I work at a vintage shop, and I read this one morning before work. That day, I walked in and found a baggie of tokens that my boss had just purchased. I wouldn't have had any idea what they were or how cool they are if I hadn't just read your post! Love that serendipity!
Ha ha, I'm a big collector too. I have a box of bottlecaps (one of Son Goku from Dragonball Z is probably my favorite) and one of stamps. I've also collected some generic card sets from various anime/manga series, but definitely not in the definitive way I collect bottlecaps (I feel like these are in decline though, sadly) and stamps.
We have a lot of tokens, collected in a not-organized way from coin shows. At one point I got a little obsessed with tokens with holes and was planning to make a necklace from them but then realized it would be way too heavy to wear comfortably. They're around here somewhere...
am I the only person who always found the aesthetic of "coin" collecting so off-putting? Like, I love coins and ephemera, but once they get put in those hideous stapled square holders, I just find them so unappealing. Especially once the staples rust. It just ruins the whole feel.
I've always liked the origin story of subway tokens once I understood it. Previously NYC subway fares had been 5 cents and then 10 cents, with turnstiles operating on nickels then dimes. When fares went up to 15 cents, it turned out that it was much easier to effectively mint your own 15-cent coins than it would have been to invent a turnstile that would handle more than a single coin per transaction.
I work at a vintage shop, and I read this one morning before work. That day, I walked in and found a baggie of tokens that my boss had just purchased. I wouldn't have had any idea what they were or how cool they are if I hadn't just read your post! Love that serendipity!
Ha ha, I'm a big collector too. I have a box of bottlecaps (one of Son Goku from Dragonball Z is probably my favorite) and one of stamps. I've also collected some generic card sets from various anime/manga series, but definitely not in the definitive way I collect bottlecaps (I feel like these are in decline though, sadly) and stamps.
10,000? That’s one token over the line, sweet Jesus.
We have a lot of tokens, collected in a not-organized way from coin shows. At one point I got a little obsessed with tokens with holes and was planning to make a necklace from them but then realized it would be way too heavy to wear comfortably. They're around here somewhere...
am I the only person who always found the aesthetic of "coin" collecting so off-putting? Like, I love coins and ephemera, but once they get put in those hideous stapled square holders, I just find them so unappealing. Especially once the staples rust. It just ruins the whole feel.
I love seeing what folks collect and have so much interest in. Growing up I thought NYC subway tokens were pretty cool. They frequently meant a trip to Manhatten with my grandparents or a ballgame in the Bronx with my father. Topps made a small subset of cards in 2003 that are at the intersection of two collection interests, cards with NYC subway tokens included. When I saw one on a fellow card blogger's site I knew I needed one. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzNybuq4yq7Lv6Co_v52XYKkNmKaiS7DvbyJ2VJ0z4_Al-I57euJP7PqGEkbcAVYOm9ezynrbtmYhyFTwa3MXPz96WpbY_GKgIlqk2T5NYlWBZ-Zs-cujErhLyuQOX5aXEo0rr1wPbbg/s400/IMG.jpg"> Here is my Hank Bauer token card.</a>
I've always liked the origin story of subway tokens once I understood it. Previously NYC subway fares had been 5 cents and then 10 cents, with turnstiles operating on nickels then dimes. When fares went up to 15 cents, it turned out that it was much easier to effectively mint your own 15-cent coins than it would have been to invent a turnstile that would handle more than a single coin per transaction.