25 Cents - Hultsdorf Mills G. and W. Leechman Colombo ND

Reverse

Along periphary between plain circle and raised rim. A Ceylon catamaran in center with spreaders under sail in water.

Lettering:
HULTSDORF MILLS
COLOMBO CEYLON

Edge

Plain

Comment

Token made of Black Vulcanite, (vulcanised natural ruber with sulphur) struck in England and introduced at the Hultsdorf Mills in 1872. It represented the price paid for picking a hundred-weight of coffee at the greatly reduced rate of 25 cents a hundred-weight. The use of tokens was discontinued in the mill in 1891.

The Company called The Hultsdorf Mills Co. (Ceylon) Ltd. was founded in London to develop the Mill called Belmont Oil Mill (in Belmont Street) founded in 1835 on a tract of land on the banks of the Canal at Hultsdorf. The name of Hultsdorf itself commemorates the name of General Hulft (A Governor of Ceylon during the Dutch regime). On the death in 1840 of the founder of the Mill, the new management christened it as Hultsdorf Mills, Colombo . Crushing machinery for coconut oil was installed. A saw mill was erect and in 1855 soap making was added to the mill's activities. In 1865 when the Hultsdorf Mills Co. went into liquidation the property was acquired by G. B. Leechman who with his brother William Carey Leechman as partner, founded the firm of G. & W. Leechman, the initial letters of this firm G. & W. L. are monogramed on the Token.

In 1886 a new competitor in the person of Philipp Freudenberg entered the field. He took out a lease of the Hultsdorf Mills and later in 1896, he purchased the premises. In the meantime, Leechman had erected a modern mill at Grandpass.

In early 1890's Lowsely very rarely came upon these tokens, but was told that they have been occasionally used by Moorish gamblers as chess-men for their peculiar chess-boards.

Mentioned in Pridmore are also two types of Red Vulcanite Token and also a unlisted Brown Vulcanite Token exists.

Hultsdorf is now the center of legal activity in Colombo being the location of the Sri Lanka Law Courts. Also in 1835 in nearby Wolfendhal the Colombo Academy was founded. Renamed Royal College and moved to residential Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo.