Token France Jeton 'A Consommer' with Triangle 1840 to 1940

These are old French tokens, or jetons, which were produced from about the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. They come in a wide variety of patterns. Our general page on jetons appears at this CoinQuest link (click here).

We recommend that you read this fascinating thread over on the WorldofCoins forums. The thread has numerous pictures and descriptions of many varieties of these tokens, all with a tiny FC in the triangle.

Jetons were made a variety of reasons, basically as counters. Some were used as payment in brothels, while others could be used as bets in slot machines. Others yet could be paid with in vending machines to buy cigarettes and newspapers. Geographically, jetons were issued in many areas, ranging from smaller towns and hamlets centered around larger businesses in continental France, as well as in the French colonies in Algeria.

Values remain low. There are a lot of varieties, and they all sell around $1 to $15 depending on the condition.

Tokens with great eye appeal will be closer to the $15 value, while horribly tainted tokens will rarely sell for even a single dollar.

There are multiple denominations, materials and sizes for these tokens. Larger tokens are usually more collectible than smaller tokens. Some are a standard round shape, while others have a scalloped 'wavy' edge.

The inscriptions on the tokens vary depending on the area and authority of issue. The 'C.G.E.C.B' on Marcy's token is most probably an acronym for a company or private business that had the jeton issued.

Some known inscriptions are PF in the triangle along with Paul Fisch, the name of one designer of these jetons. The FC seems to stand for one F. Cartaux. Some references state that a medalist out of Paris named Cartaux designed the 'FC in triangle' varieties of these medals.

The names E. Katz and Zimberlin are also encountered. These are, presumably, also names of engravers.

The 'MONARCH AUTO CO' tokens are somewhat common and collected by a fair amount of exonumismatists. They also come with the inscription 'MONARCH AUTOMATIC CO' and sometimes the place name of NORTHAMPTON.

It seems that most of these A CONSOMMER tokens were minted in the 1910s, '20s and '30s, mainly between the two world wars.

Some coins have a large harp, but it does not seem that they were minted for circulation in Ireland. It may be a 'stock' standard reverse design used by the minting company.
cqLastNotify