a brief history of gaming tokens - ccgtcc-ccn.com · slot machines and the tokens accompanying...

CASINO CHIP AND TOKEN NEWS | July · August · September 2002 79

A Brief History of Gaming TokensPart One

1965 was a turning point in thehistory of gaming tokens – a verysignificant dividing line. In Part I ofthis history, we briefly review the useof tokens in games of chance beforethe mid 1960s, and in Part II we willcover gaming tokens from 1965 to thepresent day, with some speculationsof the future. Our attention will berestricted to United States tokens ortokens used in the U.S.

The distinct dividing line was dueto the sharp rise in the price of silver.Prior to this epoch, more silverdollars were probably used in gamesof chance in casinos throughoutNevada than those in use for commer-cial purposes everywhere else. Part IIwill review the consequences of thedisappearance of silver dollars ingaming.

I recall several coin collectingfriends telling me they nearlycompleted their collections of Morganand Peace dollars by saving coinsfrom Nevada casinos. Apparently thepractice got out of hand, as evidencedby these comments about silverdollars with missing dates: “When thesilver dollar boom started in the1960s, several of the casinos resortedto grinding the dates off the coins sothat they wouldn’t be grabbed fortheir collector value…. The stunt gotthe casinos in trouble with thegovernment for mutilating coins”1

And it wouldn’t be long before thecoins would be carried off for theirbullion value.

by Vince Mowery

We can personally attest to the useof silver dollars in casinos. For exam-ple, in 1955 while driving across thecountry, Bettye and I decided on aside trip to Reno, where our first stopwas Harolds Club. Bettye was on awinning streak, placed a dollar coinon four numbers at the bottom of aroulette table, and won. She movedthe silver dollar up to the next fournumbers in line and won again.Moving the bet this way each time,she worked her way to the top of thetable, winning each bet and paid offeach time in silver dollars. I stuffedall the coins in my pockets and wewalked over to a crap table. Her luckwas still with us. Finally, the stickman standing next to Bettye tappedthe box of two sixes. Bet boxcars, hesaid. She did (although a terrible bet)and won. By the time we left, thepockets of my pants and jacket wereloaded with silver dollars. (Yes, inthose days it was common for men towear jackets in casinos.)

Today, although common onblackjack and related games, weseldom see gaming tokens used oncrap tables (probably because throw-ing a heavy metal token halfwaydown the table to make a bet can behard on the green felt). And rarelywould a metal token be seen on theinside of a roulette layout. It shouldbe recognized that the type and use oftokens can change over time. We willsee more of this later and in Part II.

Many would claim, with consider-able validity, that silver dollars shouldnot be identified as true gamingtokens, since otherwise we wouldneed to so identify quarters, nickels,etc. which are also used in slotmachine play. In the late 1960s orearly 1970s, we played a machine inReno that paid-out some jackpotwinnings in Morgan dollars. Shouldwe classify as a gaming token anyobject used as payment from a slotmachine? I think not, unless suitablefor replay. But we will have more tosay about the definition of gamingtokens later.

Slot machines and the tokensaccompanying them, have been withus sometimes more – sometimes less,for over a hundred years.

I. The First Half Century of Slots

“If there is a ‘first’ original chanceslot machine, it has to be the cardmachine created for saloon and cigarcounter placement, … the ‘Free

Morgan

PeaceShould we call these gaming tokens?

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 79

80 CASINO CHIP AND TOKEN NEWS | July · August · September 2002

1901 Draw Poker Machine

Drinks and Free Cigars’ trade stimu-lator card machines made rapid…advancements, moving… into carddrop, hold and draw, and a widevariety of other formats.”2 The basicsof these machines were developed bythe end of the 1880s, with PatentPending notations appearing onmachines before the end of 1890.

“Two Chances for One Nickel”

1. Drop Nickel and Pull LeverDown

2. Hold any Card you wish byPressing Down CorrespondingButton on Top

3. Prizes paid on SECONDCHANCE

Sound familiar? Only the buttonsand prizes have changed. Theseearly mechanical marvels shouldbe considered forerunners oftoday’s electronic video pokermachines.

Note “FREE CIGARS” on payoutschedule card on front of machine.

