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Moderator
 United States
128364 Posts |
Quote:
Found this 1975 Bicentennial medal rummaging through some stuff last night. Issued by the US Mint. Had to take the photo through the mint plastic package. The medal itself looks in pristine condition. Quote:
New York Commercial Tercentenary Plaquettes Very nice! 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
788 Posts |
  Last year marked the 100th anniversary of what many consider the most common Pittsburgh token, specifically the 1922 Pittsburgh Railways Co. transportation token. Although many Pennsylvania collectors have numerous examples of this token, no one seems to care much about it or want to learn anything about it. Back in the 1920's and 1930's, it was the general public who was most familiar with the token. According to the April 21, 1938, edition of The Bulletin Index (a.k.a., Pittsburgh's Weekly Newsmagazine), "Probably the most familiar design in Pittsburgh is the one on the car checks of the Pittsburgh Railways Co." When the cost of fare tokens rose from two-for-fifteen cents to three-for-a-quarter in 1919, a woman named Mary Condon Barton was working for the Pittsburgh Railways Co. as an assistant ticket agent. The 16mm fare tokens used at the time were smaller than a dime and the company needed a replacement design. Miss Barton was attending Carnegie Tech's School of Design at night and asked if she could submit a design for the new token. Carnegie Technical School was the same art school that Andy Warhol attended in the mid-1940's. Barton diligently researched the designs of fare tokens being used in other U.S. cities before coming up with the streetcar design that was accepted by the Pittsburgh Railways Co. The company immediately ordered six million of the tokens from the James H. Matthews Co., a well-known Pittsburgh diesinker and manufacturer of grave markers. She left the Pittsburgh Railways Co. in 1925 to pursue a career as an interior decorator. She went on to work for Kaufmann's Department Store for five years, decorated the home of Richard Beatty Mellon, decorated the dining room of the Pittsburgher Hotel, and collaborated with artist Joseph Urban on the William Penn Hotel's "Urban Room." She never married and lived with her mother and brother in Bellevue. She died on March 24, 1963 and was buried at the Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery on the Northside. The 20mm 1922 Pittsburgh Railways Co. brass token is listed as Pittsburgh PA 765-Z in The Atwood-Coffee Catalogue of United States and Canadian Transportation Tokens. Considering a commuter could buy three of these tokens for a quarter during the Depression, it is interesting to note that the token's current catalogue value is listed as twenty-five cents. 
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2880 Posts |
Very interesting, Captain! Thank you for the history lesson.
Now that I've looked more closely at the streetcar / trolley, I see the apparatus at the rear (?) for connecting to the electric lines.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
Edited by Hondo Boguss
05/30/2023 10:38 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Sweden
1518 Posts |
That is a very nice token, @captainrich. And a great write-up of the background! For those of us who are also rail nerds, it is always interesting to figure out if the vehicle depicted is a real one, and if so, which one. The one here looks like a good depiction of Pittsburgh's "yellow car", more than 1,000 of which were built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1910-1926: https://pa-trolley.org/collection/p...ays-co-4398/Edited by erafjel
05/31/2023 02:36 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
788 Posts |
Quote:For those of us who are also rail nerds, it is always interesting to figure out if the vehicle depicted is a real one, and if so, which one. The one here looks like a good depiction of Pittsburgh's "yellow car", more than 1,000 of which were built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1910-1926: https://pa-trolley.org/collection/p...ays-co-4398/ Yes, the streetcar shown on the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum website appears to be the model depicted on the token. Although I only live an hour from the museum, it has probably been 20 years since I visited. I really need to go back. Concerning the token, I also have an apparent error example, where the manufacturer failed to stamp the triangular hole in the center, which allows more of the streetcar to be seen:  
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9641 Posts |
Interesting token and background! Thanks for sharing!
Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Moderator
United States
128364 Posts |
Very nice! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2880 Posts |
Why were so many transportation tokens "holed"? They're not a focus of mine, but I have about 20. All but 2 are "holed" in some fashion.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Moderator
United States
128364 Posts |
I believe so they would "stand out" from normal pocket change and be less likely used as something they are not (real money).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2880 Posts |
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Moderator
United States
128364 Posts |
Nice examples! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
503 Posts |
A recent addition to my vast accumulation of early Double Florins...well, those four actually comprise a tiny subset of my collection of 1811-1812 silver tokens.
A handful of merchants in Bath, Somersetshire, were the only issuers of this denomination prior to the Double Florin's official appearance as Royal Mint strikes coinciding with Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887 and continuing annually through 1890.
While my specimen is a not-particularly-attractive VF, this variety is rated in Dalton as "RRR" for "extremely rare," so I'm happy to have found it in any condition.Dalton 9 (RRR); Davis 8.
I never pay too much for my tokens...but every now and then I may buy one a little too soon.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2880 Posts |
Fantastic, daltonista! Rare tokens such as this are so infrequently encountered that you have to get them when you see them!
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
United States
503 Posts |
Quote:
Hondo Boguss wrote: Fantastic, daltonista! Rare tokens such as this are so infrequently encountered that you have to get them when you see them!
...and hope you might be able to upgrade them at some indeterminate but certainly distant future moment!
I never pay too much for my tokens...but every now and then I may buy one a little too soon.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2880 Posts |
daltonista said Quote:
...and hope you might be able to upgrade them at some indeterminate but certainly distant future moment! My sentiment exactly! When a better one comes along, you'll never have problems passing along your lesser example. And as we all know, there are more people interested in collecting rare tokens than specimens to go around. I've noticed that in the last year or two, the prices people are paying for Louisiana trade tokens from New Orleans or lumber companies have skyrocketed! What used to be $30 tokens now go for $300 or far more. And a 1837 New Orleans Louisiana Hard Times Token Nathan Folger - porous and bent - recently sold for $6185...  Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Replies: 4,108 / Views: 315,988 |
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Posted 05/30/2023 10:06 pm
