Shanghai Ice Token Sets - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 514
Everest Pillar of the Community Taiwan 606 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 11:55 am I recently was able to complete a couple of sets with the good fortune of obtaining two of the elusive 15 lb. tokens. Report this Post to the Staff

jbuck Moderator United States 187446 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 12:30 pm Very nice! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15381 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 7:16 pm Interesting ... tell us more about the coins and the quest for the set. Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 34393 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 8:21 pm Interesting to hear @ever's thoughts on these tokens, but here is a little blurb from Heritage auction (November 2023 Lot #7200) to get us started: Quote: Token Shanghai - The S.I.C.S. & R. Co. Ltd (Shanghai Ice Cold Storage & Refrigeration) half loaf bread token nd. (ca. 1910-20) - Obv: Title and 20 Lbs. around center hole / Rev: Chinese characters around center hole - 17.01 gr. 39mm "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
HondoB Bedrock of the Community United States 24872 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 8:31 pm Very cool tokens, Everest! And thank you for the information, Spence. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures Report this Post to the Staff
Errers and Varietys Bedrock of the Community United States 73575 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 9:15 pm Nice tokens! Errers and Varietys. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16805 Posts	Posted 10/28/2025 9:20 pm Found this 10 lb token for sale from an Austrian dealer on MA-Shops, asking 175 euros for it, and it's not as well-struck as the OP's two examples: https://www.ma-shops.co.uk/haubenwa...GJQ7WwP1zou0 Here's another 10 lb token, in an upcoming Heritage sale (15 Nov 2025) with a 70 euro starting bid: https://ha-europe.com/en/browse/Coi...er_2025/6627 I would think your best bet in finding these tokens for a bargain is someone who doesn't know what "S.I.C.S & R. Co." stands for, and sells them as an unidentified Chinese token. I don't know where the "half loaf bread token" description is coming from, but I'm assuming it's an error on PCGS's part; this example from Stacks Bowers says the same thing in both the sale listing and on the PCGS slab. Meanwhile, the 20 pound token mentioned by Spence is also described as a "half loaf bread token". Do PCGS think loaves of bread in China really weigh 20 or 40 pounds? Something's mixed up over at PCGS in the descriptions of these tokens, as they are clearly "ice tokens", not "bread tokens". Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
Everest Pillar of the Community Taiwan 606 Posts	Posted 10/29/2025 02:14 am Quote: Interesting ... tell us more about the coins and the quest for the set. I first started collecting these about 10 years ago when my mentor of Chinese tokens/coins in Taiwan gave me a 20lb. token. I was hooked. The 20lb. and 10lb. show up occasionally but the 15lb token is quite rare. That has been my experience. I purchased the 15 lb. tokens from my mentor when he decided to sell his Shanghai tokens. These were the only 15lb. tokens in his collection. He got in on the ground floor when he worked in Shanghai about 40 yrs ago for an American Co. The 10lb. token that Sap referenced from the S/B sale this past April was just an EF detail token IMO. Put it in plastic and give it a number. Sold for $336. SMH. As far as mis-attributions by PCGS and NGC they use the tired excuse of mechanical error to avoid any kind of responsibility. If this area interests you the go to reference is " The Chips and Coupons of Old Shanghai " which is still available from a dealer in China via ebay as far as I know. A very interesting section covers an area called "Blood Alley" which was lined with bars that catered to sailors from all around the World. These bars issued GF tokens that are a challenge to collect. Edited by Everest 10/29/2025 02:18 am Report this Post to the Staff
scopru Pillar of the Community United States 5029 Posts	Posted 10/29/2025 7:05 pm Cool set. Report this Post to the Staff
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