Payout of winnings on slots wasthe responsibility of counter atten-dants. It wasn’t long before manufac-turers, attempting to ease this burden,“added a swivel base so the bartenderscould swing the machine around fastto see if a claimed winner was aliar.”3 But this probably did notsuffice for the bustling bartenders ona busy Saturday night, and furtherhelp was soon forthcoming.

The use of tokens as a medium ofexchange or a promise to pay a statedamount was quite likely familiar tomost at this time, following the wide-spread use of tokens during the CivilWar as substitute money when hoard-ing caused government specie todisappear. “The trade check, or ‘goodfor,’ started coming into its own in the1866-1889 period, but the 1890-1900period saw issues of trade checksincrease dramatically.”4 It is only rea-sonable therefore, to expect propri-etors to use nickel size tokens to payslot winnings, particularly when thewinning combination indicated 5, 10,20, or more “Free” cigars or drinks.Cigar smokers and nickel beers werevery common in those days; but pro-prietors expected the tokens would bereplayed – for obvious reasons.

MONTE CARLO SALOONGOOD FOR ONE DRINK

TONOPAH, [sic], NEV.

A.H. ROUNSEVELLCONFECT. & CIGARS

5TONOPAH, NEVADA

RHODES CIGAR STANDGOOD FOR 5¢ IN TRADE

GOLDFIELD, NEV.

ROTHOLTZ BROSGOOD FOR 1 CIGAR

Tonopah, Nevada

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 80


The use of trade stimulators (slots)and “Good For” gaming tokens tosupplement income for smallbusinesses spread rapidly, as did thenumber of machine manufacturersand the variety of machines. “Asubstantial number of cigar makersmade machines that they gave awayas free premiums…, with some ofthem ending up as coin machine mak-ers after dropping their cigar lines.”2

One of many collectible cigartokens, this one in aluminum–madepossible by a drastic reduction inprice when the electrolytic process forrefining aluminum was introduced inlate 1888. “In the 1891-1894 period,aluminum came into extensive use inthe manufacture of tokens”4

contributing to their proliferation.

THE ST. JOHN CIGAR COG.F. 21/2 CENTS I.T.MUNCIE, INDIANA

(Two for a nickel)

The economic depression of 1893was a severe jolt to the economy, butalso served as a stimulus to the spreadof trade stimulators. Small merchantsstruggling to compete or survive andattract customers, paid out, “at leastas much in trade as… played, andsometimes more,”2 by means of“trade” or “merchant” tokens with theproprietors name on one side and“good for” 5¢, 6 1/4¢, 12 1/2¢, etc. in

trade (or in merchandise) on thereverse side. This practice continuedfor many years. Some likely examplesfollow:

COMMERCIAL HOTELGOOD FOR 6 1/4¢ IN TRADE

BRASSELKO, NEVADA

J.D. LOTHROP CO.GOOD FOR 5 IN MERCHANDISE

ALUMINUMGOLDFIELD, NEV.

RUTH POOL HALLGOOD FOR 5¢ IN TRADE

BRASSRuth, Nev.

W.J DRYSDALEGOOD FOR 6 1/4¢ IN TRADE

BRASSTONAPAH, NEV

Part of the pleasure of collectingthese older tokens is uncovering thehistory and circumstances surroundingtheir use. We are not aware of anyresearch on the above examples andmany other similar tokens fromaround Nevada. (Not all Trade orMerchant tokens were used in gamesof chance). But some interestingresearch has been carried out forgaming tokens of this time period

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 81


used in San Francisco, a hot-bed ofslot activity. An example is shown inoutline form below:

HENRY LODERHOSE GROCERYASH AVENUE

SAN FRANCISCO

“Loderhose’s grocery store was at318 Polk Street on the northeastcorner of Polk and Ash Avenue.”5

This is an area wiped out by the fireof 1906 and occupied today by theCivic Center Plaza. “Loderhose [was]a groceryman in 1897 and 1898…Like many such stores…, it had a bar.The practice had been almost univer-sal in town since the Gold Rush…The 316 street number indicates thatthe bar was [as common practice orrequired by regulations] separate fromthe food sales section. The token wasmade for slot machines and issued inthe late 1890s after the use of coinshad been declared illegal.”5

“Objections were raised to the use ofcoins because, it was claimed, thiswas open gambling. In the late 1890s,the city voted to permit the devices[machines] as long as tokens were theonly means of setting them in motion.‘Trade Checks,’ as they were alsoknown, were commonly brass…, 21mm in diameter [nickel size],…Larger sizes were used for higherdenominations.”5

Ownership and operation of slotmachines was very turbulent every-where at the end of the 1800s andinto the twentieth century. For exam-ple, an 1898 San Francisco ordinance“decreed that the machines were pro-hibited from paying out in money, butoperators soon circumvented this lawby substituting payouts in trade checksredeemable only in merchandise.”6

Needless to say, cash exchange wascommon. All this probably stimulatedthe spread of gaming tokens.

