Russia (USSR) Brass Vending Machine Token "№1" ND (1934-1938) - NKVT, Main Directorate of Restaurants and Cafés

3.98g. XF/XF. 

Type IА1a-2B - "NKVT" inscription, two stars, two grooves. 

Fedorin VI, Appendix 5; Yurov "NKVT and MT USSR", No. 11 (550 USD). Extremely rare. 

The People’s Commissariat of Internal Trade of the USSR (NKVT), established in 1934 by decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, was one of the earliest institutions involved in organizing automated trade in the Soviet Union. One of its key responsibilities was the supply of consumer and industrial goods across the country. 

Although vending machines became widespread in capitalist countries as early as the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Soviet Union only began adopting such systems cautiously. There is limited information available on vending machines in the USSR during the time NKVT was active (1934–1938), but it is known that NKVT initiated the first experiments with automat dining and vending services. 

Under NKVT, the Main Directorate of Canteens and the Main Directorate of Restaurants and Cafés were also created in 1934. These structures were responsible for overseeing food service enterprises, including early automat-style cafeterias. 

While the large-scale deployment of vending machines occurred later, under Mintorg and subsequent institutions, NKVT played a foundational role by laying the administrative and organizational groundwork. It was reorganized into the People’s Commissariat of Trade (NKT) in 1938, continuing its mission under a new title. 

Tokens issued under NKVT, such as those marked "Main Directorate of Restaurants and Cafés," were used as a form of internal payment in automat-style cafeterias. These tokens allowed customers to purchase portions of food or drinks from vending equipment without the use of standard coinage. Their design often included numbering, state emblems, and security features such as grooves or stars. They served both practical and administrative purposes: streamlining transactions, controlling portions, and preventing theft or fraud within state-run food service establishments. 

Tokens associated with NKVT—if any survive—would be of high historical interest, representing the very beginning of state-controlled self-service trade in the USSR.