Austrian tramway token

[Figleaf]

This copper token (4.3 gram, 21.6 mm) was issued in Vienna in 1938. WStB is Wiener Stra?enbahn (Vienna tramway system). The winged wheel with lightning bolts is a clich?, but it may well be a logo also. I don't even want to think about what the designer's initials AH stand for. I am not sure why WSB would want to work with tokens in 1938, since there were enough official coins.

Peter

[Prosit]

I have this one 

As for the AH designer, my guess from prior experience is there are two possibilities.
One is Adolph Ludwig Hofmann and the other is Alfred Hofmann, both prominant designerss of coins medal or tokens from this time period.  Don't know if they are related or not.

I have a recorded comment here somewhere about the origin of the design but I can't seem to find it...
Dale
Thanks for posting it, I love this stuff

[Figleaf]

Hofmann (gardener) is a common name in German speaking areas. I still wonder if this is a ticket to ride or something else. It could also be a restaurant token for WStB staff.

Peter

[Kushi]

Engraver's initials AH are for Adolf (Ludwig) Hoffmann. This 10 Reichspfennig token was struck in a quantity of 4,050,000 pieces.

Information from Uwe Frenzel und Gunter Fritz. Marken, zeichen & notmunzen der verkehrsunternehmen in Deutschland u. Osterreich-Ungarn. Hamburg, The author, 1979.

[Figleaf]

Thanks, Kushi. That dates the piece 1938-39. If it was a 10 reichspfennig token, it was introduced after the Anschluss. Since copper coins were taken out of circulation at the start of the second world war, the end date would have been 1939.

Peter