Machine manufacturers respondedto the shifting morals and regulations.In the late 1890s the Leo CandaCompany of Cincinnati produced “anautomatic check or token payoutmodel…called THE EXCELSIOR.”2

The Mills Novelty Company of SanFrancisco, “made a tall boxed verticalcabinet machine in 1897 with a tokenpayout… calling it the FIGAROCHECK MACHINE.”2 In this timeperiod, manufacturers were freelycopying each others’ machines.

There was one side excursion,however. Machine Paper Payouts,becoming prevalent today, were pre-dated by almost a hundred years bythe payout scheme used in the MillsSUPERIOR 5 card machine, pro-duced between 1904 and 1916. “Witheach wining play the machineadvances a pre-printed fortune ticketfrom a roll, which is then rubberstamped with the number of the pay-out, be it one cigar, or 2, 3, 4, 8, 12,16, 24 or 100.”3 Today these old “fortune tickets” are very rare. We willhave more to say about Paper Payoutsin Part II. The more things change, themore they remain the same.

Early on, some manufacturerswere renting machines or serving asslot route operators by maintainingtheir own machines on a profit shar-ing basis. (We will have more to sayabout this practice also in Part II). In

1904, the Puritan Machine CompanyLtd. of Detroit manufactured amachine called, appropriately,PURITAN with “a mechanicalgimmick whereby every fifth or sev-enth coin – was tossed into a separatecash box inside the machine. Theoperator could use this extra cash boxas the merchant split…”2

Some slot tokens used by slotoperators:

MILLS NOVELTY CO.GF 5¢ IT

SAN FRANCISCO(Used with CRICKET introduced in 1904)

ROYAL NOVELTY COMPANYGF 5¢ IT

411 Market Street,SAN FRANCISCO

(Founded in 1900 to make machines tosell & operate)

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 82


Some Great Early Gaming Tokens

SILVER CUP – CHAS, FEY & COGOOD FOR 5¢ IN TRADE

PAYOUT TOKEN FOR 1907 SILVERCUP MACHINE [6, P. 70]

“Charles Fey… issued severaltokens, as did other manufactuers.”[7, p. 7]

MILLS NOVELTY CO.SAN FRANCISCO

(COUNTER-STAMPED DM)GOOD FOR 2 BITS IN TRADE, WITH 2

HORSE BRIDLE BITS.CENTER STACKING PIN HOLE.

Counter-stamps with initials, asseen on some operator tokens, couldhave been used to distinguish a pro-prietor’s token from others.

What about all those tokens(checks) with holes? Well, theyallowed machines to accept bothcoins and tokens while paying outonly tokens, as required by law insome jurisdictions. Note, this automa-tion further eased the payout burdenof proprietors and attendants.

“Originally, a small hole waspunched in trade checks for storageon a vertical pin inside the machine.Charlie Fey enlarged the stackinghole in the check to permit a detect-ing pin… to pass through the token,thus allowing it to remain in the coinchute leading to the payout tube. Anickel, obviously having no centerhole, would be pushed into the cashcan. The first Check Separator token,used on the 1898 Fey LIBERTYBELL is shown.6

Gaming tokens with stacking-pinholes:

L. DEL PAPA & CO.GF 5¢ IT

(Tonopah, nv.)

MODEL CIGAR STOREGOOD FOR 6 1/4¢

(Tonopah, nv.)

H.E. SAWYERGF 12 1/2¢ ITMCGILL, NV

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 83


TEXAS BARGF 6 1/4¢ IT

(Goldfield, nv.)

And tokens for use in check separatormachines:

MAMMOTH CLUBGF 5¢ IT

(Tonopah, nv.)Note cancellation punch.

NEVADA SMOKE HOUSEGF 12 1/2 CENTS

RENO

THE PIONEERGF 12 1/2¢ ITELKO, NEV.

