Token Germany (Trade) Speiseanstalt der Friedensgrube 1860 to 1920

Well that's a cool piece, bobolo. We are not experts in exonumia, the collecting and study of objects that look like coins but are not coins, but we are always interested in cool stuff.

Our best guess is that you have a trade token issued by a restaurant near the German town of Lichtenberg.

You can get an idea of the value of trade tokens, why they were made, and what they were used for at this CoinQuest link.

A little web research uncovered that speise is German for food and anstalt is establishment. Hence speiseanstalt equals eating house or restaurant. Friedensgrube is a little more obscure, but it most probably refers to a significant mining operation in Lichtenberg around the turn of the century. The 5 is probably 5 pfennigs, a small denomination in Germany. Patrons would use the tokens instead of regular currency, which was in short supply.

As to value, my guess would be $10 to $50 US dollars. If you go on eBay and search for 'trade token,' you will find thousands of items similar to yours. It is worth a look. Look for tokens with dates around 1900.

Now to someone from Lichtenberg, or someone who used to work at the Friedensgrube mine, your piece would be worth more than eBay values.

Like I said. It's a cool item!

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