Does anyone collect Shell's aluminum tokens?

MrEureka

I bought a group of Presidential and State tokens. Should I eBay them or not even bother?

Rampage

I've got a handful of them, but I never did anything with them. Last I looked on eBay, they were a tough sell at $0.49. I'd give them away to kids at Halloweeen or something.

JamesMurray

I have complete set given out by Esso in the 70's showing every British football club , you'd think it would be worth something but ive seen complete sets on ebay for not worth the shipping prices. I decided to have it set in a frame for my young nephew instead.

Dentuck

I remember 15 years ago or so I bought a big bag of about 1,000 of them (maybe more). Mostly the presidential types. It was a neat little hoard! Weighed about a pound. lol. I had fun selling them on eBay in small lots --- not a moneymaker, but fun. They've got some charm, those tokens.

JamesMurray

<< <i>I've got a handful of them, but I never did anything with them. Last I looked on eBay, they were a tough sell at $0.49. I'd give them away to kids at Halloweeen or something. >>

Broadstruck

DBSTrader2

James:

Aren't there like a MILLION British football clubs in existence?! It sure SEEMS like it, because my younger son loves watching them on cable every chance he gets. I know he likes soccer, but I'm not sure whether he does it for the love of the game, or just to annoy me, since he flips from one sport to another the entire time he wrests control of the remote from me!! I'm looking forward to regaining control of my TV programming once he heads off to college in a year or so!!

How long did it take you to collect the full set?!

And how many clubs are (were) there back then, really?

- - Dave

Tassa

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<< <i>I've got a handful of them, but I never did anything with them. Last I looked on eBay, they were a tough sell at $0.49. I'd give them away to kids at Halloweeen or something. >>



>>

JamesMurray

Brilliant Broadstruck , thats funny

Dave , not quite a million , the set comprised of The Scottish 1st division sides and the English 1st division sides , this was before the days of any premier league and the 1st divisions were much larger as regards amount of sides in the divison.Theres a scattering of the bigger 2nd division sides from both leagues.There must be 100 , maybe 150 all in. Every time my Dad filled the tank he got a few of those and theres 5 of us brothers and we'd swap at school so it didnt take us long to complete sets.

cladking

I'd be quite surprised if they sell for much of anything. Of course you never know and they are
a tough collectible since finding duplicates becomes remarkably easy very soon after you start.
I've got about 150 different of the Shell and several hundred of the others and it's very unusual
to find a new one.

They are still quite common though not so ubiquitous as they once were. People don't realize just
how enormous the attrition is on things like this. In all these years I've never encountered anoth-
er collector who is even remotely serious about these. No doubt there are many thousands in col-
lections but very few attempting complete sets. It's probably impossible to complete some of these
sets like the Shell Mr President Coin Game because several of the pieces likely don't exist at all.

Things like this just get tossed in the garbage or allowed to degrade and then tossed in the garbage.
But there were tens of millions made and when you start with numbers like this even 5 or 10% ann-
ual attritions take a long time to make them tough. There are few enough left now that attrition is
likely decreasing because increasing percentages of survivors are in collections.

coindeuce

The only domestic aluminum advertising tokens I've ever seen amount to anything were the Presidents Series from Cracker Jacks that were prizes in boxes of the snack as early as 1933.

coinkat

I am at a loss for words- even words to write... but I will make an effort.

Keep them for now

MrEureka

The only domestic aluminum advertising tokens I've ever seen amount to anything were the Presidents Series from Cracker Jacks that were prizes in boxes of the snack as early as 1933.


I know some of the Chuck-e-Cheese tokens can push four figures, but I'm not sure if they're aluminum.

fivecents

<< <i>I know some of the Chuck-e-Cheese tokens can push four figures, but I'm not sure if they're aluminum >>

Wow...who would have known?

LanceNewmanOCC

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OldEastside

I'm not sure, but I recall James Madison as the one to get to win $5000.00 back in the late 60's

Steve

cladking

<< <i>The only domestic aluminum advertising tokens I've ever seen amount to anything were the Presidents Series from Cracker Jacks that were prizes in boxes of the snack as early as 1933. >>



These are very desirable because of the high attrition. Most collectors seek identifiable
sources and Cracker Jack is collected in its own right. This is a fun series because rarities
can be picked up for a dime or a quarter but are rarely found more than one or two at a
time. Many are degraded and a surprising percentage exhibit wear. There are five diff-
erent varieties which probably appear on all presidents. There is one that is stamped by
canceled dies and I've never even seen one of these. I believe they were issued to peo-
ple who redeemed an entire set for a prize.

There are much scarcer modern aluminum tokens and medals though. I don't know that
any will necessarily sell for much more though. There is a MN commem aluminum (1958)
medal that is in the HK book. This one isn't especially tough but gets a lot of attention.

I think that the shoe and soap aluminum will surprise people someday. The soap series
began in the late-'20's and ran through the mid-'40's and despite high mintages only one
or two are "common". There is a Mardi Gras soap token from the late '60's (I believe) that
is in great demand and could probably bring $100.

Aluminum just doesn't get much respect and most people treat it like trinkets or garbage.
Even aluminum coins never get any respect but in recent years prices on some of these
have been exploding.

