Vintage Golden Gate International Exposition Gilt-Brass Token, 1939

Description

The Golden Gate International Exposition, held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. The exposition was open from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, 1940.
Treasure Island, a flat, geometrically shaped, artificial island attached to Yerba Buena Island, was built for the Exposition near where the Oakland span and the San Francisco span of the Bay Bridge join. Built by the federal government, Treasure Island was intended to serve as the municipal airport for San Francisco, an idea which had first been advanced in 1931. Due to wartime needs, it was taken over by the US Navy as Naval Station Treasure Island from 1941 to 1997.
This token is made of brass which has a gilt coating. It is about 33mm in diameter. It appears to be poorly struck at the mint. The mint is unknown, and the number of tokens issued is unknown. There is a patent "number" at the bottom center of the obverse side: "D-MCO16", but that's not a number issued by the U.S. Patent Office.
The obverse of the token features a silhouette of the Oakland Bay Bridge, the Exposition Tower, and a rising sun. Around the perimeter is: "Golden Gate International Exposition". The impression is crisp around the perimeter and just inside the circle separating the perimeter text from the interior images. The central part of the obverse appears to be poorly struck and quite "washed out."
The top of the reverse side of the token was crisply minted down to the image of the Golden Gate Bridge. The remainder of this side of the token is quite "washed out" with not much relief. Some of the smaller images on the reverse are difficult to identify.
As far as it is known, this token has been stored since it was obtained at the Golden Gate Exposition in 1939. It is, effectively, in new condition; but the minting process and corrosion and toning from aging have reduced the quality. No attempt has been made to clean it. Please see the photos.