St. James's Auctions
Auction 76 3 Jun 2023
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
German South-West Africa, Swakopmund (?), Hansa Hotel (?), brass ten (pfennig?) token, unknown date, WERTE MARKE, value, JO countermark, rev. mark of value (cf. Hern 1107 [unlisted denomination, M countermark]), certified and graded by NGC as Extremely Fine Details, Environmental Damage
Although this token has been attributed to the Hansa Hotel (which still exists in Swakopmund, Namibia), all known tokens from that establishment are countermarked with an M, stg. for the surname of the proprietor Paul Miersch, whereas this token clearly bears the initials JO. Many businesses in this area issued their own form of currency as a solution to the ever-present dearth of small change in the colonies.
Estimate: 50 - 100 GBP
Although this token has been attributed to the Hansa Hotel (which still exists in Swakopmund, Namibia), all known tokens from that establishment are countermarked with an M, stg. for the surname of the proprietor Paul Miersch, whereas this token clearly bears the initials JO. Many businesses in this area issued their own form of currency as a solution to the ever-present dearth of small change in the colonies.
Estimate: 50 - 100 GBP