Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals

Palestine, JAFFA, Jersualem Hotel, brass Piastre (Haffner CC-15). Fine, rare £150-200

Provenance: Baldwin Auction 6, 11 October 1995, lot 892.

The Jerusalem Hotel, originally a 12-room establishment owned by Ernest von Hardegg, opened in the late 1860s. The tokens date to c. 1882 when von Hardegg, who was the honorary American consul in Palestine, obtained a licence to issue them from the Turkish authorities against a monetary deposit. The hotel’s original un-numbered rooms were each named after one of the twelve tribes; when the hotel expanded and more rooms were added, they in turn were each named after one of the prophets. Sold with two photographs of the building, c. 1990