These tokens were used to pay the workers according the the work done and then they could take them to the company store and exchange them for goods. The ones from this hacienda are aluminum, but from other haciendas they were made from copper, bronze or even nickel.
The big business here turn of the century was henequen/sisal production, they made rope and bags out of it like burlap. Think of that scratchy brown rope used to tie bales of hay together.
A penca is one spikey branch from the plant, so if someone cut and delivered 500 of them the production plant gave them a token for 500 pencas, and so on based on what they did for the day.
Paying workers with tokens was outlawed in 1913, so i know they are pre 1913 but other than that these do not have a date on them.
HH all, i will try to be posting more hunts this year, i slacked off last year with posting...