ALE WINE SPIRITS & CIGARS
One of the commonest of all token issues in the Victorian era in terms of number of types came from licensed premises, although paradoxically most individual issues were in very small numbers, so that while ten thousand different types may exist, the average survival rate is no more than two or three specimens each.
The standard inn token is about 25mm in diameter and made of brass. It states the name of the inn, its location, the name of the issuer, and a figure of value. The face value usually represented the cost of a pint or half-pint of beer, although it could be used for any of the alternatives in the slogan which heads this paragraph, one frequently employed on the tokens themselves.
The manner in which the average customer obtained a token in the average inn is still something of a mystery,
NO! NO! NO! TO ALE WINE etc
As inn tokens encouraged customer loyalty and greater alcohol consumption, so the temperance movement tried to combat the menace of the demon drink in a similar manner. This took the form of coffee or cocoa house tokens as different as possible in appearance from the rival inn tokens. They are usually similar in size and fabric to the Victorian bronze penny, and carry a slogan such as "Good for one pennyworth of refreshment at the...."