HOTEL LAMOILLEGF 12 1/2¢ IT(Lamoille, nv.)

The large number of nickel sizetokens with center holes is testimonyto their widespread use over decades.“The slot machines of the yearsbetween World War I & II usedtokens extensively, principally of thetype with a hole in the center.”7

Perhaps this triggered the use of around washer with a string tied to itas a simple means for slot cheating.Many token holes appear to be drilledor punched, rather than stamped; andsome holes obscure lettering, indicat-ing the tokens were modified for usein check separator machines.

DEWEY TRADE CHECKGF 5¢ ITELY, NEV.(no hole)

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 84


DEWEY TRADE CHECKGF 5¢ IT(Ely, nev.)

(stacking hole)

It may be difficult to conclusivelyidentify some trade checks asdefinite slot tokens. For example, acataloger of the common tokensabove stated: “…these Dewey tokenswere thought to have been used inDewey slot machines.”8 However, inmy opinion, the hole for a stackingpin in some Dewey tokens from Ely,NV is rather conclusive evidence thatthe tokens were used in slotmachines.

There is one large class of tokensthat are clearly slot tokens. Somesamples are shown below. “Tokenswith thousands of different numbersare known. The numbers representindividual machines or machineoperators or businesses.”9 Althoughwe are certain these are slot tokens,uncertainty remains as to what thenumbers designated. Reverses of allthe tokens below read Good For 5¢ InTrade.

2804

“The full story behind these num-bered tokens remains unknown at thistime. Most of the numbers are proba-bly serial numbers of specificmachine operators.”7 But, in my opin-ion, with numbers in the thousands,this appears unlikely.

Moreover, the token shown here,which reads Machine – 109 onobverse and Good For Five (withplain numeral 5) In Trade on reverse,could lead one to conclude that num-bers were associated with machines.But the questions remain: Why? Andwhat made economic sense?

Attempting to create an air oflegitimacy or willing acceptance.Slots were developed with the appear-ance of vending machines, dispensinggumballs, packs of chewing gum orrolls of mints. In addition to a candytreat, some “vending” slot machinesalso paid out good for tokenseuphemistically called “profit sharingcoupons”.

ALL QUALITY MINTSGOOD FOR A 5¢

PACKAGE OF MINTS

31524

38450

4114

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 85


35054GOOD FOR ONE

PACKAGE OF MINTS

TILLITSON SPECIALTY CO.AURORA, ILL.

MACHINES RENTEDMINTS SUPPLIED

“When [Frank] Costello wasquestioned about the legality of hismachines during the 1951 KefauverInvestigation proceedings, heanswered, ‘Ya got mints every timeya put in a nickel.”6

Slots spread extensively over thefirst few decades of the twentiethcentury, tempered now and then byon-and-off moral backlashes.Machines and their tokens graduatedfrom pennies and nickels to higherdenominations. Vigorous moralists,

anti-mobsters and crusading politi-cians often led to confiscating anddestroying tons of machines andtokens. For example in New YorkCity on February 24, 1934, policeraided the Mills Novelty Co. office“seizing 350 slot machines and30,000 slot tokens. Simultaneouslythey confiscated 300 machines and10,000 tokens at the Tru Mint[Vending Company, a front for mob-ster Frank Costello] warehouse andsnapped up 32 slots and 20,000tokens at the hotel headquarters ofFrank’s brother, Edward Costello.”viSo many gaming tokens lost forever!

In 1944 the U.S. governmentdecreed it illegal to make or usetokens of the same size or very closeto the diameter of U.S. coins in use.“A new style of reverse appeared(probably due to the above law, asmost stock reverses were now thewrong size). The new reverse stylehas the denomination as a largenumber with ‘In Trade’ or ‘In Mdse’in a superimposed panel.”9 Someexamples are shown here:

REGAN BROS.5¢ IN TRADEReno, Nevada

KEITH’S MODEL ‘T’CAFÉ & CASINO

25¢ IN TRADEWinnemucca, Nevada

After World War II there was aresurgence of slot machines, often-times with the law winking or lookingthe other way. But the use of tokensprobably did not follow. Nickels,quarters and dollars were goodenough. Cigar stores and neighbor-hood general stores had becomepassé, along with their trade stimula-tors. Suburbs and supermarketschanged our way of life, and anti-gambling sentiment changed the pub-lic outlook. Many states passed anti-slot laws. The death knell for slotscame on January 2, 1951 when afederal law prohibiting interstateshipment of “gambling devices”became effective. Shipment to stateswhere gambling was legal wasexempt, and the rest is history.

