Habib bank tokens
Company history
In 1841, the Habib family established a trading company in Bombay. Khoja Mithobai traded mainly in metals. It was only 50 years later, when the company came under the leadership of Habib Ismael, that the company started to flourish. Habib concentrated on banking. His honesty became proverbial, bringing in ever more clients and business. Habib's sons succeeded him. One of them, Mohammed Ali, developed the banking business to such an extent, that, in 1941, the company became Habib Bank Limited. Contrary to other banks, Habib had the ambition to work on a national scale.
At independence, Habib relocated its headquarters from Bombay/Mumbai to Karachi. When the subcontinent split into India and Pakistan, Habib was Pakistan's first bank. In 1972 the bank moved its headquarters to Habib Bank Plaza, which at the time was the tallest building in South Asia. Habib was nationalised in 1974. The Zürich branch escaped nationalisation and became an important international bank by itself, still owned by the Habib family. The Pakistani bank was privatised again in 2003. It is now majority owned by the Aga Khan fund for economic development. It is the largest company of Pakistan, having branches all over the country. It also has offices in 25 other countries, including all important financial centers in the world.
Tokens
The tokens of the bank comprise two categories: silver and gold bars for retail investors and account tokens. The coin-like bars both exploit and reinforce the image of the bank as honest. Their appeal rests on the trust buyers had in the bank. At the same time, by very slightly surpassing expectations, they supported the image of a company you can trust. Click on the image of a token for possible enlargement.
The cashiers tokens were used to split documentation and execution of transactions, a normal safety precaution in the banking sector. Clients would do their business at a normal window. When the business gave rise to a financial transaction, the client would receive a numbered token for the cashier's window. Here, against the token, the payments were made and the documents finalised. The latter category dates from the Bombay period (1941-1947). The silver and gold bars have no address. One of them has been dated 1965. The weight unit used on the bars is the tola, a traditional weight in the Indian continent, fixed at 180 troy grains, therefore 11.663 grams.
Design elements
The traditional logo of the Habib bank is a lion with a scimitar, inspired by the Iranian state symbol under the Shahs, from the Safavids to the Pahlavis. The Pakistani bank no longer uses this symbolism, but the Swiss bank has a similar logo. Note that the crown-like design above the logo is actually calligraphy with Arabic letters.
The building is the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. For that reason and the use of the HB monogram, HBL 1-5 are more likely to be from the 1941-1947 period. The use of Gujarati script and the denomination in tola, which was replaced by grams in the 1950s, on HBL 6-9 are indications that they were likely issued in the period 1948-1965.
There are also commemorative medals and paper weights of Habib Bank Ltd. and Habib Bank AG in Zürich. These are outside the scope of World of Tokens. The medal shown also exists in silver.
Catalogue
| Habib bank account tokens | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Filename | BHB1 | |
| Side 1 | climbing lion with scimitar | |
| Side 2 | sunburst | |
| Manufacture | brass | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | ||
| Notes | 1941-1947 | |
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | BHB2 | |
| Side 1 | scimitar, passing lion | |
| Side 2 | blank | |
| Manufacture | brass | |
| Size (mm) | 32.7 | |
| Weight (grams) | 20.0 | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | BHB3 | |
| Side 1 | scimitar, passing lion | |
| Side 2 | disc on sunburst | |
| Manufacture | brass | |
| Size (mm) | 32.8 | |
| Weight (grams) | 13.1 | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | BHB4 | |
| Side 1 | scimitar, passing lion | |
| Side 2 | small wreath, حبیب بنک لمیٹڈ - Habib Bank Limited | |
| Manufacture | brass | |
| Size (mm) | 32.8 | |
| Weight (grams) | 13.2 | |
| Notes | BHB4 Varieties | |
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | BHB5 | |
| Side 1 | scimitar, passing lion | |
| Side 2 | Large wreath, حبیب بنک لمیٹڈ - Habib Bank Limited | |
| Manufacture | brass | |
| Size (mm) | 34.8 | |
| Weight (grams) | 17.0 | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| Habib bank gold and silver bars | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Filename | HBL1 | |
| Side 1 | passing lion with scimitar | |
| Side 2 | Taj Mahal, حبیب بنک لمیٹڈ - Habib Bank Limited | |
| Manufacture | Silver 999 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 5 tola - 58.315 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL2 | |
| Side 1 | blank | |
| Side 2 | Taj Mahal, حبیب بنک لمیٹڈ - Habib Bank Limited | |
| Manufacture | Silver | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 5 tola - 58.315 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL3 | |
| Side 1 | scimitar, passing lion | |
| Side 2 | monogram | |
| Manufacture | gold 9167 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | ½ tola - 5.8315 gram | |
| Notes | Guinea fineness (not guinea weight) | |
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL4 | |
| Side 1 | passing lion with scimitar | |
| Side 2 | Taj Mahal, حبیب بنک لمیٹڈ - Habib Bank Limited | |
| Manufacture | Gold 995 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 5 tola - 58.315 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL5 | |
| Side 1 | passing lion with scimitar | |
| Side 2 | blank | |
| Manufacture | Gold 9952 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 25 tola - 291.575 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL6 | |
| Side 1 | Lion with sun behind, હબીબ બેંક લીમીટેડ - Habib bank Limited / પાંચ તોલા - 5 tola / શુદ્ધ ચાંદી - pure silver | |
| Side 2 | weight | |
| Manufacture | Silver 999 | |
| Size (mm) | 38 | |
| Weight (grams) | 5 tola - 58.315 gram | |
| Notes | observed weight: 58.64 gram | |
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL7 | |
| Side 1 | Lion with sun behind, હબીબ બેંક લીમીટેડ - Habib bank Limited / ૧/૪ તોલો - ¼ tola / શુદ્ધ સોનુ - pure gold | |
| Side 2 | weight | |
| Manufacture | Gold 995 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | ¼ tola - 2.91575 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL8 | |
| Side 1 | Lion with sun behind, હબીબ બેંક લીમીટેડ - Habib bank Limited / એક તોલા - 1 tola / શુદ્ધ સોનુ - pure gold | |
| Side 2 | weight | |
| Manufacture | Gold 995 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 1 tola - 11.663 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | PP | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL10 | |
| Side 1 | Lion with sun behind, હબીબ બેંક લીમીટેડ - Habib Bank Limited / અર્ધો તોલો - ½ tola / શુદ્ધ સોનુ - pure gold | |
| Side 2 | weight | |
| Manufacture | Gold 995 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | ½ tola - 5.8315 gram | |
| Notes | ||
| Source | Balkrishna Khandelwal | |
| ||
| Filename | HBL9 | |
| Side 1 | Lion with sun behind, હબીબ બેંક લીમીટેડ - Habib bank Limited / એક તોલા - 1 tola / શુદ્ધ સોનુ - pure gold | |
| Side 2 | weight | |
| Manufacture | Gold 995 | |
| Size (mm) | ||
| Weight (grams) | 1 tola - 11.663 gram | |
| Notes | 1965 | |
| Source | PP | |