Expert: Brad Swain - 3/16/2010

Question
Hello again. I am hoping you can help with another interesting item from my husbands collection. He was not the original collector of this box of coins, his grandmother was. He has just carried them around with him over the years and now we are both curious. So anyway, along with the coins is a pewter colored square metal token that's slightly larger than the average postage stamp.Its made of a lightweight metal, most likely tin and the edges are scalloped. One side has a raised stamp with the number 10, with a small c, like a "cents" mark only there is no line through it. The lettering on the flip side is also raised with the words "TRAMWAYS" on top, another "10c" in the middle and "DELA ROCHELLE" underneath. at the very bottom there is a row of 4 stars. there is an old look to it. Not quite a patina so much as a tarnish. Its just too interesting. Any ideas?

Answer
Hi Tina, this is an aluminum 10 centimes streetcar or tram token issued by the French city of La Rochelle during the 19 teens, a period of a shortage of small change.
Not sure of the worth but likely $5+ depending on amount of wear and collector demand.
You might try Ebay.com for similar pieces for comparison.
http://www.jetons-monnaie.net/a/alarochelle.html
Brad