Mystery aluminium token?

[translateltd]

Curious to know if anyone recognises this - it was found in a bag of modern Singaporean coins, not that that is necessarily relevant!  Aluminium, 16mm, 2mm thick.  Rev. appears blank, or badly damaged ...

[Figleaf]

Reminds me very much of the Shell logo. Is there anything on the other side?

In Saran Singh's chapter on Singapore, I found some tokens in a similar style for the Asiatic Petroleum Company, SS 105, 107 and 108 with a 1 in a circle. Saran Singh says they are 1 cent tokens (SS 104 and 106 are half cent tokens). He says they date from 1920 and were "probably produced by the workshops of the Singapore Harbour Board"

From the Shell web site:
Marcus Samuel's dependence on Russian producers left him vulnerable and he decided to seek other sources of oil.

The Far East was the obvious place to look – and his first venture into Borneo brought him up against Royal Dutch Petroleum, one of the region's biggest competitors. The two companies joined forces to protect themselves against the might of Standard Oil, forming a sales organisation in 1903, the Asiatic Petroleum Company. The discovery of oil in Texas offset a series of troubles which had affected both companies.

In 1904, the scallop shell or pecten replaced Shell Transport's first marketing logo, a mussel shell. In various forms it has remained in use ever since, becoming one of the best known corporate symbols in the world.

Peter

[translateltd]

In Saran Singh's chapter on Singapore, I found some tokens in a similar style for the Asiatic Petroleum Company, SS 105, 107 and 108 with a 1 in a circle. Saran Singh says they are 1 cent tokens (SS 104 and 106 are half cent tokens). He says they date from 1920 and were "probably produced by the workshops of the Singapore Harbour Board"

Thanks, Peter. I'm researching this for a third party.  Any indication of relative scarcity or even (the non-collector's favourite question) value?

[Figleaf]

If it's not in Saran Singh, it is not common, but most tokens are not common and there is very little demand for them. Anywhere from €1 to €20 would be my best guess.

Peter

[Prosit]

I don't know anything about this token but in the area I collect, the undated pieces seem to be worth less than dated pieces. 

Dale

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I have just found a  "4" in the same series on an on-line auction in NZ:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=331763080

[Figleaf]

Highly interesting! So far all we know is that is post 1904 and that they tend to surface in New Zealand, while Saran Singh doesn't list them. Do they fit somewhere in the New Zealand history of Shell?

Peter

[Prosit]

Might be reasonable to suspect that a 2 and a 3 token exists   
Dale

[translateltd]

Seller says this one is also 16mm.  Curiouser and curiouser ...