World Tokens

Bahamas, Cat Cay, Cat Cay Club, uniface gold One Key, c. 1946, cat on key, back engraved with ewj monogram, stamped 10k lgb (L.G. Balfour, Attleboro, Mass.), 38mm, 22.70g. A pocket piece; better than very fine, with loop and ring mount, unusual and presumably a one-off £250-350

Provenance: Bt Thompson & Strong 1996.

The initials are thought to be those of Erwin, Wasey & Jefferson, the original name of the advertising agency set up by Louis Rice Wasey (1884-1961) and Will Jefferson in Chicago in September 1914. Wasey moved to New York in 1924 and, with his wife Rae, purchased the island of Cat Cay in 1931 for approximately $400,000 from the widow of Milo Strong (†1931). Wasey and his business partner, O.B. Winters, spent about $1 million in the late 1930s creating a private club with a membership restricted to 100