Token question. 1919 St. Louis United Railways Child Token

jesbroken

I have a question about this small roll of Child Tickets(Tokens). I only bought these a year or so ago because I had never seen any before. Most of the singles I have seen(two) have Child stamped in between the half moon slots on both sides. This one at least does not have Child stamped on one side. My question is, for those knowledgeable in token sales, would it be better to break open the roll and sell individually or as a roll for the roll sake? Neatness has worn off.
Jim

LanceNewmanOCC

the logical approach is to try to sell the roll first. SURELY it has more appeal to others as the same thing that attracted you. BUT if not, then you can gently pry open one end and remove the goodie and still have the roll for someone to enjoy.

nice find.

Glen2022

My guess is that the roll is probably unique. Are there any other what appears to be original rolls out there? If it is the last one, it would be a shame to break it apart. Just my $.02.

291fifth

The full roll is unusual. Collectors want unusual items. Sell it intact.

tokenpro

The logical approach is to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Just because tokens are in an unopened roll does not mean that they are all the same and don't assume that the roll is an "original" roll as transit companies rewrapped their tokens for easier distribution.

The child fare token you mention is a copper 20mm token (Atwood-Coffee MO 910I) that has a catalog value of $0.50 and is overpriced at that (more on that later). United Railways also issued two other copper 20mm regular fare tokens tokens that have a similar obverse without the Child designation on the center bar and with completely different reverses (A-C MO 910G & H) with catalog values of $0.25@. You simply have one of these pieces mistakenly mixed into a roll meant to contain child fare tokens. Since the three tokens are all the same size and fabric the mix up could easily occur during sorting.

Back in the mid-1980's(?) the late token & medal dealer Rich Hartzog of Illinois purchased all the United Railways tokens from the St. Louis transit authority as they were no longer being used and were just sitting in the vault. IIRC the transaction was for a million ++ total pieces at a fraction of a cent each. A large portion of the tokens were packaged in rolls which were stored in bags & boxes but the majority were loose in bags. It is not uncommon to still run into rolls of the dozen or so varieties of United Railways Of St. Louis transportation tokens.

jesbroken

Thanks guys. I have searched both google and ebay and not found any rolls listed now or lately. I'll try to sell the roll first if at all. I've only found a few on ebay asking $4.99 to $5.99 with ridiculous S/H fees, but didn't find any that have sold. Only one was without the child.
Jim

291fifth

@tokenpro said:
The logical approach is to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Just because tokens are in an unopened roll does not mean that they are all the same and don't assume that the roll is an "original" roll as transit companies rewrapped their tokens for easier distribution.

The child fare token you mention is a copper 20mm token (Atwood-Coffee MO 910I) that has a catalog value of $0.50 and is overpriced at that (more on that later). United Railways also issued two other copper 20mm regular fare tokens tokens that have a similar obverse without the Child designation on the center bar and with completely different reverses (A-C MO 910G & H) with catalog values of $0.25@. You simply have one of these pieces mistakenly mixed into a roll meant to contain child fare tokens. Since the three tokens are all the same size and fabric the mix up could easily occur during sorting.

Back in the mid-1980's(?) the late token & medal dealer Rich Hartzog of Illinois purchased all the United Railways tokens from the St. Louis transit authority as they were no longer being used and were just sitting in the vault. IIRC the transaction was for a million ++ total pieces at a fraction of a cent each. A large portion of the tokens were packaged in rolls which were stored in bags & boxes but the majority were loose in bags. It is not uncommon to still run into rolls of the dozen or so varieties of United Railways Of St. Louis transportation tokens.

It is amazing what you can learn on this forum!

CaptHenway

To me, the unopened roll is worth more than the tokens inside. Leave it.