Why do Baku residents still remember the blue metro tokens? A symbol of a bygone era

Until quite recently, for many Baku residents, the familiar attributes of a metro trip were not plastic cards and modern tokens, but small blue coins.

These simple-looking objects became part of the city's history and still evoke warm memories among Baku residents.

History of appearance

Blue coins began to be used in the Baku Metro at the end of the Soviet period and were firmly established in the 1990s. They served as tokens for passing through the turnstile. The coin had a characteristic bluish tint and recognizable metallic sheen, which made it special compared to regular money.

Convenience and tradition

For passengers, these tokens were not only a means of paying for travel but also a kind of symbol of a metro journey. They could easily be kept in a pocket or wallet, and almost every city resident kept at least one "blue coin" at home as a memento. Many schoolchildren and students exchanged them, and sometimes even collected them.

Transition to a new system

With the development of technology and the introduction of electronic cards, the metro abandoned the use of blue coins. They gradually disappeared from everyday life, giving way to plastic travel cards and contactless payment systems. However, for the older generation and those who experienced these times, the coins remained part of the atmosphere of old Baku.

Memory of the past

Today, blue tokens can only be seen in personal collections or in photographs. For many city dwellers, they became not only a symbol of a metro trip but also a reminder of youth, of first independent trips around the city, of a time when everything was a little simpler and more understandable.

The blue coins of the Baku Metro are not just a means of paying for travel. They are a small but important fragment of urban history, which reminds us of how Baku changed and, along with it, its everyday culture.

Narmina Mamedova