lord’s Prayer
Two seemingly contrasting themes from a different time Obverse Here is an interesting token with two quite different sides. Bert Ward Beam was an event promoter from Celina, Ohio. In the 1920s, he started promoting “wreck-it” races in which $50 jalopies would race to the finish, but crash along the way. B.Ward Beam is credited…
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Incheon City Bus Fare (South Korea)
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…
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Gettone Autofiloviario (Italian bus token)
I’ve previously posted an Italian “Gettone Telefonico” telephone token. As one of the first tokens I encountered, I have a soft spot for these pieces with interesting grooves and details not usually found on coins. Here is another Italian token: According to the American Vecturist Association’s December 1981 issue of Fare Box newsletter, this token…
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Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway (MK&T) check
The railway that became the KM&T was incorporated in 1865 as Union Pacific Railway Southern Branch. It had nothing to do, however, with the transcontinental of that name then being constructed. In 1870 it was renamed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company (MK&T), colloquially known as the Katy. The railroad survived for over 130…
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Great Western Railway Pay Cheque
I have always had an interest in railways. Both as a practical means of transportation, and the romantic, nostalgic aspect of train travel. The railways, like a number of others industries in the 19th and 20th centuries, used “checks”, “cheques” or “tallies”. These are a special type of token, used by employees, and individually numbered…
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Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company Token
The Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company (P.J. & M.S.S.Co.) was formed in 1877, and ran ferries from Circular Quay, in Sydney’s CBD, to Manly, a tourist beachside town, now suburb of Sydney, Australia. In the early 20th Century, the company issued numerous metal passes to passengers on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly, or yearly…