Aarhus token

[artsmith]

I got this token in a collection of all Denmark transit tokens. 18mm. White Metal. Smith 10 AO, Somod 276. However, it has a notch. I don't know if it was done by the company or someone else. I know there are a few German tokens with notches.

[Figleaf]

I have no idea why the notch was made. I can only contribute with another example of edge notches, hoping that it will help.

On Dutch gas tokens, such notches occur quite often. They were applied from around 1925. Their objective was to prevent that official circulating coins could be used in the token-operated gas distribution machines: behind the money receiving slot was a pen that would make sure solid round objects were refused. The reason for objecting to coins was that originally, the machines worked on 2½ cent coins, but inflation had made those coins impractical, with gas prices rising to between 16 and 17 cents for ⅓ cubic meter of gas. Note that the Dutch notches were semi-circular, so the pen in the machine was probably round.

If you accept the above as an option, as a first step, I recommend that you find out if there was a circulating coin with close to the same diameter (machines in those days seldom checked weight and magnetism) in use in Denmark or neighbouring countries. The next step is to imagine which goods or services were sold by coin-operated machines originally for one of those coins (this would include transport in Aarhus). That should give you a reasonably short list. The rest is just eliminating possibilities. Finding more notched pieces (not necessarily with the same host), preferable with the place where they were found, should give you more information to work on.

Lastly, Somod was a thorough researcher. If he didn't find this variant, it may have been an attempt to "create additional value", though I find the perfectly regular shape of the notch pleading against that option.

Peter

[chrisild]

Hmm, 18 mm would match the diameter of the 10 øre coin between 1924 and 1988; the early ones (until 1947) had a central hole though. Out of curiosity, I checked for århus sporveje polet (aarhus gets you the same results), and did not come across such a notch. See here, and click the "Images for ..." link.

[FosseWay]

Some reasons for the notch - some covered above by Figleaf:

1. The owner of the tokens/machinery wanted to prevent use of coins of the same size in their machines.
Unlikely in this case, as I imagine the token was just handed to the driver or conductor. It wasn't used in a machine remote from anyone with an interest in what was put into it, as a gas meter is.

2. The Mint/machine vendors/banks wanted to prevent people using bus tokens in vending machines that required real money. 
A more likely scenario, I think, but weakened by the clear rarity of notched tokens (of this issue and others of similar size). If there was a widespread problem, you'd expect a widespread solution.

3. The token has been modified at a change in fare.
Adding holes or notches, or plating tokens so they change colour, are all common ways of differentiating old and new when tariffs change. But against this is the same argument as for (2), that you'd expect them to be reasonably common. I guess it's possible that a small number of tokens was treated in this way for a short period to cover a supply issue or rapidly changing fares during high inflation.

4. It's a cancellation mark.
Coins are often holed, notched, rolled or obliterated before being sent for remelting, so that any that escape the full process can't be used or redeemed. The intention is that all should be recycled, so it's normal for such examples to be fairly rare. The same may apply here. In this case, the company may have withdrawn tokens from use and then had a grace period during which unused tokens could be exchanged for new ones or for cash. After that period, they wanted to be sure that tokens escaping from the destruction process couldn't be used (e.g. by fraudulent employees) to get refunds.

5. It's vandalism.
Someone with a new tool they want to try out, or someone looking forward to reading about others' confusion on a website devoted to tokens...