Shell - Men in Flight tokens

The “Men in Flight” tokens were not only produced in brass-plated steel, but also in solid brass. This can easily be checked by holding a magnet close to them.

The tokens were given to drivers who filled their gas tank at a Shell station, and at the time, no one noticed the difference in material. They were just issued, and one could get either one of the two materials. Design, looks and size were identical, there is just a small difference in weight.

I want to add the solid brass tokens as a variety on all twenty pages, rather than making twenty almost identical copies.

Do you agree? If not, I'll make the copies, but that doesn't really make me happy since it requires a lot more work.

Anton

Guidelines state, “Pages should describe only one type of exonumia, defined by its physical properties (metal composition, shape, diameter, and weight) and design (numismatic, heraldic, lettering and patterns).” So different composition, different page.

Mixing metal types in the listing is not a good idea.

Because these things got around, many tokens are no longer in their original region of issue, many people end up with sets of mixed tokens, that can be hard to tell apart.

We already list multiple set variations of these, listed in the country they were most commonly issued in:

The brass 12 sided tokens Denmark and other Scandinavian countries

The aluminium 12 sided tokens Believed exclusive to South Africa

The plated brass round tokens Common in France and western Europe

The aluminium round tokens Mostly UK & Ireland, but also Norway

And a partial set for nickel plated round tokens Issued mainly in Germany

Just checked my own brass plated set, all magnetic except for my Bell XS1, clearly different.

It would appear non-magnetic tokens were available in the Netherlands and Belgium, from what I've read.

Both sets of tokens are identical to the eye, since one is made of brass and the other made of brass-plated steel. Both have the same size, thickness, and there is no way to distinguish them just by looking at them, even through a magnifying glass. There is a small difference in weight (abt 10%).  Most collectors I know collect them mixed, and many of them are not even aware of a difference.

So I'll make a second set.

Regards,

Anton

inc7007

Mixing metal types in the listing is not a good idea.

…

Just checked my own brass plated set, all magnetic except for my Bell XS1, clearly different.

It would appear non-magnetic tokens were available in the Netherlands and Belgium, from what I've read.

According to my catalog “Catalogus van Nederlandse Betaal- en Reclamepenningen” (A.J. Kooij, 3rd edition, 2008), the non-magnetic tokens were mainly distributed in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Regards,

Anton

New metal should result in a new page.