Ted Baker Medal

Ted Baker Medalet (medalet - a medal smaller than an inch) found in certain Ted Baker products, mostly leather wallets. It seems to brass and like all medals has two sides.

Ted Baker is a clothing store out of London. Like most international stores they branched out into accessories where they place these medalets for mens leather goods. I found this one in a take a penny leave a penny tray. I assume someone got rid of their change from their coin wallet and this went with it.

On one side is Ted Baker's founder Ray Kelvin who is camera shy and blocking his face. His clothing hints that he is well dressed. The founding year of Ted Baker, 1988, is encircling Kelvin. Not naming the store after himself is another thing the Kelvin does to stay away from the spotlight.

The other side has a compass with TEDS at the compass points instead of NESW. The rhyme East, West, Ted is best encircles the compass.

Here are the stats for this medallion...
Type / Country: Ted Baker Medal / Great Britain
Year: Unknown
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Brass??? (Non-Magnetic)
Diameter: 24.6mm Thickness: 2.38mm Weight: 6.75 grams
Value: $1.00 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: TED BAKER LONDON EST 1988 · TED BAKER LONDON EST 1988 ·
Reverse Writing: EAST, WEST TED IS BEST T E D S TB EAST, WEST, TED IS BEST

If you know anything else about this medal please leave a comment below.

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Barbara Apotheke 1 Treue Taler token

Barbara Apotheke or Barbara Pharmacy is a German pharmacy that used private tokens. From what I can tell these tokens were issued in 2013 and given out when you shopped at the pharmacy. You could then collect them and redeem them in store for items that did not require a prescription.

50 Jahre BARBARA APOTHEKE oHG bärenstark für Ihre Gesundheit Alsdorf (50 years BARBARA PHARMACY oHG strong as an ox for their health Alsdorf)

TREUE TALER Danke für Ihren Besuch (FAITHFUL TALER
Thank You for Visiting)

Other plastic tokens or paper coupons also were issued since 2008. For their 50th anniversary they issued several metal tokens that could be collected or saved to buy more stuff.

This is a thick and heavy token, probably nickel plated steel. Using tokens redeemable only at one place was common throughout history. That idea was changed into coupons and now reward points. Producing coins is a bit more expensive but it is a win-win for the store. If lost the store loses nothing and if redeemed the store can reuse the token. Setting expiration dates is as easy as posting a sign, "Redeem before ...".

I found this one in another take a penny leave a penny tray, I left a quarter in its place. I do not know if it is still redeemable or why someone left it behind but I have a theory. It could be that the original owner had carried this heavy coin since visiting the German pharmacy last year. Knowing they would never go back, at least not soon they dumped the coin hoping someone else would appreciate it.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type / Country: 1 Treue Taler - Barbara Apotheke / Germany
Year: Unknown
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Unknown (Magnetic)
Diameter: 0.90625 inch Thickness: 0.109375 inches Weight: 8.75 grams
Value: $5.00 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: 50 Jahre BARBARA APOTHEKE oHG bärenstark für Ihre Gesundheit Alsdorf
Reverse Writing: TREUE TALER Danke für Ihren Besuch

If you know anything else about this token please leave a comment below.

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Asian Merchant/Game Token, 010-8887 8206

Found in a "take a penny, leave a penny" tray. I left a nickel behind and picked up this odd token. It seems Korean but I do not recognize any characters or writing. The token has a phone number, some alien looking dude giving the peace sign, and a bunch of fingers in that V sign.

As great as the internet is finding where this token originated from is almost impossible. I found a Chinese company that makes these types of token for about $1.00 each. Then the telephone number on the token itself comes up in a Korean directory.

The reason for placing the number on a token is more obvious. In most Asian countries the number 8 is thought be lucky and multiple eights brings joy and wealth to a business. People especially in Chinese communities bid on telephone or post office boxes with multiple eights.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type / Country: No value token - 010-8887 8206 / Unknown
Year: Unknown
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Unknown (Non-Magnetic)
Diameter: 0.9375 inch Thickness: 0.0625 inches Weight: 6.10 grams
Value: $1.00 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: 010-88878206
Reverse Writing: 010-88878206 (unknown Asian characters)

If you know anything else about this token or can translate the writing please leave a comment below.

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

President Casino On The Admiral 5 Cents

The President Casino was on the S.S. Admiral a riverboat in St. Louis, Missouri. The casino issued chips, tokens, and vouchers from five cents to one thousand dollars.

Aside from the name and value the token has a trademarked star symbol with a flag flying. I think that is from the casino since the S.S. Admiral was just an engine-less riverboat destined to be scrapped. The Admiral started out as a regular riverboat then it was turned into flagship steamboat, in the 1930s. It eventually got turned into an amusement park ride.