Early aluminum was saved lightly but as time went by it became less and less valued and
less and less was saved.

nwcoast

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Thanks for the laugh folks!!!
That's the best laugh I've had in a long time!!!

cladking

There are a few other categories of tokens that are mostly aluminum. Besides good fors
in general there are also fast food, dairy, Reader's Digest, and alcohol. These tend to be
much more modern than soap and shoes. Fast food is '60's to '90's, dairy is '20's and '30's
but includes a wide range of dates. Reader's Digest is interesting since it is extensive and
includes a diverse range of material with aluminum being among the more substantial. Many
of these are remarkably common and some are rarely seen. "Alcohol tokens" have been made
for a very long time but many of those made since 1960 are aluminum. These are mostly adv-
ertising tokens with some being more commemmorative in nature (medals). There is an exten-
sive series of these made as Mardi Gras doubloons by Budweiser.

Except for rarities most of these can be acquired quite cheaply.

DBSTrader2

I always said that the Pres. $1 series reminded me of the Sunoco Presidential series from back in the 70's, only less attractive!

Maybe I should just use THOSE to complete my set!

- - Dave

CaptHenway

<< <i>I bought a group of Presidential and State tokens. Should I eBay them or not even bother? >>



They are good for weighting down garbage bags full of crushed aluminum cans going to the recycling center.

TwoSides2aCoin

<< <i>

<< <i>I bought a group of Presidential and State tokens. Should I eBay them or not even bother? >>


Send them to SGS for the perfect "70 grade". Then sell them on eBay.

291fifth

I'd classify those tokens as "valueless." The cost of selling them is likely to exceed the price realized.

In my own numismatic publisher medal collection (no Shell tokens) I would guess that as many as 75% are now "valueless." Even I don't collect them any more and it appears that no one else does either.

Klif50

I have been collecting Capitola Flour tokens for years. I grew up in the 50s and my grandmother always bought Capitola Flour (here in Georgia) and there was always one or two tokens in each bag. They were good for 5 cents in trade or for admission to a movie so I did a lot of commerce with them when younger. I have several hundred of both types since almost every collection in Georgia has one or two in them. I even have one of the fiber ones that is listed in the catalog of Georgia tokens and it's the only one of those I've ever seen but it has no listed value any where. I still pick them up here and there and don't mind paying a couple of dollars for them. Not a lot of variety in them but they are still neat and remind me of my youth. Dollar wise they'll never add up to much but I like them.

cladking

<< <i>I have been collecting Capitola Flour tokens for years. I grew up in the 50s and my grandmother always bought Capitola Flour (here in Georgia) and there was always one or two tokens in each bag. They were good for 5 cents in trade or for admission to a movie so I did a lot of commerce with them when younger. I have several hundred of both types since almost every collection in Georgia has one or two in them. I even have one of the fiber ones that is listed in the catalog of Georgia tokens and it's the only one of those I've ever seen but it has no listed value any where. I still pick them up here and there and don't mind paying a couple of dollars for them. Not a lot of variety in them but they are still neat and remind me of my youth. Dollar wise they'll never add up to much but I like them. >>



I like these but never heard of the fibre token.

There's another aluminum issue that gets no respect; US sales tax coins.

These actually are coins since they were issued by government and used as money. The fact
that they were being used as money is the reason that the Secret Service stopped their issuance
and usage in 1935. These were made of many materials with aluminum being the most common.

Interestingly these are almost all difficult to find in Uncirculated condition and choice coins tend to
be rare to unavailable. Gems are tough tough tough for the great majority of issues. None are
especially scarce in typical condition though many are not common. There are rare varieties.

saintguru

Esso! I have a set of bronze coins of cars from the early 20th century to the early 40's. They gave them out in the early 60's in aluminum and if you got a "special" one you could win a bronze or silver one.

koynekwest

<< <i>Esso! I have a set of bronze coins of cars from the early 20th century to the early 40's. They gave them out in the early 60's in aluminum and if you got a "special" one you could win a bronze or silver one. >>



I also have a bronze set as well as the same in the Presidential series. Makes for an attractive set but I believe I've seen them for sale for around $20.

pmac

<< <i>Esso! I have a set of bronze coins of cars from the early 20th century to the early 40's. They gave them out in the early 60's in aluminum and if you got a "special" one you could win a bronze or silver one. >>


Sainty's back!!

Dentuck

<< <i>I have been collecting Capitola Flour tokens for years. I grew up in the 50s and my grandmother always bought Capitola Flour (here in Georgia) and there was always one or two tokens in each bag. They were good for 5 cents in trade or for admission to a movie so I did a lot of commerce with them when younger. I have several hundred of both types since almost every collection in Georgia has one or two in them. I even have one of the fiber ones that is listed in the catalog of Georgia tokens and it's the only one of those I've ever seen but it has no listed value any where. I still pick them up here and there and don't mind paying a couple of dollars for them. Not a lot of variety in them but they are still neat and remind me of my youth. Dollar wise they'll never add up to much but I like them. >>




I bought one in a lot from an antique shop's liquidation in East Point, Georgia, about six years ago. It's pictured on page 34 of Katherine Jaeger's Guide Book of United States Tokens and Medals. (It's a movie-pass token, fiber, red.)

Klif50

That's the one, I've just never seen one sold or a good estimate on the worth. I know they are pretty scarce just from the lots I've looked through during the last 40 or 50 years. Would love to hear if one has ever made it to auction of if there was ever enough interest for one to sell that way.