Token - Ballantine Ale and Beer 3 Ring Triangle (Newark, New Jersey) ND

Reverse

3 Circles forming a triangle . Script top of each circle. Small Triangle at center pointing down.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
PURITY
BODY
FLAVOR
⛛

Edge

Plain

Comment

These tokens were handed out in bars for free, promoted as a golf ball marker. Some sellers on Ebay stated these were produce in the 1960's. The company was founded in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey, by Peter Ballantine (1791–1883), who emigrated from Scotland. The company was originally incorporated as the Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company. Ballantine rented an old brewing site which had dated back to 1805. Around 1850, Ballantine bought out his partner and purchased land near the Passaic River to brew his ale. His three sons joined the business and in 1857 the company was renamed P. Ballantine and Sons. The name would be used for the next 115 years, until the company closed its brewery in May 1972. By 1879, it had become sixth largest brewery in the US, almost twice as large as Anheuser-Busch.

The Ballantine logo is three interlocking rings, a design known as the Borromean rings. According to legend, Peter Ballantine was inspired to use the symbol when he noticed the overlapping condensation rings left by beer glasses on a table; however, this logo was not created until 1879. In some advertising campaigns in the mid-1900s, Peter Ballantine was referred to as "Three-Ring Pete"; however, it is unknown if this was his nickname when he was alive. The rings represent "Purity, Body, and Flavor"