By 1991 riverboat casinos were just starting and The President was among the first. It changed owners a couple times and eventually went bankrupt in 2003 and sold to other casino operators. Of course the casino was too expensive to rebuild and open so the license was surrendered and ship sold for scrap.

The token can no longer be redeemed and is so common it hold little extra value. I think it is some sort of copper-nickel mix but I cannot really tell. It is not magnetic and the internet tells me little about composition. There are no visible mint marks or claims by producers.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type / Country: 5 Cents token - St. Louis, MO / America
Year: Early 1990s - 2010
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Unknown
Diameter: 0.8125 inch Thickness: 0.0312 inches Weight: 3.95 grams
Value: $1.00 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: PRESIDENT CASINO ON THE ADMIRAL ST. LOUIS MO. 5 ¢
Reverse Writing: ACCEPTABLE ONLY AT THE PRESIDENT CASINO ON THE ADMIRAL NOT LEGAL TENDER 5 ¢

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Hoffman Mint No Cash Value Eagle Token

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This was a floor find as my change finds have been slimming down to almost nothing. No Cash Value tokens have been around for decades or longer and are used anywhere from amusement parks, bars, to yard sales, and zoos. Summer is street fair season so I assume it came from one.

Made by Hoffman Mint, that little HM under the reverse and obverse design gives it away. They come in about 144 standard Americana designs or you can opt for a custom design. This one is a quarter size token made with a likely brass core and nickel silver plating. Nickel silver contains no silver it is just a reference to the luster and color.

The designs are T3 (18 stars, eagle on shield over branches with denticles) and T4 (No Cash Value, bookend squiggly designs with denticles) from their standard design catalog (PDF warning). Since a minimum order is 1,000 the price per token is between $0.09 to $0.19 per token depending on metal mixture. Tokens are great for businesses because they are a completed sale. Once a token is purchased by a customer the business will make a profit whether or not the token is used. If used the token gets resold, if not that is pure profit with a negligible loss if properly marked up.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type / Country: No Cash Value token / American
Year: Unknown
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Nickel Silver (Alloy 752) Plated; 70% Copper and 30% Zinc (Alloy 260) Core
Diameter: 1.000 inch Thickness: 0.062 inches Weight: 5.58 grams
Value: $0.10 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: NO CASH VALUE  HM
Reverse Writing: HM

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1994 Holland America Cruise Line 25 Cents

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Since cruises have been in the news lately I thought I would dig out one of my only cruise tokens. This one is from Holland America Cruise Lines a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corp. & plc the British–American-Panamanian cruise company. This is most likely a gaming token used at on-board casinos. I think they went completely electronic now, assuming you have electricity at sea.

The design is simple and used on many of these types of tokens. One side has the ship on water with some nice fair weather clouds. The other side has ☆☆☆TWENTY FIVE CENTS☆☆☆ 1994 (encircled), NOT LEGAL TENDER (center). They made sure to place NOT LEGAL TENDER write under the boat flags to avoid confusion. With gaming tokens there is a thin line on what to name them. Using dollar and cents, especially for American players gives it a sense of real money and actual risk. Just calling them 25 Tokens or fun money makes the game less real.

New swiping cards are replacing most cruise coins and the newer tokens have no value written on them to avoid any confuse at each port. Despite all the bad press I would still do a cruise, even without the tokens. To travel from port to port visiting for a few hours several countries is a great way to get more foreign coins. I got this one from a coin lot so no cool story about gambling on the high seas.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type/Country: Holland America Cruise Line 25 Cents token / British–American-Panamanian
Year: 1994
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Nickel
Diameter: 24.9 mm Weight: Not sure (too lazy to weigh it)
Value: $0.25 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: (none just a cruise ship at sea with clouds)
Reverse Writing: ☆☆☆TWENTY FIVE CENTS☆☆☆ 1994 (encircled), NOT LEGAL TENDER (center)

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

1954 Toronto Transit Commission Subway Token

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Transit token collectors are known as vecturist they also may enjoy science fiction and stay home on Friday nights. Still every cool coin collector will stumble upon a token or twelve. This is one I got from a relative who traveled to Canada in the early 1960s. 

TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION SUBWAY on the front.

GOOD FOR ONE FARE SUBWAY on the back.

Let me clarify this is a 1954 series token meaning it was continuously made until 1966 and many were still in circulation until 2007. Made for Toronto's new subway line in 1954 they replaced all previous brass versions. These were lightweight aluminum smaller than a dime and eventually became highly counterfeited. Most of the fakes are pretty decent looking and usually needs some type of magnetic coin counter to tell the difference. All that keeps the collectors value low.

