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 Replies: 21 / Views: 739 |
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
For a long time I have been collecting all the information about numismatics on the individual islands of New Guinea, which includes many different islands. And here's one such island, particularly rare in numismatics. One day, I was leafing through catalogs of German tokens and discovered a description of a German New Guinea token, and the token specifically listed the name of one small island—Maron Island. I started searching for information on how to locate it on a map (it turned out to be quite challenging). Then I discovered some information about the token's purpose. And then, by some miracle, I managed to find the only copy that had been up for auction so far. The difficulty was that the seller had misspelled the island's name (he'd listed Marion(sic!) instead of Maron), and also provided an extremely small photo that couldn't be reconstructed even with artificial intelligence. Overall, this is one of the most mysterious numismatic tokens among the individual islands of New Guinea. I've collected the available information and am now looking to see if anyone can provide a high-quality, live photo, perhaps with a different number on the token. Here's what I've found on the subject:   *** Moved by Staff moved to a more appropriate forum. *** |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1364 Posts |
I couldn't locate any photos but AI did provide the following information which may be of interest to you.
'The mention of H.R. Wahlen (Heinrich Rudolph Wahlen) on your token confirms it is a highly specialized piece of German colonial history from the Hermit Islands.
Wahlen was a clerk for Hernsheim & Co. who eventually purchased the Maron station from them in 1903. Your token represents the transition period where Wahlen began managing and eventually owning the massive coconut plantations in the Western Isles of the Bismarck Archipelago.
Identity and Rarity
Issuer: Heinrich Rudolph Wahlen (often branded as H.R. Wahlen or H.R.W.).
Location: Maron Island, the "capital" of Wahlen's island empire.
Scarcity: These are exceptionally rare. While Hernsheim tokens are known in several dozen examples, specific Wahlen Maron tokens are often held in private museum collections or by specialized colonial historians.
The "999" Marking: On Wahlen tokens, high numbers like "999" were often identification tags for contract laborers. Wahlen operated a "station system" where workers were issued these metal tags to identify them for payroll and rations.'
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
The book, "From Cowrie to Kina" by W.J. Mira, is the standard reference work for numismatic items from Papua, New Guinea and PNG. As noted in the sale description, there is a two-page reference for these tokens, being recorded as one of only two store tokens known to have been produced for German New Guinea (the other being J.O.Mouton from New Ireland). The book summarizes what was known about these tokens at time of publication (1986), which is basically not very much - we don't know what the tokens were used for, or what the "990" on your token means. We do know that this token issuer was one of the richest and most influential German colonists in the territory who made his fortune from the sale of copra and of trocas shell.
Not all of the tokens are stamped "990", but this "990" token is the only one imaged anywhere. The plantation-owner who took over from Wahlen is reported as having found a token, with a lower number; they obviously did not inherit a whole bucketful of the tokens along with the property.
As also noted in the sale description, the example illustrated in the book is his exact same token (ex D. Allen collection). There is a clear photograph in the book, though it is a black-and-white image, as well as a line-drawing.
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
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Valued Member
Australia
101 Posts |
Crazy cool token and hard to get information on. However, that particular coin is famous.  Edited by JustRandomCoins
04/25/2026 10:44 am
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Valued Member
 Ukraine
218 Posts |
Here is a link to the archived lot where this token was sold in 2011: I don't understand why the photo of the lot is so small. https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...415accd6f875Sap says: Quote:
The book, "From Cowrie to Kina" by W.J. Mira, is the standard reference work for numismatic items from Papua, New Guinea and PNG. As noted in the sale description, there is a two-page reference for these tokens, being recorded as one of only two store tokens known to have been produced for German New Guinea (the other being J.O.Mouton from New Ireland). Please tell me if there is a photo of this token? I've looked in various archives, but I can't see it yet. Are there direct links to these pages, or scans? Can you show them? In the catalogs of German tokens I see the "Wahlen, Maron" token, but I don't see any "Mouton" tokens. Edited by Islands Gamer
04/25/2026 2:13 pm
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Moderator
Australia
16806 Posts |
Yes, there's a photo of the Mouton token in the book there as well. The token is attributed to the collection of someone who used to go to my coin club here in Brisbane, but is now in aged care. I believe most of his collection is going through the auction process so you may see it in upcoming auctions in Australia. It is not initially obvious that this token belongs in the German New Guinea series as "Mouton" is not a German name and there is neither German text nor any geographic indicator on the tokens, saying just "J.O. Mouton Store" in English with a large "1" in the middle. The story of how a Frenchman ended up as a wealthy merchant in German New Guinea is an interesting one; he was a victim of the 1879 "Nouvelle France" colony scam, one of the few colonists to neither die enroute nor starve upon arrival nor escape to Australia. You can read the story of the colonists, which mentions Mouton's store but not his tokens, on pages 21-23 of this scanned eBook in the University of Queensland library: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/da...rBXnXKrCBw__I will see if I can reproduce the photos in the book for you. 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
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
Sap says: Quote:
I will see if I can reproduce the photos in the book for you. Thank you! I hope you can post scans of these pages. ps. I read in your signature that you publish a numismatic magazine. What kind of magazine is this? Is it available online? Quote:
I'm an active member of the Queensland Numismatic Society, where I'm currently President and Magazine Producer, |
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Moderator
Australia
16806 Posts |
Quote:
What kind of magazine is this? Is it available online? We've only just recently switched from hard copy to email versions of the Magazine. Quote:
Thank you! I hope you can post scans of these pages. Here's the pic of the token from the book:  The reverse is blank except for the manufacturer's name, "Miller & Morris", who were a token-maker in Sydney up to 1910; it is estimated the tokens were made after Mouton's visit to Sydney in 1901. Also note I was mistaken about the island where these tokens were used; though Mouton was originally settled on New Ireland, his plantation where the tokens would have been used was on New Britain, near the modern village of Takubar, not far from the German colonial capital of Rabaul. 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
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Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
Very interesting!  |
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
Edited by Islands Gamer
04/27/2026 12:11 pm
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
Sap says: Quote:
We've only just recently switched from hard copy to email versions of the Magazine. I could contribute illustrated reviews for your magazine on island topics. I'm only interested in numismatics and exonumia on the islands. What do you think about that? ))) |
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
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Moderator
Australia
16806 Posts |
One thing the AI hasn't got correct: the "990" stamp isn't raised, it is incuse, and filled with black vitreous enamel.
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
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Valued Member
Ukraine
218 Posts |
Edited by Islands Gamer
05/04/2026 09:07 am
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Replies: 21 / Views: 739 |
Posted 04/25/2026 10:24 am
