Leslie wrote: "...Made of brass about 30mm in diameter, have had it for years and know nothing about it"

Can anyone help?

Mike Bansback added: "... Tokens like the one shown were normally used as pay tokens. You were issued with one when you joined the mine and on pay day you handed it into the pay office in exchange for a tin with your pay inside. The tin had the same number as the token. I have been looking for a Forest of Dean pay token for some years. My grandfather George Baker worked at the Princess Royal Colliery. Usually tokens carried the name of the mine".

Bill Bennett added (December 2011): "... I was a miner for 30years. This is not a pay check. This dates from pre vesting day in 1947. This token would be sewn on to the lapel of the member to show that he had paid his subscriptions to the association usually there would be different tokens per quarter year. I am an avid collector of colliery tokens should someone have any to sell or swap".

A site visitor added (November 2014): "... Although this token (above) is genuine, there is an unscrupulous gentleman who is currently selling fake Forest tokens on Ebay that he is making himself. It is pointless giving you his indentification as he keeps changing it every few weeks. If what you see on Ebay looks too cheap and too good to be true, then it is almost certainly is too good to be true. Do some proper research before making a bid!!!! Ebay is only satisfied if you get your money back, they are not interested in completely stopping his little money making trick".

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WANTED: Old photos, old postcards, ephemera and memories of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. U.K.- please click here to make contact.

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