There are no sites that give full token information but if you just want pictures and catalog numbers then try these two sites:

1. exonumist.com -- great transportation token site with slightly high values. No history.
2. tokencatalog.com -- massive database. No history, no values.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type/Country: 1954 series Toronto, Ontario subway token / Canada
Year: (No date)
Mintage: Unknown, less than 30 million
Metal: Aluminum
Diameter: 16 mm Weight: Not sure (too lazy to weigh it)
Value: $1.00 in circulated Very-Fine
Obverse Writing: TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION (encircled), SUBWAY (center)
Reverse Writing: GOOD FOR ONE FARE (encircled), SUBWAY (center)

Sidenote: Found my first foreign coin for 2013 and yes it was a Canadian cent. Since I already featured the 1993 Canada Cent I will not repeat myself.

Do you have an odd coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Good For One Unfare

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As a collector you are bound to find some fakes and some pendants well here is nice example of both. Used as part of a key chain or a zipper pull this transit token fake is very popular in New York City.

Almost like a real token expect this one is slightly bigger, has a hole above the Y cutout, and a hoop is attached.

This is an iconic symbol of New York City this Y-cutout type token was used from 1953 - 1970. Accepted on most subways and buses they were modified and redesigned several times. By 2003 the tokens were banished in most places in favor of MetroCards. While now in 2011 the token is one hundred percent eliminated and the MetroCard is seeing its final days thanks to RFID chips in credit cards.

And yes I collect MetroCards whenever possible.

Here are the stats for this fake token...
Type/Country: Y token pendant / U.S.A.
Year: (No date)
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Possibly Brass?
Diameter: 25.4 mm Weight: 4.44 grams
Value: No Value (Although it probably is sold by the hundreds at $0.05 or more per pendant)
Obverse/Reverse Writing: · GOOD FOR · ONE FARE (encircled), NYC (center)

I could not find the specific wholesaler.

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1994 Chuck E. Cheese Token

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Never been and hopefully will never go.

The thought of a rat as a mascot is disturbing but that has not stopped the popularity of Chuck E. Cheese. This food and game kid-centered franchise has been around in some form since 1977. Since it first started as a pizza arcade they have issued tokens.

While most arcade token never amount to much the Chuck E. Cheese tokens are different. They are internationally known and have a fan base of over thirty years making all items from them collectible.

 

All in all excluding minor varieties five basic types exist, let me narrow this one down.

Design
Apparently there are many minor versions. Let us start with the basics The mouse head was changed from the rat to this mouse known as Adult Mouse II, later they switched to a younger mouse.

A little ® with small dots after KID" means it was for corporate branches.  A franchise location would have bigger dots and a bigger ® . This one is 25 mm while another exists at 22.5 mm.

Metal
Brass tokens are the most common at about 97.8% of all made followed by copper at 2.1% and white metal at 0.1%.
White metal is a term used for any mixture of silver colored metals. This one could be white metal or nickel plated zinc or nickel plated brass. Aside from cutting them open I found a brass token weighs about 5.60 grams and nickel plated brass should weigh about the same meaning anything lighter would be zinc. Sounds logical.

Value
Checking eBay the cheapest of these average $2.00 but they are all brass. The nickel-plated types average $10.00. Not to mention they still have value at Chuck E. Cheese.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type/Country: (No Value Token) Chuck E. Cheese / U.S.A.
Year: 1994
Mintage: Unknown
Metal: Nickel-Plated Zinc (or white metal or nickel-plated brass)
Diameter: 25 mm Weight: 5.27 grams
Value: $6.00
Obverse/Reverse Writing: "WHERE A KID CAN BE A KID"...1994...

Footnote: Most facts and figures was thanks to the great research done by Mr. Stevens at Forrest's Token Page, the best resource out there. eBay also helped but not as much.


Do you have a token from Chuck E. Cheese and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Love Tokens Hurts Coins

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So there are two things wrong with this post title. First "Love Tokens" are not really tokens and second sometimes the raise the value of a coin. A traditional love token is just a coin that has been altered to include initials or a name of someone that is loved. Awww so sweet.

Inspired by James' recent post about his latest find I finally got around to scan a love token I bought from that huge lot. It has some sort of writing on front maybe initials or the word/name Joy but it's hard to tell. The design is simple a border made with two rows of dots in a wave pattern. You also see a second design that was never finished. I suspect this token was incomplete.

The reverse can be altered but in this case it wasn't showing us that this was a Nova Scotia cent from 1861. It is detailed enough to see this one is the Small Rosebud variety which is worth slightly more.

Assuming the coin would have similar obverse grade if it were whole then the coin would be around $5.00. However since it was altered it has no coin value but some artistic and collector value.

Love tokens are part of the numismatic world. They're listed under After Strike Modifications Division in most books. They were very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries and were presented as gifts sometimes in small pouches. The worth of any love token depends on the following;

1. Quality of the engraving.
2. Enameling or any other color added to the design.
3. Amount of the engraving.
4. History or provenance.
5. Legible or readable initials, dates, or words.
   

