Italian public transport tokens

[Rodan61]

from Milan, 1920

[Rodan61]

Milan, reduced rate, 1920

[Figleaf]

It's clear now where the design of the 1944 tokens came from. It's also clear that those are not royal arms but city arms - the crown is a wall with towers. I guess the 1920 tokens were made in Rome?

Yes, there are plenty of Swedish and US transport tokens and don't forget UK transport tokens. The Italian tokens are a discovery for me. The UK and and Swedish tokens are well covered in World of Tokens and we are working on Russian transport tokens.

Italian city names can be confusing. I once got into a momentary panic in the air, when it was announced in Italian that the plane was going to Monaco. The English version of the announcement reassured me that I was indeed going to Munich, better known to its inhabitants as München.

Peter

[Rodan61]

I do not know where the tokens of 1920 were coined but they are very similar to those used in Turin ..

[Figleaf]

Yes, a single source for both tokens. But it can't have been the Turin mint, because that closed in 1867. By 1920, the only Italian mint in operation was Rome.

Keep them coming, Antonio. I love them!

Peter

[Rodan61]

A.C.E.G.A.T.
TRIESTE transport company
The Azienda Comunale Elettricità Gas e Acqua e Tranvie (A.C.E.G.A.T) (Municipal Company of the Electricity, Gas, Water and Tramways) was born in Trieste on July 16th 1934, from the merger between A.C.E.G.A and the company of the Tranvie Municipali. The first trams A.C.E.G.A.T appeared on the streets of Trieste at the beginning of 1935; these were trolley cars (series 401-428) produced by the company Officine Meccaniche delle Stanga from Padova, in collaboration with the Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri, From Milan.
At the beginning of 1939, these trams were replaced by other more modern and streamlined trolley cars, belonging to the 428-448 series. Between 1939 and 1942 the Trieste company received 20 of these trams; many of them were damaged during the World War II. Some were rebuilt in 1948 and 1952, while others were sold, between 1960 and 1965, to the Rome transport company STEFER (Società delle Tramvie E Ferrovie Elettriche di Roma), who used them in the Castelli Romani area and between the Termini station and the hippodrome of the Capannelle. In Rome these trams were called "Triestine". One of these tram was used, in 1977, to carry out the test of the new A line of the Roman metropolitan.
In Trieste they remained in service until 1970, the year of closure of the tramways service (March 31, 1970).
Token diameters:
ACEGAT 20 centesimi > 20 mm; 1,1 gr
ACEGAT 30 centesimi > 23 mm; 1,6 gr
In photo: Tram Stanga, n° 427, II serie, from Railway Museum of Trieste Campo Marzio.

[Figleaf]

So we can date these tokens 1934-1942, I suppose. They look like they are too easy to imitate illegally, so my guess would be that they were emergency issues, made during the second world war, probably locally.

The second world war had a similar destructive effect on tram networks in Britain and France. They were often beyond repair or modernisation and closed. The trams were replaced by busses. Ironically, trams are now making a come-back in big cities.

Peter

[Rodan61]

It is probable that these tokens were used between 1943 and 1945, during the period of the Italian Social Republic. They were made of iron. I would like to remind that, at the time, Trieste was of the Operations Zone of the Adriatic Coast or OZAK (Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland) under German control.
As for the return of the trams, you're absolutely right; in many cities, where the lines were replaced by busses, the administrators are trying to restore old lines due to the smog problems.
Antonio

[Rodan61]

In one of my previously post on the tokens of the CAP of Prato, zodiacal serie, I said that these tokens were minted also in silver and gold.  I recently acquired the serie of 12 tokens in silver 999/1000. They are the perfect copies of the original serie in ACMONITAL (ACciaio MOnetato ITAliano which means, more or less,  Italian steel for coins). They are presented in the original box with the reference of the artist Bino Bini.
Ciao
Antonio

[Figleaf]

The signs of the Zodiac. Being born in the sign of pisces, I love the pair of fish already

Maybe it's the light, but it looks like these are ex-proofs, maltreated by some chemical, perhaps the material of the box. You can't get any lost luster back, but I have a recipe for cleaning proofs if you are interested.

Peter

[Rodan61]

Hi Peter
They show oxidation, but it must be consider that are almost pure silver (999/1000) and they are not sealed. To clean the silver usually I use simple water and sodium bicarbonate but if you have better suggestions they are welcome. Thanks