II. American Gaming Counters

The previous section identifiedgaming tokens as tokens (or checks,as they were often referred to) used inslot machines. In this section, webroaden the definition to includetokens (frequently called counters)from private, non-government mintsused in games of chance. The begin-nings of gaming counters are lost in

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM 6


the shadows of antiquity; but someevidence indicates that tokens wereused in games of chance in theRoman Empire, and most likely muchearlier.

“Originally counters were, as theirname implies, small metallic discsused to ‘count’ beyond the limit ofone’s fingers and toes. The use ofreckoning counters was a fairly well-established practice in the Romanworld, …”.x Doing arithmetic withRoman numerals was not simple. It isonly natural to presume that thesecounters also were used in games ofchance.

“Metal counters were used in partsof Europe from the 13th centurythrough at least the early 18th centuryin conjunction with counting ‘boards’as a reckoning mechanism. It wasprobably largely during the 1600s thatthe use of Arabic figures came todominate the practice of reckoningaccounts in Europe,… Americancounters were issued after this transi-tion period. Consequently, even theearliest known American countersprobably served as game countersrather than as counting board coun-ters.”11 Game counters are intimatelytied in with the fascinating history ofarithmetic.

As in the previous section, werestrict our use of the name “token”to coin-like metal discs. (This willrequire some modifications in Part II).Nearly concurrent with the use ofmetallic game counters, this countryalso saw the use of chips made ofbone, mother-of-pearl, ivory, etc.(also called counters).12 Which camefirst, metallic discs (tokens) or non-metallic chips, is probably a chickenand egg question. Both share similarheritage. We review here several earlyAmerican metal gaming tokens.

“Success” game counters show auniformed bust of George Washingtonon the obverse with his name aroundthe rim and a Radiant eye surroundedby 15 stars and the words SUCCESSTO THE UNITED STATES aroundthe rim of the reverse. “Originals ofthese tokens appeared in 1793, honor-ing the second inauguration of thepresident on March 4, 1793. Theirmaker is unknown but probably theywere struck in England.”x Photos ofthese tokens can be found in RS.Yeoman’s Red Bookxiii, where theyare called Medals and state they “arebelieved to have been made in themid nineteenth century”. ApparentlyYeoman is referring to “Restrikes ofthe tokens,… made about 1860”10.

“Henry Kettle was a button andbuckle maker of Birmingham,England a the end of the 18th andbeginning of the 19th century. …buthe also executed the first-known imi-tations of United States gold coins foruse as game counters”10. Many of hisearly game counters used in thiscountry were patterned after 1803U.S. gold coins. However, he also“copied” an 1805 Eagle ($10 U.S.gold coin), despite the fact that noU.S. Eagles were struck dated 1805 to1837. These early game counters didnot need to be truthful representationsof U.S. coins. Early Kettle countersare quite scarce, with fewer than 200known for many varieties and farfewer for some varieties. So fare wehave not acquired any for our collec-tion, but photos can be found in theRulau-Fuld article.10

“Whist counters were a series ofBritish tokens sold at street shops orgiven away as advertising cards fromthe time of George III [1760-1820]through the reign of Victoria”.14

Whist, a popular game during thistime period, was a forerunner ofBridge. “…most of Thomas Kettle’sexonumia products issued after the

mid 1830s served primarily as coun-ters for use in the game of Whist”.15

Thomas was the son of Henry and ranthe kettle from from about 1812 tothe1830s or later. "Although Whistcounters had been issued prior to…Thomas Kettle, his were probably thefirst to portray a woman playingWhist".15 Some examples from ourcollection are shown below: (Thereare many varieties.)

