Coin Slot Magazine - #055 - 1979 - September [International Arcade Museum]
AN INTRODUCTION TO
GAMBLING MACHINE TOKENS
Stephen P. Alpert
Most token collectors who collect amusement
The token collecting hobby is a branch of nu
mismatics (coin collecting).
began as coin
collectors,
Most token collectors
tokens have no knowledge of the machines the
and started collecting
tokens were used in or the companies that made
tokens when the coins they needed became too
the machines.
expensive or coin collecting became too boring.
thing in the way of amusement machine tokens:
Thus they tend to collect every
There is a lot more excitment in collecting tokens.
those of slot machines, pinball
First, they don't all look alike, as does say a col
machines, penny arcades, and so on.
lection of Lincoln cents where the coins vary only
over ten thousand different tokens in these groups
in the date and mintmaker. Secondly, tokens are
that have been discovered so far.
machines, music
There are
much scarcer than coins and much more challeng
ing to obtain, as you need persistent searching and
luck, not just money. Thirdly, no one knows what
On the other hand, people in the antique coin
tokens were produced, as no records were kept
machine hobby find most fascinating those tokens
as to what was issued, by whom, when, where,
related to the classic early machines and manu
and for what purpose.
facturers.
Thus it
is a common
The most desirable tokens date back to
occurrence to stumble upon a token previously
the late
unknown.
early machines were advertised or mentioned on
You now own a unique item.
This
1890's and early
1900's.
Many of the
the tokens: PUCK, THE DETROIT, BLACK CAT,
rarely happens with coins.
CRICKET, ENTERTAINER, DEWEY, BIG SIX,
Most
token
collectors
about their collections.
are
very
and others.
enthusiastic
Those with a coin collect
Some early tokens also mention the name of
ing background realize the potential value of tokens,
when the mintage figures or number of known
the
specimens are compared to coins.
Co., Caille Bros. Co., D.N. Schall, Chas. Fey, Auto
A token of
manufacturer:
Illinois
Machine Co., Caille
which a hundred specimens are known would be
matic Machine And Tool Co., Watling Mfg. Co.,
relatively quite common.
Mills Novelty Co., among many others.
But a coin with only
(These
tokens will be discussed in a future article.)
a hundred pieces in collector's hands would be
worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
The most desirable of the early machine tokens
The token may be worth a dollar or less, because
the demand for tokens is much smaller, and be
are the ones picturing the PUCK or DETROIT
cause of the extremely large number and variety
machine.
of different tokens that have been made.
known for the seven (or more) different tokens
in
There are about ten thousand token collectors
this
Only about 20 specimens total
group.
Caille-Schiemer
Another
token
desirable token
with
the
LION
are
is the
machine
in the UBS., and each one collects only certain
types of tokens.
pictured.
I have never seen this token nor do I
om anyone who has a specimen. Possibly the
c
.
know
eum
There are specialized organiza
m: us
o
r
f
ed ad War
e-m tokens,
tokens, coal company tokens,
oad .a Civil
l
c
r
n
and merchant trade
of other types
Dow tokens.
ww Dozens Amusement
w
/
of token subfields exist,
including
Ma
/
ttp:
chine Tokens, h
which is the subject of this article.
greatly increased in price lately.
Many may soon
At present there are only a few hundred people
bring $50 or $100 or more each.
This would not
interested in these tokens, but the number is grow
be unusual, for with other types of tokens, the
ing rapidly.
rarest and most desirable pieces skyrocket in value
tions for collectors of transportation tokens, tax
© The International Arcade Museum
rarest or most desirable token has yet to be dis
covered.
The old manufacturer and machine tokens have
14
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