German Spiel Marken

[malj1]

I recently acquired this nice Spiel Marke showing a tram and thinking of Fosseways posting here of the  Re: Göteborgs Spårvägar - Gothenburg tram tokens I thought I had the location but it appears the Gothenburg trams have three windows whereas this jeton show five windows.

Iron. 16mm 0.8g.

[FosseWay]

It's not the same tram (the pantograph is also very different) but there's a high degree of similarity.

I had always thought that those small SPIELMARKE in wreath pieces were 19th century. I can't remember when the world's first electric tramway opened but it can't be much before the 1890s, so I'm guessing these pieces were made later than I thought.

It may be the 1890s equivalent of branding everything with astronauts and Moon landing equipment in the 1960s - showing the latest high-profile technological innovation on your product, even if it's irrelevant to the product in question, helps catch the eye of your customers, especially if they're kids.

[malj1]

Yes as you say these small SPIELMARKE in wreath pieces are mostly 19th century but a new series of medallic souvenir types appeared after 1880 through to about 1910 with images such as the German dirigible balloon and the French Eiffel tower. Others had images such a steam locomotive, a very early car, Zeppelin, battleship, even a fly.

One more type is this steamboat, or as it says, Dampfshiff.

David Rogers Toy Coins say it would need an entire book to list all the varieties. No doubt the Great War finished them off.

[Figleaf]

Great stuff! I suppose the images were part of an attempt to get the youngsters interested in the wonders of the world, so they didn't necessarily have to imitate the real thing like the toys based on coins. Maybe inventions like electricity and steam power were the subject, rather than transportation. BTW, the steam ship is actually a hybrid steam/sail ship, so it may be earlier than the tram. I wouldn't be surprised to learn the tram is a type the designer was familiar with, rather than something from a real transportation token.

Peter

[siradds]

I am new to coin collecting after recently inheriting my granddads coin collection, So you could call me a NOOB. I have a old tiny coin that i have been unable to find any information on.  If someone Could help me with some more information about this coin i would be hugely thankful. I would really like to know more about the origin, date and price if posible.

On the front side it says: Nurnberger Spiel & Rechenpfennig, and the portrait of Ludwig Christian Laurer i believe.
On the reverse it says: Spiel-Marke, L, CHR, Lauer,

[Figleaf]

Lauer is a family from Nürnberg with a long tradition of making counters for many generations. As new mechanical coining machines became available, the family switched towards making toys. This is an imitation of an Austrian coin made for play (Spiel in German) and education. It is part of a long series. Some other can be found here.

Peter

[Figleaf]

The jumping horse is the emblem of the Napoleonic kingdom of Westfalen and the preceding and succeeding kingdom of Hannover. Mit frohem Mut (und heiterm Sinn) - with joyful mood and happy mind - is the title of a waltz for pianoforte by Eduard Strauss. This and similar reverses were used indiscriminately on a number of Spiel Marken. The oak wreath looks pretty German.

Brass, 3.0 gram, 25.0 mm.

Peter

[Figleaf]

The imperial Austrian shield decorates one side of this toy coin, probably intended to resemble an Austrian ducat without the intention or ability to deceive. The olive (peace) wreath may put it close to the Napoleonic wars, the more because the diameter is decidedly un-decimal. Thicker and smaller than the preceding specimen.

Brass, 3.0 gram, 20.6 mm

Peter

[chrisild]

As a North Rhine Westphalian I am deeply shocked and offended by the insinuation that the horse has anything to do with Napoleon.   The heraldic Saxon Steed is much older, and was only a small portion of Jérôme Bonaparte's kingdom and CoA. From today's point of view I would say the horse is from Lower Saxony rather than Westphalia or the state of NRW, as the tail goes down. But the jeton will be older than the two states.

Christian

[Figleaf]

Thank you for pointing out that a Saxon steed is not, as I thought, a fertile person, kept just in case the house of Wettin needed the birth of a successor. I think you ought to suggest that NRW should transfer half of its coat of arms to Saxony. I also agree that Jérôme was just the ne'er do well in the family, so that horsey on the coins of the Brunswick mint should have galloped off to Saxony also.

Peter

[chrisild]

The funny thing is that neither Saxony nor Saxony-Anhalt would be interested in that horsey stuff. The Saxon Steed is old, much older than those later/Eastern Saxonies, and there are lots of legends around it. Duke Widukind, later defeated by Charlemagne, is said to have had a black horse. Once he became Christian, Charlie gave him a white horse. Widukind is probably buried in Herford, North Rhine Westphalia ...

Brunswick (e.g. the duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg) used the horse in its CoA, Hannover (kingdom and later Prussian province) used it, Westphalia (duchy and later Prussian province) used it – you will know the Westfalen notgeld "coins" from the 1920s with the horse on each piece.

So the newly founded state of Lower Saxony (re-)introduced the Saxon steed in 1946. North Rhine Westphalia, also newly founded, combined the symbols of Rhineland (river), Westphalia (horse) and Lippe (rose). The two horses (NI, NW) can peacefully coexist, hehe. As I wrote, the tail style on your token suggests Lower Saxony (or then Brunswick/Hannover) rather than Westphalia, but would the token maker (Lauer, from Nuremberg) know about such subtle differences? And would they care?

What I do find a little strange is that the piece says "Spielmarken". That is the plural; I would have expected the singular "Spielmarke" here ...

Christian