“Cards in left hand, playing a card withright, four counters on table (3 under 1),no table leg shown… two curls in front ofear”. Legend: KEEP YOUR TEMPER14

“open collar and puff sleeves at shoulder,holding cards in left hand…, right handplaying a card…”. Legend: KEEP YOURTEMPERxiv Some gilt remains on thistoken

Also, many varieties have a maleplayer facing left. Some claim theywere issued as male-female counterpairs. An example of the male cardplayer is shown here:

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 87


Cards in both hands, card on table doesnot touch border of dots, four counters ontable arranged two under two, no tablelegs show, carpet plain. Legend: KEEPYOUR TEMPER14 Other side: Youngqueen head, Legend: VICTORIA REGI-NA. Almost full gilt (gold-like plating)remains on this token

“’Keep Your Temper’ is a reminderto the players – especially to the men– to keep their emotions in check andto abide by the rules of the game”.15

Many early game tokens portraythe head of Victoria, crowned queenin 1838 at the age of eighteen.Another example – one of many:

Obv: VICTORIA QUEEN OF GREATBRIT around young head of Victoria.

Rev: Prince of Wales crown and threeplumes surrounded by Order of Gartermotto: HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENS.15

Gilt is rubbed off high points on thistoken.

“According to German law, awoman was not permitted to occupythe throne of Hanover. Consequently,Victoria’s uncle, the Duke of

Cumberland, was granted thatposition in 1837. It is quite likely thatthe rider on both the Kettle varietiesand non-Kettle varieties of ToHanover counters is the Duke ofC u m b e r l a n d . ”15 A kettle game counter:

Obv: VICTORIA QUEEN OF GREATBRIT sides of large head.

Rev: TO HANOVER above crowned rideron horseback, sword in scabbard, three-headed short dragon beneath horse, date1837.xv This is a beautiful, worn Kettlepiece.

“To Hanover varieties by the firmof Kettle most easily can be distin-guished from those by other diesinkers by the absence of a raisedsword”.15 There are many differentnon-Kettle imitations with drawnswords: large and small dragons,large and small crowns, horselegs upand down, etc., and different obverses.Copying game counters during thistime period seems to be about asprevalent as copying slot machines inthe early 20th century.

To Hanover game countersundoubtedly were take-offs of theBritish 20-shilling gold sovereignintroduced in 1817, with a portrait ofthe British ruler (starting with GeorgeIII) on the obverse and portrayal ofSt. George slaying a dragon on thereverse.

Nuremberg, Germany was thecenter of token production for a fewhundred years, culminating with theLauer family in the 19th century.

Many game counters that foundtheir way to this country were theproduct of Ludwig Christian Lauer(1817-1873). An example of Germanmade Whist counters is shown below:

Obv: VICTORIA QUEEN OF GREATBRIT: around head of queen, WHISTMARKE in small letters under head. Rev:SPIEL MARKE inside wreath..

Definitions of Spiel include play,game, etc., and Marke means money,token or coin. Compositions means toadjust a debt, to facilitate, etc.

Some imitations of United States goldcoins made to be used as game coun-ters appear below.

Half Eagle ($5) Counters:

Obv: Liberty Head left 11 stars around,SP. MARKE belowx. Spotted gilt on token

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 88


Obv: Liberty Head left 10 stars around,COMPOS. SPIEL-MUNZE below10.Dark patina on token

Common Rev: Eagle with shield onb reast, COMPOSITIONS-SPIEL- MARKE:around, one star below.

Eagle Counter:

Obv: Liberty Head left, eight starsaround, COMP. S. MARKE below.

Rev: Eagle with shield on breast, COM -POSITONS SPIEL-MARKE around, threestars above eagle, and three starsbelow.10 Considerable gilt remains.

And Double Eagle Counter:

Obv: Liberty Head left, 15 stars around,COMP. S. MARKE below.

Rev: Eagle early type U.S. Double Eagle,IN UNITATE FORTITUDO above,COMPS. SPIEL – MARKE below.Reference nice patina.

This token is a close copy, bothLiberty Head and Eagle, of the U.S.twenty dollar gold piece first mintedfor circulation in 1850.13 “Diesinking was an infant industry in theUnited States until the mid 1830s…15

This was the reason for use of tokensminted in England and Germany. Butnot all gaming tokens of this era wereimported.

The gold rush in California was arush of people, and a legendaryspread of gambling, with inadequatesupplies of circulating hard money.Resourceful forty-niners resorted tothe use of counters, usually imitationsof United States gold, with valuesdetermined at the start of the games.“Only a few of these California coun-ters emanated from German sources.Most seem distinctly American instyle and were probably struck byseveral of the brass works then inoperation in San Francisco.”10

Gold Miner Counter: (This exampleshows pleasing wear which mayevoke images of many card games,unlike many of today’s casino“collectibles”.)

