Token - Longley's ND
| Brass | 8.4 g | 32 mm |
| Location | United Kingdom (United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies) |
|---|---|
| Type | Service tokens › Other entrance tokens |
| Composition | Brass |
| Weight | 8.4 g |
| Diameter | 32 mm |
| Thickness | 1.5 mm |
| Shape | Round with a round hole (5 mm) |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Updated | 2024-11-14 |
| Numista | N#418320 |
|---|---|
| Rarity index | 97% |
Reverse
Blank.
Edge
Plain
Comment
Info from Mal Johnson who purchased them in New Zealand. Fuller's Theatres used a larger version. Generic tokens used in various countries.
Longley (manufacturer/factory; British; 1 885) Leeds, Yorkshire. James William Longley made Leeds the first place in the world to have coin operated ticket dispensing machines. Longley was a skilled.mechanic who helped Louis Le Prince produce cameras and projectors for the world's first moving pictures and Longley adapted the technology to produce an early example of a vending machine. The 1885 patent described it as being for'Theatres, concert Halls' but it looks to have been first used at Leamington athletics ground, Leeds and also went on to be used on Leeds trams/omnibuses and for matchboxes
From: httP://www. britishmuseum.orq/research/search the collection database/term details.aspx?biold=835 82
This machine was made to issue two differently-shaped zinc or aluminium tickets or tokens for patrons of the Pit and the Stalls at London's Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square. The tokens, and possibly the machine, were made by the firm Accurate Check Taker Limited, which operated in covent Garden and Soho from 1902 until 1944. Tokens waiting to be issued were stacked on the vertical metal columns. When people paid for admission, the handle was turned corresponding to the relevant token, shaped differently for Pit or Stalls. The token was dispensed into a receptacle at the base of the unit, and the 'Vernon Revolution Counter' (patented 1893) at the base of each stack recorded the numbers issued. As they took their seats, patrons returned their tokens to ushers who collected them on a rod or string before returning them to the box office where the amount issued could be cross-checked with the mechanical counter on the machine.
The Accurate Check Taker Ltd. made tokens that were issued by these machines and operated from 28-29, southampton street, strand, 1902-1917',17-21, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden '1908-1930, and then 94, Wardour Street from 1931 until about 1944.
Trading Dates: from 27 August 1897 until 1 1 June 1935.
