PRC tokens

[brathke at juno.com]

A couple of weeks ago there was some discussion about PRC tokens (or "car
checks" as we called them).  Today I was organizing part of my
collection, and came across my binder of tokens from PRC and bus
companies that were acquired by PAT.  I have four different PRC tokens
(the first two are the types commonly seen); all four have "Pittsburgh
Railways" wording around the circumference:

1. Nickel-size brass metal with triangle cut out of center, image of a
double-end car and numbers "1922".

2. Nickel-size nickel metal with image of a PCC.

3. Dime-size nickel metal with large "P" cut out of center.

4. Nickel-size nickel metal with a 1/8" hole cut out of center and three
crescent shapes surrounding the hole and also cut out; the cut out design
looks something like today's Biohazard symbol.

I related the following anecdote last year, but will repeat it here
because it refers to how I acquired many of my pre-PAT tokens: in 1964 I
was walking past the Banner Coin Exchange store on Fourth Avenue near
Smithfield St., and noticed a bowl of coins in the window with a sign
reading,  "Your choice - 10 cents each".  I also noticed that the bowl
contained some brass PRC tokens, so I went inside and rummaged through
the bowl and found at least 20 other tokens.  I bought them all, and went
on my way.  The next day, I passed by the store again, and noticed that
the owner had replaced the "10 cents" sign with a sign that read "$1". 
He thought he had something valuable in that bowl, but I doubt if he ever
sold any of the remaining coins for $1.  I believe that Banner is still
at that location, but the tokens are long gone and in my album.

I attended Duquesne University when it was mainly a commuter school.  The
running joke there in the late 1950's was that the school was planning to
install PRC token machines in the cafeterias.  It never happened.

Bob 9/4

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