Obv: Copy of Coronet Type Half Eaglewith 13 stars, dated 1849.

Rev: Gold miner kneeling left, with pick,spade and ore sack. CALIFORNIA above,1849 in exergue. Horizon shows to left ofspade handle; a mountain overtops twohills right background; two palm trees indistances.10

Flag Counter:

Obv: A so-so copy of 1847 Coronet typeEagle coin, but correct diameter.

Rev: American flag displayed right has24 stars. CALIFORNIA above,COUNTER below, two stars each side.10& 15

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 89


A montage of early card counters andjetons with playing cards and card suitsymbols.

Summary

So we have early American gam-ing counters evolving out of ancientreckoning counters at least as early asthe end of the 1700s, leading to avariety of types, interrupted some-what by the Civil War when manytokens were used as substitutes forhard money This probably led to theready adaptations of tokens for use ina variety of trade stimulators andthree-reel slots by the end of the1800s, sometimes to evade laws andsometimes to satisfy them. The Gay90’s evolved into the Roaring 20’swith a tolerant attitude and use ofgaming tokens, even surreptitiouslythrough the depression days of the30’s. Again there was a wartime inter-ruption, when slot machine manufac-turers turned to other outputs duringthe 40’s. After the war, gambling sen-timent shifted, as it had many times inthe past. “A demand for further gam-ing regulations developed after 1950when the U.S. Senate Committee forthe Investigations of OrganizedCrime, headed by Estes Kefauver,exposed a gangster element…,”6

And gaming tokens didn’t flourishagain until another dramatic event in1965. This will be part of the historyreviewed in Part II.

1 Alan Herbert, “Coin Clinic,”Numismatic News, May 8, 2001, p.58.2 Richard M. Bueschel, “Guide toVintage Trade Stimulators & CounterGames,” Schiffer Publishing, Alglen,PA, 1997.3 Richard M. Bueschel, “AnIllustrated Price Guide to 100 MostCollectible Trade Stimulators,” CoinSlot Books, Wheatridge, CO, 1978.4 Russell Rulau, “Tokens of the GayNineties 1890-1900,” KrausePublications, Iola, WI, 19875 Jerry F. Schimmel, “The Old Streetsof San Francisco, Early Street Nameson Some Brass Tokens”, PacificCoast Numismatic Society, SanFrancisco, Monograph No. 1, 19936 Marshall Fey, “Slot Machines, APictorial History of the First 100Years”, Fourth Edition, Liberty BelleBooks, Reno, Nev. 1994. (Beautifullyillustrated Slot machines and earlygaming tokens).

7 Stephen P. Alpert and Kenneth E.Smith, “Video Arcade, Pinball, SlotMachine and Other AmusementTokens of North America”,Amusement Token CollectorsAssociation, Redondo Beach, CA,First Edition, 1984.8 Fred Holabird Americana, “Auction#10”, Reno, NV., August 3, 2001, p.58.9 Stephen P. Alpert and Lawrence E.Elman, “Tokens and Medals, A Guideto the Identification and Values ofUnited States Exonumia”, Stephen P.Alpert, Los Angles, CA, First Edition,199210 Russel Rulau and George J. Fuld,“American Game Counters”, TAMSJournal, Volume 12, Number 6 (PartII) December, 1972, reprint.11 L.B. Fauver, “American Counters,Part 1, Double Eagle & Eagle Gold”,Oak Grove Publications, Meno Park,CA, 1983.12 Dale Seymour, “Antique GamblingChips”, Revised Edition, PastPleasures, Palo Alto, CA, 1998 Part IHistorical Perspective.13 R.S. Yeoman, “The Official RedBook, A Guide Book of United StatesCoins”, 55th Edition, St. Martin’sPress, New York, NY, 2002.14 Melvin Fuld, “English CardCounters, Gaming House Inns,Lottery Pieces, Racing Tokens’ SpielMarken, German Whist, Whist andOther Gaming Pieces”, TAMSJournal, Volume 14, Number 4 (PartII), August 1974.15 L.B. Fauver, “ExonumiaSymbolism & Classification”, OakGrove Publications, Menlo Park, CA,1982. �

153 9/29/08 8:44 PM Page 90

a brief history of gaming tokens - ccgtcc-ccn.com · slot machines and the tokens accompanying...

Documents