Delhi's Mother Dairy Token

[Abhay]

Got these 2 tokens of Delhi's Mother Dairy.
Each token is worth 1/2 Liter of Milk. Present value is Rs. 17.50 per half liter or Rs. 35.00 per Liter.
The first one is without the year, while the other one has year 1974 minted on it.

Abhay

[Figleaf]

You come up with wonderful stuff, Abhay!

My guess is that you would buy the token at the cash register and drop it in the machine for a portion of (refrigerated?) milk. Such a system would make it possible to implement price increases without changing the machine, it would handle small change problems (just buy a few more tokens), while the machine would give you a clean, healthy product in the correct measure. Good thinking.

Thanks for preserving this token.

Peter

[Mackie]

I just didn't get it. When you have someone siting at the cash register then why do you need a vending machine? Instead of giving tokens he can take money and can easily give milk packets. It seems to be a marketing gimmick as vending machines are still not very common in India. I feel we don't need such vending machines in India as labor is available at cheap cost plus if you have more of such machines it will increase unemployment

[malj1]

I just didn't get it. When you have someone siting at the cash register then why do you need a vending machine? Instead of giving tokens he can take money and can easily give milk packets. It seems to be a marketing gimmick as vending machines are still not very common in India. I feel we don't need such vending machines in India as labor is available at cheap cost plus if you have more of such machines it will increase unemployment

The western world has been fighting this since the industrial revolution and more recently with the computer revolution but progress goes on relentlessly. I sometimes disagree with Peter but I do agree that looks like a machine. Elsewhere milk tokens have been used to leave out in, or with, the returned milk bottles to pay for a new bottle of milk [when being milk is delivered while home unattended] this avoids cash being used and stolen.

Lovely tokens btw.  envious!

[Coinsforever]

It's simple process like ATM :

1.Customers normally take  tokens after paying cash to cashier , 1 token - 0.250 litre/0.50 litre (not recall).

2. Role of cashier is to simply treat customers nothing more than that like airport/railway/movie theatre  tickets counters.

3.In 2nd photograph where customer is putting the tokens in slot and then wait for milk to be dispensed automatically , number  of tokens  insert equal quantity of milk customer get.

4.Morning & evening hours are usually crowded at these mother dairy booths.

5. Last interesting point I remember that  size of these tokens are similar to 25 paise coins , but due to higher thickness of tokens fradusters failed to produce counterfeit tokens and not much  successful.

6. Further interesting point is that in 70s , Govt of India promoted these Mother dairy booths exclusively in and around New Delhi area , it was not a nationwide implementation idea. However each state do have their schemes and similar milk selling units , Gujarat , Punjab to name a few .

Abhay may compare these Mother dairy token's dimensions with 25 paise coins.
Cheers

[birder]

I just didn't get it. When you have someone siting at the cash register then why do you need a vending machine? Instead of giving tokens he can take money and can easily give milk packets.

Mackie, the questions you have raised are valid and need to be addressed.

The Mother Dairy System in India sells four Different types of Milk.

1. Full Cream Milk in packets of half litre and one litre.
2. Toned Milk in packets of half litre and One Litre.
3. Double toned milk in packets of half litre and one litre.
4. Toned milk sold through bulk vending machines.

You are right. For items 1,2, & 3 above-- the milk booth vendor simply hands over the packet(s) to the customers and collects the payment. For item 4 (which is the cheapest and constitutes more than 85% of the milk sale), the customer has to bring his own jug/vessel to collect the milk dispensed through the dispensing machine (lohay ki gaay-- the iron cow).  The tokens are for half litre each. Once the customer has paid and collected the token(s), he goes to the dispensing unit, normally there are two side by side, places his vessel under the dispensing tap and inserts the tokens (either one by one or all at once). The LED display on the machine indicates the  number of tokens remaining to be processed. For example, if I need to buy 2 litres of milk, I will first buy four tokens, and then place my milk jug under the tap of the venbding machine. I will then insert the four tokens in rapid succession. The red LED display will now show "4". There will be a click and half a litre of milk would be dispensed. The red LED display would change to "3". There would be another click and the next half liter of milk would be dispensed. The red LED display would change to "2". and so on... Once the red LED display shows Zero "0", I would move out of the queue with my milk jug (now containing two litres of milk) and the guy next in line would get access to the vending machine.

ALso, there is a manual override system available to the vendor. Suppose I want six litres of milk. He might not want to give me 12 tokens (for shortage of tokens  or because there is rush of buyers etc..). He just charges me the money and asks me to join the queue at the vending machine. When my turn comes I place my milk jug under the dispenser tap and he presses a green button at the cash counter 12 times. This results in the red LCD display on the vending machine to read "12" exactly as if I had inserted 12 tokens. The milk is dispensed by the machine in quantums of half litre and the red LED display changes from "12" to "11" to "10" and so on.

Hope I have been able to explain the process.

Thanks and regards.

[Prosit]

It amazes me the amount of information about a country that can be learnerd from studying tokens. While coins tell an official story, tokens tell the common story.  Thanks for posting this.  Milk and Bread tokens tell a lot about a society.

Dale

[malj1]

It amazes me the amount of information about a country that can be learned from studying tokens. While coins tell an official story, tokens tell the common story.  Thanks for posting this.  Milk and Bread tokens tell a lot about a society.

Dale

Certainly a different slant on the use of milk tokens. Very interesting. 

[Abhay]

Thanks, Birder, for explaining the whole process.
Actually, I got these tokens from my Aunt, who lives in South Extension, where these tokens are still in use.
At many places, the use of these tokens has been stopped, and as Birder explains, the Vendor uses manual override system, as is being done at Model Town.

Abhay

[birder]

Thanks Abhay.

The Mother Dairy images you have posted are interesting.

1. In the first image we can see a guy with his own milk bucket standing at the counter.
2. In the first image we can also see a guy at the dispensing unit, his milk jug placed ready to recieve the milk. The guy himself appears to be inserting the tokens.

3. In the second image we can see the THREE dispensing units. Two have token slots/LED displays. The third is exclusively for the manual override system.


Thanks and regards.

[Mackie]

Birder,

Many thanks for the detailed info. your write up changed my perspective..Now I see the whole thing as a win-win situation for buyer as well as the company. Since the milk is being sold in bulk, companies are saving on packaging cost and this way customers are getting milk @ a lesser price. These tokens and coins look like a simple piece of metal but god they carry so much info. with them. Amazed and delighted!! 

[Bimat]

Can we still get these tokens from the Mother Dairy outlets? If so, where can I get it in New Delhi? My hotel is in Kalkaji so I can visit any Mother Dairy outlet near Kalkaji (Okhala Industrial Estate etc) to get few of these.

Aditya

[Abhay]

Can we still get these tokens from the Mother Dairy outlets? If so, where can I get it in New Delhi? My hotel is in Kalkaji so I can visit any Mother Dairy outlet near Kalkaji (Okhala Industrial Estate etc) to get few of these.

Aditya

Yes, they should be available at all the Mother Dairy Booths, provided they have not gone to Manual Override mode. You can ask the Receptionist for the nearest Mother Dairy Booth at Kalkaji.

Abhay

[malj1]

Another related interesting item; 1953 4a on 2a Admission ticket to Arrey Milk Colony Central Dairy on eBay at present http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/India-1953-4a-2a-Admission-ticket-Arrey-Milk-Colony-Central-Dairy-/270942242811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f156a87fb

I shall be interested to know more of this, what was the purpose of these tickets?

[@josephjk]

That looks like a ticket to tour the milk bottling plant in Bombay (before plastic bags!)