Still Life
New York City Subway Tokens
In 1953 the New York City subway fare was increased to 15 cents and payment was migrated from standard coins to tokens. The small token in this image was the first design and larger token was its replacement in 1970. The expense of changing token design every time a fare was raised became quite expensive. A few additional token designs were introduced until 2003 whan the electronic Metrocard tickets were introduced that enabled fare rates to be changed via electronic modification. The Metrocard is still in use today but these cards just don’t seem to have the same character as earlier tokens.
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