John Greenwood (1788-1851) is credited, on the 1st January 1824, with being the first person to start local public transport in the Manchester area. Using a one horse hackney coach, the service ran several times a day between Pendleton and Market Street, Manchester. On the death of his father, the son, also named John Greenwood (1818-1886), the issuer of this token, succeeded to the management of the Company at the age of 33. Different fares were charged at the time, according to whether the passenger travelled inside or outside the coach. This token is believed to have been issued between 1852 and 1865. The company successfully expanded and with complicated mergers and agreements became the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company, later bought by the Corporations of Manchester and Salford to form the basis of their Tramway Departments. I am indebted to Mr Peter Ireland, of Peter Ireland Ltd, Blackpool, Lancashire for permission to reproduce his personally researched history of this token.