Staff Tokens
Staff tokens were issued to staff of businesses in lieu of coin. In the 19th century the argument supporting payment to staff was the shortage of coin in circulation, but in reality employees were forced to spend their wages in the company's stores at highly inflated prices—resulting in an effective dramatic lowering of their actual salary and disposable income.
Read more about this topic: Token Coin
Famous quotes containing the words staff and/or tokens:
“In public buildings set aside for the care and maintenance of the goods of the middle ages, a staff of civil service art attendants praise all the dead, irrelevant scribblings and scrawlings that, at best, have only historical interest for idiots and layabouts.”
—George Grosz (1893–1959)
“It is the part of men to fear and tremble
When the most mighty gods by tokens send
Such dreadful heralds to astonish us.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)