There are some very ornate and complicated love tokens that would astonish most because of the level of details. This is the reason that the altered coins are one of the few exceptions to the damaged coin rule. Some of these coins can sell for hundreds even thousands.

Here are the stats for this token and the coin itself...
Type/Country: 1 Cent / Nova Scotia
Year: 1861 Small Rosebud (SR)
Mintage: 1,800,000 / Unknown for variety.
Metal: 95% Copper, 4% Tin, and 1% Zinc
Value: $0.50 (Hard to say because it has some damage and it is not fancy)
Obverse Writing: ?oy

These were done mostly by young men as gifts. Today some people still make love tokens but most loved one prefer digital toys or something store bought so a penny with your initials doesn't quite cut it.


Update: To show you an exquisite example of a love token.

Jim P's love token has everything needed to make this one a valuable piece.

Do you have a love token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Forgotten Token

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Now I was looking at my long neglected Flickr site and saw a token that I was suppose to follow up on price. The problem is that I can't recall if I posted anything about it. I searched my old post and can't find it so even if this is a repost I will write it up anyway.

The thing with this transportation token that had me thinking twice is that it has several die cracks. Die cracks on tokens are common because they are not held to the same standards as coins. Does this bring a higher value? I'm not sure.

Effective Wednesday, July 9, 2003 all of the duties, obligations and powers of the New Jersey Highway Authority were transferred to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Granted this token has not been used in about 25 years.

Tokens are made in less numbers then coins but are often kept by more people since once they are discontinued they can't be used anywhere else. After this at least 3 more tokens were issued for the New Jersey Turnpike.

Also although this one says 1952 I think it may be from the 1980s.

Here are the stats for this token...
Type/Country: New Jersey Highways One Fare/USA
Year: 1952 (1981?)
Mintage: Unknown.
Metal: Brass
Value: $0.35
Obverse Writing:New Jersey Highway Authority 1952 / GSP
Reverse Writing: Garden State Car Token / Parkway / One Fare

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

A Token Effort

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I don't often make post about token because the varieties are tremendous and I don't own any token books. The most popular reference for tokens is the Atwood-Coffee Catalogue but it's hard to find. Not to mention the fact is most tokens are difficult to identify.even with pictures.

That said have a few I will show. Three are transit token and the last is a gambling token.

Luckily they were all American token because I know some stuff about them but foreign tokens can be extremely difficult to evaluate. All of these tokens are obsolete an no longer accepted anywhere.

Here are the stats for the tokens...
Type/Country: One Passage/Delaware River, PA, USA
Year: Don't know.
Mintages: Unknown.
Metal: Brass
Value: $0.25
Obverse Writing: Good For One Passage-Bridge Token-Commuter Token
Reverse Writing: Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission-Established-1934-Pennsylvania-New Jersey

Type/Country: One Fare/Queensboro Bridge, NY, USA
Year: 1947-????
Mintages: Unknown
Metal: White-metal (possibly aluminum mix)
Value: $1.00Obverse Writing: Good For-One Fare
Reverse Writing: Queensboro Bridge Railway Co. Inc.

Type/Country: One Bus Fare/Suffolk County, NY, USA
Year: Don't know.
Mintages: Not known
Metal: Aluminum
Value: $2.00 (updated to 2012 transit fare prices)
Obverse Writing: Good For One-Special Program-Bus Fare
Reverse Writing: Suffolk County,N.Y.-Bus Token

Type/Country: 1 Dollar/Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Year: 1967
Mintages: Not sure
Metal: Franklin Mint Metal?
Value: $4.00 in XF
Obverse Writing: Acceptable Only At The Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas
Reverse Writing: One Dollar Gaming Token For Use By Player Only-Frontier Hotel-Las Vegas-1967

Do you have a token and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Canadian Pocket Change Finds

Do you have a Canadian coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.

Here are two pictures I recently took of all the Canadian coins I've found in my change. I've found about to 300 coins from Canada here in New York City.



The picture as you can tell was taken twice one with flash and the other with indoor lights. I'm still not comfortable shooting my coins with a camera.

This is the average condition of modern circulating Canadians. Notice the almost proof-like quality.















Here's what I've found and there average value.
Canadian Pennies: Oldest=1943, Newest=2005,2005P, Average value=$0.10
Canadian Nickels: Oldest=1964, Newest=2003P, Average value=$0.20
Canadian Dimes: Oldest=1953, Newest=2005P, Average value=$0.15
Canadian Quarters: Oldest=1956, Newest=2004P, Average value=$0.30
Canadian Two-Dollars: Only the one from 1996, Average value=$3.00
Toronto Transit Token: Circa 1954, Average value=Not sure but I've seen it for $1.00 on eBay.

As you can see I've never found a fifty cent or dollar coin, also I've found silver but no coin older then the WWII years.

Do you have a Canadian coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.