25 mm, ? g, copper-nickel? inscription AUTOMAT MUZICAL meaning JUKEBOX (verbatim, MUSICAL AUTOMATON)	inscription M.C.I.

The inscription M.C.I. is interpreted as the abbreviation from Ministerul Comerţului Interior (Ministry of Internal Trade) [1]. If this interpretation is correct, then the token cannot be older than 1962, considering that this ministry was created in 1962 by dividing the Ministry of Commerce into the Ministry of Internal Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Trade [2].

"Ştefan Procopiu" Museum of Science and Technology from the Palace of Culture in Iaşi also has in its collections a musical automaton with discs of 45 revolutions per minute manufactured in the former German Democratic Republic. Selecting a song required entering two coins of 25 bani [3].

And a personal memory: in the 80s of the 20th century, a musical machine with tokens existed at the Palace of Culture in Iaşi. The tokens could be bought for a small amount - 3 lei. Once inserted into the machine, it produced a "barrel organ" type of music for a few minutes.

References

1. Schäffer E., România. Jetoane, semne valorice şi mărci, Guttenbrun [vechiul nume german al satului Zăbrani din judeţul Arad], 2012.

2. * * *, Guvernul Ion Gh. Maurer (1). Wikipedia , accesat decembrie 2023.

3. Cristofor Teodora-Camelia, Jukebox-ul, maşinăria divertismentului. Buletinul Muzeului Ştiinţei şi Tehnicii „Ştefan Procopiu” Iaşi, nr. 10/2016, p. 93-102.