Issued by Kimberly Municipality in 1913 to allow clean water to be obtained from standpipes. In use until 1921.
Struck in brass, 35.6 mm diameter and 2.4 mm thick it uses the Arms of the Municipality.
Under a rampant lion is the Latin motto “ SPERO MELIORA” translated as “I hope for better things”.
These large and heavy tokens operated slot machines and were struck at the Heaton Mint, Birmingham whose records have an entry for 4th May 1914 “5000 tokens to sample”. According to R.N.P. Hawkins this wording indicated a repeat order explaining the use in 1913 and perhaps earlier though no entry for the initial order was found.
This token is relatively scares and in good condition even more so ...
They do demand a premium compared to other water tokens such as the Jagers Fontein water token which readily available...
Kimberley (Wikipedia)
Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Anglo-Boer war. British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town.
On 2 September 1882, Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure. The first Stock Exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley, as early as 1881.
Sources:
R750
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