Tokens of my appreciation
I’ve saved currency from every country that I’ve ever visited. It reveals a lot about each place and triggers great travel memories. But what I didn’t save from every country was a phone token. Now those are interesting – and widely collected – little items. Tokens are intriguing because of the grooves – a challenge to design around. They came in different sizes and metals, with many different imprints, including the colonizing country instead of the country where the token was actually used. (See Libya, below far right.) Quite beautiful.
A precursor to the modern phone card, phone tokens got their start in Chicago, IL in 1907, when druggist Henry Goetz patented a round token with a cut in it, running from the center to the edge. The token could only be used in machines with an attachment over the coin slot that would accept the altered coin. Their lifespan in the US was relatively short. Used only until 1944, most tokens were then melted down to make shell casings. But tokens were widely used in Europe, Israel, Japan and South America well into the late 80s and 90s. The use of tokens and their floating value, with the rate for a phone call, became standard worldwide practice. It was especially handy in European countries where currencies changed across borders – but a token remained useful.
From my travels, I saved an Italian gettone and an Israeli asimon. That’s it. But fortunately collectors have documented many other varieties. For true enthusiasts, there’s even a patent for a token collecting safe (USP 4889279) to house them. Here are some great examples.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:50 am
What a interesting blog entry – info I didn’t know and a cool photo. Thanks!