This merchant token was issued by the Asiatic Petroleum Company in 1920 for use at their oil depot on Pulau Bukom off Singapore island. The company was formed from the merger of the British Shell Transport and Trading Co. and the Royal Dutch Company. It had its regional headquarters in Singapore, and principal stage and distribution centre at Pulau Bukom. Probably modelled after the Singapore Harbour Board merchant token issued the same year, this token was likely to be used for a similar purpose, that of immediate payment of workers in lieu of the acute shortage of copper coins at that time.
