These zinc tokens were issued by three linked brown coal operations in the Frechen district west of Cologne — Wachtberg I, Wilhelma, and Windling — during the First World War, when the German imperial government requisitioned copper and nickel for munitions production and forced countless industrial concerns to substitute zinc for their canteen and mine-truck scrip. The Menadier catalog numbers suggest two distinct cataloging periods recognized this type, implying reclassification rather than a variant issue.
These zinc tokens were issued by three linked brown coal operations in the Frechen district west of Cologne — Wachtberg I, Wilhelma, and Windling — during the First World War, when the German imperial government requisitioned copper and nickel for munitions production and forced countless industrial concerns to substitute zinc for their canteen and mine-truck scrip. The Menadier catalog numbers suggest two distinct cataloging periods recognized this type, implying reclassification rather than a variant issue.