Duluth-Superior Transit Company Token
I recently acquired a Duluth-Superior Transit Company token from a friend and thought I’d post it in case anyone can pinpoint the year of its creation or share any interesting details.
It should be noted that the images above do not accurately reflect the size of the token. It is slightly smaller than a U.S. dime.
What I know from very brief research:
* Duluth-Superior Transit Company tokens do not seem to be particularly rare. You can buy a fistful of them on the Internet.
* The Duluth-Superior Transit Company formed in 1933, taking over all of the properties of the Duluth Street Railway Company (which had been incorporated in 1881). According to the History of Public Transportation in the Twin Ports, “the transit system’s mixed fleet in 1933 consisted of 110 streetcars, two electric trolley buses and nine gasoline-powered buses.”
* The era of the Duluth-Superior Transit Company ended in 1969, when Duluth Mayor Ben Boo announced the city would buy all of its assets for $630,000. An act of the Minnesota State Legislature that year created the Duluth Transit Authority, the bus company that serves Duluth and Superior today.
* The token I have bears the name of H. M. Morrison, treasurer. Most versions of it on the Internet are dated 1942, but I’m not sure how that date was arrived at or when Morrison’s career ended. He had been serving as secretary-treasurer as early as 1919, according to the Duluth Herald.
I found a few of them in the gutter when I was a kid (in the ’80s). [Yeah, I know: good story, bro.]
I remember using bus token in the 1960s and ’70s until I got a car. I think there were two denominations/sizes for a while. I don’t know how long they minted them, but they were last accepted for fares on Jan. 1, 2009, I believe.
I know they certainly accepted them until the 1990s, as I remember using them to travel to the mall to hit up Aladdin’s Castle. Specifically because one of them got mixed up with my tokens, and I couldn’t continue my “Bad Dudes” game cause it got stuck.
Aaron Isaacs, the author of the new book Twin Ports By Trolley, has this to say:
The Duluth Street Railway began service in 1883. Small trolley cars, or “dinkies” were pulled by mules…which were replaced by horses in 1889. The token system was introduced in 1922…this is a token.
I have a token but I can’t read the treasurer’s name. Worst handwriting ever. First and middle initials, eight-or-so letter last name. Anyways let me know what it says, please.
The info below was submitted on PDD’s dashboard as a new post, I think by mistake, and was likely intended to be a comment on this post, so here it is: