This gas meter activated the gas to flow on the insertion of special tokens. The device was built in 1933 in a plant belonging to Willy Pietschmann & Co., located in the German town of Görlitz.

The gas meter was manufactured using innovative materials, such as steel and non-ferrous metals, while its bellows are made of leather.

Before World War I, it was possible to settle one’s gas bill with coins carrying the denomination of 10 pfennigs. After the war, the coins were replaced with tokens.

The gas meter was activated with tokens of diverse values for different quantities of gas. In order to prevent fraud, gasworks introduced unique slot mechanisms which prevented the use of tokens issued by other towns. Tokens often differed in weight and material from which they were made, while the town’s coats of arms they featured made their identification possible.