Dear coin collectors and coin dealers,
This is my last post today about old Shanghai tokens. I would like to focus in this post on bus tokens from 2nd set, dated 1926.
Woodward says the 2-1/2 and 5 cent tokens were first issued sometime between 1924 and 1928. It is unclear whether they were still in circulation in 1937, but Woodward says they were made in the USA.
"C.G.O.Co.Ltd", the China General Omnibus Co.Ltd was a British-owned bus company and was established in Shanghai in 1922. However some sources of information says, that the company was established in 1924. The company was registered in Hong Kong, but all of its business is in Shanghai. J. A. Fredericks was a was a British man who founded "C.G.O.Co.Ltd". The company's first line opened to public in October of 1924.
The first line was from Bund to Jing'an Temple. The company introduced the second line in 1934 from Jing'an Temple to Hongkou Park.
China General Omnibus Co.Ltd company issued 3 sets of bus token:
1st set: 1922 1 cent, 2 cents and 3 cents.
1 cent and 2 cents are made of brass and 3 cents is made of copper-nickel.
2nd set: 1926 2 1/2 cent and 5 cents, where 2 1/2 cent is made of brass and 5 cents is made of copper-nickel alloy.
3rd set: 1939 1 cent, 3 cents and 5 cents
All bus tokens from 3rd set were made probably in Shanghai and those from 1st and 2nd set were made probably in US.
Those all 3 bus tokens from 3rd set are made of aluminium.
1 cent with JDS initials on reverse has 21mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness.
Please notice that the reverse side of this token has the initials "JDS" written in cursive script. These initials stand for J.D. Shatler who was the General Manager of the company.
3 cents with number 3 on reverse has 24mm in diameter and 2,5mm in thickness
and finally 5 cents with number 5 on reverse has 27mm in diameter and 3mm thickness.
...
This is very common set, however also very interesting. There are letters hidden on the second set of Shanghai tokens as well (with 2-1/2 cut out and "5" hanging).
On 2 1/2 cent bus token on a obverse in a word "GOOD" in a second letter "O" is hidding tiny "M" letter. The different situation is when we take a look on 5 cents bus token. This one on the obverse has in the word "GOOD" I believe in second letter "O" has tiny "A" but I am not sure about this one. However I am 100% sure that there is tiny "M" letter in "D" letter hidden. Please check with your 5 cents bus token piece 1926 is there tiny "A" letter in a second letter "O". Reverses of both tokens don't have any hidden tiny letters. At least I didn't discovered it. Feel free to share your thoughts if you have some knowledge about those tokens. Thank you in advance.
If you like to collect old Shanghai tokens. I would like to recommand you catalog "The chips and coupons in old Shanghai". It has interesting tokens which are very nice to collect. Not only gold and silver shine.
I also have Shanghai cross river token or how collectors call it: ferry token. "Shanghai Ferry Company” was established in 1947, and in 1956 it became a communist government’s stated owned company. And currently, “Shanghai Ferry Company” operates all of the ferry lines on the Huangpu River. The picture I showed you here is a token issued during 1950's to 1970's. Currently the new style ferry token is still in use.
I didn't mentioned about bus fare in those old Shanghai bus tokens. Well, the standard bus fare is: first class (3 Cents, 6 Cents and 9 Cents according to different distence). Second class (2 Cents, 4 Cents, 6 Cents according to different distence). But in some years, the company changed the fares.
KONDi
CCC member 368
Shanghai/China
2012.10.22
16:43
