2004 BYOAC Tokens SOLD OUT!!!

[Stingray]

Ooh, sounds like we're getting close to getting some tokens!

-S

[Santoro]

WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!

The Brass Tokens have arrived at my house!!!!

Unfortunatley I am far, far away from my house in a drab building on Wall Street

My wife says they came out really well!  

I should be home at 6:30PM EST.  I will post pics the minute I get home and I imagine most/all of the brass-only orders will go out this week.  

Thanks for your patience. I know it took much longer than we had hoped to actually get the tokens.

[bdsjake]

Santoro, are you still taking orders?  I'm a bit of a procrastinator...

thanks,

[Chris]

I should be home at 6:30PM EST.  I will post pics the minute I get home and I imagine most/all of the brass-only orders will go out this week.  

It's 7:30... do you know where your tokens are?  

[Zakk]

I have this strange feeling that he may be rolling around naked on a big pile of shiny brass tokens!

(Sorry couldn't resist)  

[Santoro]

All right, hold your water...  

Here are the pics.

From the digicam:
Hi-res: http://www.arcadereplay.com/images/brass-cam.gif  (Huge File)

Low-res:

[Santoro]

From the scanner:  (again funky looking for some reason.)

http://www.arcadereplay.com/images/scannedbrass.gif (Huge File)

I am slightly annoyed that the forgot the dentils on Chris's side. (This despite a form letter I got with the lead proofs that the border will be completed when the coins are minted.  When Pixel and I were on the phone the engraver indicated that the dentils would be 'part of the border.'

I still think they look really good.  I will also resize the pics for those of us that are bandwidth-challenged.

{edit: and I will get a clearer shot of the happy guy side.)

Dave

[Santoro]

Tripods rule

[Santoro]

I'm having a MAME party on July 30th, any chance I'll have my tokens by then?

I am sure you will get them, barring some weird circumstance.  As for US shipping, I did an average cost assuming some people ordered multi-sets, so I can't offer a shipping discount.  Sorry.

[Santoro]

GOLD!!!!

[Santoro]

Almost an hour from the first pics and nothing from the peanut gallery?

[Santoro]

I have this strange feeling that he may be rolling around naked on a big pile of shiny brass tokens!

Hey, how did you guess?

Actually I got out of work late - today of all days.

[Chris]

Almost an hour from the first pics and nothing from the peanut gallery?

I was sitting here waiting for the pics for a couple hours... I finally had to leave for the pharmacy apparently minutes before you posted the pics!

I am also a bit disappointed at the lack of dentils... it's not that dentils are so spectacular, but the spacing of the text looks completely wrong without them.  And since the dentils are part of the collar, they would not have been on your proof and there was no way for you to catch their error.

That said, they still look great, and I am looking forward to them!  Very nice!

You should modify the first post of this thread to include actual photos instead of mockups...

--Chris

[Santoro]

You should modify the first post of this thread to include actual photos instead of mockups...

I will tomorrow, I really want to get better photos first.

[Chris]

I will tomorrow, I really want to get better photos first.  

Heh... it's really hard to get nice pics of shiny objects, isn't it?  

Set them up under bright light and disable your flash.  Don't take them at too much of an angle or the far side will be out of focus....

--Chris

[GadgetGeek]

At least let Tokens Direct know that you are upset about the missing dentils.  Maybe they will give you a new set or maybe a price break.  Can't hurt to ask.
Regardless, I'm pretty excited.
Edited to add...
The more I look at the pictures, the more I'm convinced that stippling was the right thing to do.

[Santoro]

At least let Tokens Direct know that you are upset about the missing dentils.  Maybe they will give you a new set or maybe a price break.  Can't hurt to ask.
Regardless, I'm pretty excited.
Edited to add...
The more I look at the pictures, the more I'm convinced that stippling was the right thing to do.

I am going to call them tomorrow.  We'll see.

As for the stippling, I agree.

[MinerAl]

Fantastic.

[patrickl]

At least let Tokens Direct know that you are upset about the missing dentils.  Maybe they will give you a new set or maybe a price break.  Can't hurt to ask.
Regardless, I'm pretty excited.
Edited to add...
The more I look at the pictures, the more I'm convinced that stippling was the right thing to do.

I am going to call them tomorrow.  We'll see.

As for the stippling, I agree.

Really? I hope it is the bad pictures that make the stippling look so bad then. It looks like the atomic artwork is sinking in the mud. It's hard to even make out the electron trails.

Odd that they would forget the dentils. Now the design is changed to have the dentils and then there are no dentils    Allthough I feel it does make the design look cleaner when you have some extra white (or is that brass?) space.

Anyway, good to see they are there.

[Santoro]

Really? I hope it is the bad pictures that make the stippling look so bad then. It looks like the atomic artwork is sinking in the mud. It's hard to even make out the electron trails

No, in person it makes all the difference.  It is impossible for an amateur to take good pictures of these things.

Dave

[Chris]

Really? I hope it is the bad pictures that make the stippling look so bad then. It looks like the atomic artwork is sinking in the mud. It's hard to even make out the electron trails.

