Token guide published

By Howard A. Daniel III

French Southeast Asia Coins & Tokens, Lansen, A.J. & Van Der Beek, M.L.F., Self-published, IJsselstein, The Netherlands, 2018, 146 pages.

When I first started collecting, researching and writing about the Dutch East Indies numismatic pieces, the information about the Plantation Tokens was brief and scattered in many different references. It seemed like I found another token or set of tokens for one plantation every six months or so, and many were not in the references in my library.

Then Misters Lansen and Wells (L.T.) wrote and published Plantage-, Handles- en Mijngeld van Nederlands-Indie in 2001. This reference greatly updated my knowledge, and I also saw many new images. Thankfully, Mr. Lansen did not rest on his laurels and has produced a new reference that is beyond the hopes of every collector interested in Dutch East Indies’ plantation tokens.

Lansen has teamed up with Marcel Van Der Beek to produce a much improved reference. Not only is information and color images of the tokens shown in this reference but also the metals determined by x-ray fluorescence, weights, measurements, and denominations. Some of this significant work was accomplished by Van Der Beek.

Many of the above elements were assumed, but now they have been cleared up and accurately defined. There are still some tokens that are reported, but their images and other data has never been seen by the authors. Someday, we hope their research reveals the last few secrets of these plantation tokens.

If you collect tokens or related pieces and not the tokens from the Dutch East Indies, you should now take a look at them in this reference. They are a challenging area to collect, and it is possible you might find something to send to Lansen to add to his next edition. I am very sure that if you try them you will like them.

To acquire this book, please contact Lansen via email at a.j.lansen@hccnet.nl, or mail a letter to him at Haanderik 94, NL-3401 ET IJsselstein, The Netherlands. I believe he has shipped a number of copies to his daughter in the USA because that is where my copy was mailed from.

 

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.

 

 More Collecting Resources

• When it comes to specialized world paper money issues, nothing can top the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Specialized Issues eBook.

• Order the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, General Issues to learn about circulating paper money from 14th century China to the mid 20th century.