What are the TOKENS?

I received today a letter from a USA friend with some coins and one strange object: a TOKEN. I\'ve heard of this before in webs and collector\'s lists, but what\'s exactly this object? The one I received it\'s called CARWASH TOKEN.

They\'re not coins because there is no date, official country image, value (It says: Non-refundable / No cash value).

How do you get this objects? Are they sold as collector\'s pieces? How many are there? Have you got any? I\'m interested in this because I had not any, and now, I\'d like to learn more about these "coins".

It\'s just a piece of plastic (or whatever) used for things like carwashes and other machinery. You use them like coins, but of course you can\'t pay with them in the supermarket.

What sammy said except I have never seen a plastic token, they are all copper I assume. They are used at carwashes and arcades for the most part. Where ever you get them is about the only place you can use them.

It\'s simply a metal disk that substitutes for a coin.  They are sometimes used by coin-op videogame arcades, laundrettes, and car washes, etc.  I think there are several reasons why vendors use these.  

It forces customers to potentially exchange more money for tokens than they really need.  Also, most of the cash taken in by the vendor will be in paper bills instead coins.  The paper money is easier to handle and transport.  It\'s also possible that using tokens reduces the risk of coin-operated machines being broken into.  

Of couse I\'m not in that business so I can\'t say for sure.

This is made of metal (good metal). So they\'re just pieces you buy in anywhere to spend in several places, like carwash machineries, parking... etc? Interesting.

Thanx guys.

Actually Adan, I\'d assume you buy X amount of tokens at XXXXXX Car Wash or XXXXXX Laundry to spend only there...

Yeah, you generally buy tokens from the place you will use them at. Companies that use tokens have their own, and other companies don\'t accept them.

What\'s happening now is that instead of token coins, some places are given token cards that have a strip like a credit card. You pay them to put a specific amount on that card, and then you use the card in an arcade machine, carwash, etc., and the amount charged is deducted from the total amount on the card.

:alien:

They\'re a substitute for money, sorta. A token is usually store specific. So you would give a store (or an arcade) a dollar and they would give you 4 tokens (the standard, it seems. one token = $.25US). You can then use those tokens for whatever, but ONLY at the specific store or chain of stores.

"Are they sold as collector\'s pieces? How many are there? Have you got any?"

No way, they are not sold as collector\'s pieces. They\'re worth almost nothing

The amount varies. They are used at arcades alot.

Yep, I have some from an arcade. This is about what Coredweller was talking about. I have the tokens, but I\'m not using them. I wasted a buck or two on them.

[Kurt Angle]

Swimming pools near where I live use tokens for the lockers. You get the token back when you unlock it.

[videoholic]

It\'s so they can give you 3 tokens for a dollar rather than 4 quarters.  This also requires you to go back to that store if you leave with extra tokens.

you usually buy tokens and use them like money in arcades, and batting cages, and at some public bathrooms. kinda like a poker chip in vegas, you buy them and use them like money.  but soemtimes you cant redeem them like chips, you can buy chips for about anything, like parking meters stuff.



PS are you actually serious that you have never seen a token before?wow

I hadn\'t seen a token before... I don\'t use to wash my car in USA

Yea, pretty surprising that you haven\'t really heard of tokens before. Maybe because you\'re from Spain.

I\'ve never seen plastic tokens, we have them for arcades and carwashes and laundering places, they\'re all different and company specific though.