Most Common Tokens

Out of the many, many tokens currently on Numista, what are so far the most common tokens owned by users?

Do you mean token type?  Or a specific token?

I have tons of arcade tokens and after that, transit tokens.

Any token type you can think of.

Arcade for sure.

My brother found this and brought it to me today.  N#231757

Slipstreamed

…  I have tons of arcade tokens …

It's worth noting that Numista is at the leading edge of cataloging a subcategory of arcade tokens: early 20th-century French slot machine tokens. Hundreds of these tokens are now listed.

Those are so awesome!  How much do working units go for now?

Each token is worth approximately €2, with the price varying depending on its complexity and design and whether or not it's linked to a specific slot machine. The challenge lies in finding these game tokens, which are sometimes found in batches of generic tokens.

New token types regularly appear when someone opens the cash box of an old slot machine, like this "Chinese Dragon" slot machine token discovered a month ago.

More than 1,000 such tokens are now listed on Numista, not to mention the different varieties.

I quite a few of these…

N#25511

N#47678

N#58422

N#55455

N#31947

In New Zealand its several later ones.

Timeout gaming tokens - N#310846 1989 - 2000s

They were a chain of spacies and ride on types games in the 1990s and then moved to those ticket machines and claw machines later. People would buy tokens for $1 each or less for say 25 for $20 etc.

Tourist dollars - N#471386 1983 - 2015?

These would be sold at tourist attractions usually in vending machines and between the 1980s and a few years ago. Usually a couple of dollars up to $5 each, some slight design types on back, this one has the generic post 1990s reverse.

All Black captains - N#134165 1989

Given away as a petrol station promotion in 1989 and 1990 they show up on Trade Me sales everywhere, complete sets of 15 in a cardboard are worth a few $ tops, but these are common as dirt and like all our cheap tokens - muck metal. There was also a series of 15 great all black players too, making 30 medals in total. A focus mostly on players of the 1970s/80s,

QE2 Coronation - N#414954  1953

Common as dirt as every schoolchild in the country got one, complete with a ribbon and clasp. Nearly all are worn and even nice ones are dirt common (750,000 schoolkids in 1953) and a few handed out to dignataries. A gold one was given to the queen and a few silver ones to dignitaries. Most like this were muck metal copper. Ones without the hole are very rare.

Millenium medals - N#134204 1999

Also common as dirt and given away at petrol stations. Made out of cheap nickel plated steel, many are found stained and corroded, 21 in all and minted in Britain, yet all over the place here. These medals are the bain of many coin shops and church dove/so called antique shops are riddled with them.

Other common ones include 1984 Olympic medalists, gold plated nickel and these looked quite nice.

LDC63

I quite a few of these…

…

N#31947

 

What I like about these tokens is digging into their history, like with this ACE token which is often associated with the famous ACE Cafe, a biker bar in North London, when it was actually from ACE Equipment Limited :)

Then in UK you get some of these small token with a diameter of 19mm. They have the same legend as in France : “A Consommer” meant that this token had to be exchanged for a drink in the bar where it had been won, which translates into English as "To be spent in the house"

N#55385

or with only names of the game and manufacturer :

N#368460

NPSC produced slot machines in UK, Germany and France (Numista study). 

Some of these tokens were countermarked because the bartender was happy to pay for a drink but also wanted to check that the token had been won on his machine.