PT-689.05 (WING CHONG YUEN plain 5 with blank reverse)
Obverse Design
The legend "WING CHONG YUEN" curves along the top. The legend "CENT.VAL."
curves along the bottom. In the center is a large, plain number 5.
All these legends use incuse lettering. The token has a smooth edge without a rim.
Reverse Design
The reverse is blank. It has a smooth edge without a rim.
Metal
Unknown white metal, possibly nickel.
Weight
Unknown.
Size and Shape
Round, 22 mm in diameter.
Dates Issued
Unknown. Probably sometime between 1852 and 1885.
Issurer
Wing Chong Yuen and Company.
Mintage
Unknown.
Rarity
Very Rare.
Manufacturer
Unknown.
Other Catalog Numbers
Previously unlisted.
Varieties
There are three known different WING CHONG YUEN & CO. token designs, two uniface and
one with a design on both sides. There is also a WING CHUNG YUEN (note the middle
name is CHUNG, not CHONG). That token is both uniface and incuse, similar to
the A. GROSSO COLON Y CHAGRE token.
The design of this token is the least sophisticated of the varieties and the most similar to the WING CHUNG YUEN piece, since it is unifice, incuse and without ornamentation. It is most likely
the earliest issue of WING CHING YUEN.
Function
Merchant token.
Population Count
Only one specimen of this token in collector hands is known to me.
Recent sales include:
Auction sale on ebay on May 19, 2007 for $461.78 plus $3.00 shipping.
Notes
Colon in 1854
4x6
From Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, 1854.
