Coin Slot Magazine - #073 - 1981 - March [International Arcade Museum]
T»H®E
Token collecting is a subfield of
during
the
Civil
War,
when
over
represented significant profits for the
numismatics (coin collecting). It is
10,000 different tokens were in cir
merchants.
rapidly growing and has not yet felt
culation.
businessmen needed less cash on
In
addition,
the
the inflationary effects of the rise in
Communities that were far from
the value of gold and silver which has
banks and government mints (in the
less chance of robbery when tokens
drastically
coin
west and mountainous areas) found
were used in place of cash, and the
presently
small denomination coins difficult to
tokens generally made bookkeeping
thousands of token collectors and
obtain, as coins weren't minted by the
easier. The customers received dis
market.
affected
There
the
are
rare
hand to carry on business, there was
many clubs and organizations. Most
billions back then as they are now. In
counts or convenience, so everyone
tokens are very rare, as they were
the
late
19th-
early
20th
century,
made in very small numbers in com
merchants
as saloonkeepers
was happy (at least most of the time).
The tokens were ordered from
parison to government coinages, but
had tokens made to solve the coin
token manufacturers, usually in small
the smaller demand for them doesn't
shortage
quantities-a
make them equally as valuable as rare
quarter for a drink, and drinks were 2
hundred of a kind, usually. Thus many
coins. Most tokens are worth a few
for 25$, you'd get a token in change
tokens are scarce today, as people
cents to a dollar each. But there are
reading "Good For 12Vfe$ In Trade" or
didn't save them
some rare tokens worth hundreds or
"Good For One Drink", to be used
coins (putting away rolls of new coins
thousands of dollars apiece.
next time, or maybe gambled away in
every year). As tokens are so rare
Unlike coins, tokens are the private
coinages of businesses. You may
wonder why tokens were used. The
reasons
are
numerous.
In
bad
economic times, people hoard coins-
a slot machine on the premises. Many
tokens were intentionally the size of a
nickel so they could operate slot
compared to coins, their condition is
machines.
dition often is satisfaction enough.
Bakers used tokens reading "Good
When the merchant or business
not
but
For A Loaf Of Bread." As bread cost
everything with intrinsic value down to
5$ a loaf, you could get a free loaf by
stopped using tokens, they had to
the copper cent. In such situations
paying a quarter for one loaf and
getting five tokens in change. Many
got back into circulation, they could
relative to the paper money in circula
grocers
businessmen resort to issuing tokens
tokens also. Farmers would sell their
produce and dairy products to the
be
tion. Because of such coin shortages,
in order to have something to give
store and get paid in tokens, good for
liability
customers
making purchases at the store at a
something already paid for. So most
just
coins
tokens
gold
obtain
a
in
cost
and
silver,
premium
change.
less
than
in
value
Often
the
the
value
imprinted in them, so there is a profit
for the business (if the token isn't
redeemed). The tokens also served as
a means of advertising. This occurred
such
problem.
and
If
general
you
paid
stores
a
used
later time.
Streetcars,
toll roads, and
an error made during typesetting
Dating". On page 12 in the second
column,
last
second
sentence
paragraph,
should
read:
the
The
earliest form of bumper, the spring
type, will be found on games of this
the later part of 1939 and by many
rest of the forties, the fifties and
even later.
24 — THE COIN SLOT
© The International Arcade Museum
few
as they did with
relatively unimportant to token col-
lecters. Owning the token in any con
decide what to do with those on hand.
If the tokens were stolen or somehow
presented
played
again
for
in
redemption
the
or
gambling
machines. Outstanding tokens are a
as
they
are
good
for
businessmen made sure they dispos
tokens. Frequent passengers could
buy them in quantity at a discount, to
get a a lower cost per ride or passage.
In some instances when you paid fora
to dump the tokens in a body of water,
are the resting places of many a
round trip you'd get a token good for
the return ride. Tokens have the ad
and outhouses. Others were buried,
panies
were
Workers
big
could
users
of
tokens.
draw advances on
their wages in tokens, to be spent at
the company store or sold elsewhere
for cash at a discount. In many cases
the workers' actual pay was in tokens,
supposedly redeemable for cash from
the
company
on
demand.
In
the
isolated coal mining and lumbering
com
.
m
:
u with government money rarely
m of use realm,
up until late 1940. By the
fro end
m
d
-
seen
by the people.
e
1940, or early the
at
de the
ad next year
a
o
l
c
r
Notice
that in all the above in
n
a were us
latest, all manufacturers
Dow //w
ww. bumpers of
stances, money, goods or services
ing the molded
plastic
were
paid
in advance
by the
tp:
the type ht common
throughout the
period from all manufacturers until
a
ed of their tokens where they couldn't
they are reusable.
Coal mining and lumbering com
of Russ Jensen's article, "Pinball
or
buslines,
bridges,
ferries issued fare
vantage over paper coupons in that
In the February issue, there was
hundred
areas, tokens were the coin of the
customers or consumers who receiv
be recovered or found. A favorite was
the bigger the better, or in a hole in
the ground. Lakes, rivers and oceans
token, as are old wells, mine shafts
or mixed in with concrete. Millions of
tokens have been sold as scrap metal
and melted. Some token users just
threw them in the trash, so they now
reside in town dumps.
However, many times the tokens
were just put aside in the basement or
back room. Such accumulations turn
up regularly, much to the joy of token
collectors.
There
are
many
such
stashes of old tokens still around,
waiting to be discovered.
Some merchants just defaced or
their tokens, to prevent
their further use. Either a hole was
cancelled
drilled through the token, or they
were bent, gashed, cut, or defaced
with a metal punch. Such damage
may not detract from the value of the
ed tokens in return. Tokens that were
token, if the token is very rare and
never
desirable.
redeemed
or
got
lost
MARCH 1981
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