I remember tokens. I'm sure most of you remember tokens... you put your dollar, or your five dollars in the machine and you got a handful of golden (or silver, probably always aluminum) specialized coins that you could use in machines.

Frankly, I don't even know why tokens existed... I mean, why not just use quarters. I guess it is just so you buy in early, and they don't offer refunds, so they get your money either way. (Even if you lose it, etc..)

When I was young, there was an arcade by my house (the only dedicated arcade I ever really knew.) It was called Funsville, USA. In fact, I found an old token from that place, which probably closed down around 15 years ago, and I have put it under the glass on the bezel of my MAME machine. I just think that tokens were amazing, and they really aren't that common anymore.

Maybe it's because arcades are going the way of the Dodo, but even the bigger, more successful arcades today are trending towards the "Game Credit Card" approach. Recently, I went down to a big mall in Kentucky and found a few games in a movie theater, and they actually had tokens for their games! They only had about 5 games, so I thought that was a little strange, but I decided to put in a dollar just so I could keep one.

Here is a picture of the coins: (anyone from the Northeast Ohio area will probably recognize the Funsville Coin. Let me know if you do!)



Sorry for the bad picture! The one on the left is a NAMCO token, with a new looking Pac-man on the front, and just NAMCO on the back. The one on the right is a clown face, the symbol of the arcade in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, when I was a kid.

So, I started looking around for info on tokens on google, and came up with a website of a guy who actually collects them. (Not only arcade, but Chuck E. Cheese, Car Wash tokens, everything) He even has the Funsville token that I found recently.

His website is here: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agor...entrading.html

Putting together my arcade machine was one way of remembering the joy of going to an arcade. Another way is actually collecting machines (possibly the best way). Going to arcades doesn't work so well, anymore, because if they actually have the games I played as a child, they are usually in crappy shape and barely work, or have been gutted and replaced with some frigging snowboarding game.

Another good way is holding onto a token whenever you get the chance. My Funsville token is probably the true centerpiece of my collection, and it was never worth more than a quarter, and is worthless to most anyone.

Did anyone else here save a token or two? Do you display them? Show me some pictures.

Also, show me some examples of other interesting websites on tokens if you can.