I have these:
http://akimono.herokuapp.com/products/28500 tokens for $30 (.984 size)
They are made out of stainless steel (the non magnetic type), so they are silver in color.
They are reasonably nice for the money, but they do have a drawback in that they are a little thinner than standard tokens.
Because they are stainless instead of brass and a bit thinner, they are also a little lighter than standard tokens (approx 4g vs 4.5g).
I was a little concerned that they would be too light to work properly in a coin mech, but I just found out yesterday that they work perfectly in my newly-acquired coin door.
I'm kind of on the fence about them.
When I first received them a couple of years ago, I was going to return them because they were thinner than I was expecting. In fact, I thought I had returned them until my wife told me she had seen them in a closet a couple of days ago.
Now I have verified that they work in my mechs, I have warmed to them somewhat, and they'll do for now at least.
I feel your pain about the price of tokens nowadays.
About ten years ago when I lived in the UK, I bought a lot of 5,000 used (but excellent condition) mixed tokens for 50GBP (around $75).
They were mixed, but there were around 500-1,000 of each design, all nickel plated, and they were all real arcade tokens, no car wash etc.
I didn't need anywhere near that many, but I could only find huge lots, and they were so cheap I didn't mind.
Ended up throwing them in the trash when I emigrated. I wish I had kept at least a couple of hundred
