World Tokens

Jamaica, Banana and Fruit Trade Work Tallies, L.D. Baker Fruit Co (Port Antonio), uniface brass, by American Railway Supply Inc (New York), l.d.b. incuse under maker’s name, 19mm, 2.15g (Lyall 280; Ford 632 [= Tankersley 333]). Pierced as issued, fine, very rare; the earliest Jamaican fruit tally £80-100

Provenance: Bt R.B. Barker.

Lorenzo Dow Baker (1840-1908), b. Wellfleet, Mass., clipper owner, founded the company in 1880, buying bananas in the Port Antonio and Bowden areas and selling them in Boston. The business quickly expanded into the Boston Fruit Co in 1885 and, after a later merger, into the United Fruit Co in 1899