World Tokens, the Property of a North Country Collector

Trinidad, LA BREA, Lee Lum, 13 Cents, square uniface, LEE LUM No. 1, 13 (incuse) CENTS, LA BREA, copper, 26mm (Lyall 506). Very fine with some small stains, extremely rare £260-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, World Tokens, the Property of a North Country Collector.

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Provenance: Bt. 1981

John Lee Lum, originally from Kwangtung, China, started a business in Trinidad in 1885 and imported European and Far Eastern goods and exported cocoa, coffee and copra. He opened a chain of stores and eventually had over 60 stores in different locations around the island. It is known that there were at least 22 different values (stamped onto the tokens). It is believed the tokens were issued in the 1890’s and apparently withdrawn in the 1920’s