I was a bit worried about that myself, but I'll take Santoro's word that they look good in person.  We lowered the depth of the electron trails to make the electrons stand out more, and I don't think we were thinking of how close they would be to the stippling...

On a side note, my daughter saw the token and asked, "Why are there two electrons on each orbit?  Shouldn't there only be one?"  She just turned ten.  TEN.  I'm so proud... <sniff>

Odd that they would forget the dentils. Now the design is changed to have the dentils and then there are no dentils    Allthough I feel it does make the design look cleaner when you have some extra white (or is that brass?) space.

The extra space isn't horrible, but if they would have said we couldn't have dentils I would have moved the text a bit farther from the circle.

It's worth noting, however, that I've looked at a lot of arcade tokens lately... I have several at home.  None are as complex or as detailed as ours, and ours looks much sharper!  The guys at TokensDirect really did a bang-up job on these; they're far better than the Hoffman Mint ones many arcades use, and a bit sharper than the Roger Williams Mint.  I am very impressed, and that's from the photos; as Santoro says, I'm sure they're even better in person.

--Chris

[Santoro]

Hey, personal opinion still counts.  Patrickl might still hate the stippling when he gets his tokens.  My point was just that some of the pictures do make it look somewhat ugly, when in person I think:

1) it looks nice
2) it looks more like real coinage somehow because of the added detail.  These are almost as detailed as NYC subway tokens used to be. (look at the tokens below and how boringly simple they are!)
3) the stippling brings out the graphic elements and makes them more prominent than they would be if they were against an identical background.

It's all personal preference, however.  Some might not like it in the end.

[oh , and our stippling is much more subtle than that shown below.]

[Santoro]

OK, only one more photo, I promise.  This partial photo shows best how the stipple looks in real life.

[snekse]

i really don't need as many as 200 (they're just for operating my only cab) - can't you really send less? Why not lots of 50 or 100 as well?

I agree.  I *really* have no need for 200 tokens, but I'd be willing to pay a higher per coin amount for smaller lot sizes.  Something like $12 for 50 - $20 for 100 + shipping of course.  

I don't have a machine yet, so justifying 200 tokens is a little hard :-)

[Santoro]

i really don't need as many as 200 (they're just for operating my only cab) - can't you really send less? Why not lots of 50 or 100 as well?

I agree.  I *really* have no need for 200 tokens, but I'd be willing to pay a higher per coin amount for smaller lot sizes.  Something like $12 for 50 - $20 for 100 + shipping of course.  

I don't have a machine yet, so justifying 200 tokens is a little hard :-)

I hear you guys, but I don't really like the idea of 50 because there is a very small and specialized market here, and it will take forever to sell these if everyone was able to buy 50.  

I am toying with the idea of 10-lots though.  Those that buy ten are buying for souvenir value, not for cab use and probably wouldn't have bought any 200 lots anyway.  No problem there.  

Trust me though 200 isn't a lot of tokens.  200 tokens (in a baggie) fit in my hand!  

[Chris]

Santoro, why don'y you put 50 in a bag, 200 in a bag and 400 in a bag and take a picture so people can visualize the size of a batch?  I ordered 400... I could easily see my daughter and her friends plowing through 200, and I don't want to be constantly emptying the coin door.  (I can also see my daughter and her friends pocketing oner here and there, playing with them, etc., so I wanted to be prepared for attrition.)

A bag of 200 costs less than an IPac, doesn't it?  

--Chris

[Santoro]

Santoro, why don'y you put 50 in a bag, 200 in a bag and 400 in a bag and take a picture so people can visualize the size of a batch?  I ordered 400... I could easily see my daughter and her friends plowing through 200, and I don't want to be constantly emptying the coin door.  (I can also see my daughter and her friends pocketing oner here and there, playing with them, etc., so I wanted to be prepared for attrition.)

A bag of 200 costs less than an IPac, doesn't it?  

--Chris

Great idea, look for it tomorrow.

[JustMichael]

So when does the shipping commence?  I can hardly wait...  

[Santoro]

So when does the shipping commence?  I can hardly wait...  

The Brass-only orders went out yesterday!  Shipping will probably start Friday or Saturday for the rest on a first-in first-out basis.

[monkeybomb]

My cab doesn't use tokens, but I would love a lot of ten.  I'd also be happy with just one silver and one brass.  But that won't move tokens very quickly.

[KevSteele]

If you want a "sampler" of ten tokens, I'm going to be giving away 5 sets of 10 brass BYOAC tokens each day this week as part of the RetroBlast giveaways (you'll also get a MAME bumper sticker):

http://retroblast.com

I'm also planning on including some tokens with each of the other prizes I ship out.

Kevin

[sirwoogie]

So when does the shipping commence?  I can hardly wait...  

The Brass-only orders went out yesterday!  Shipping will probably start Friday or Saturday for the rest on a first-in first-out basis.

How about orders that were half and half? Are you shipping them seperatly or together?

[Santoro]

Those will go out when the Nickel tokens arrive.  I didn't price 2x shipping into my prices.

Dave

[Santoro]

FYI.  Shipping has been raised by $1.25 for future US orders.  A much larger proportion of my orders were coming from distant western states than I had imagined originally.  This increase is reflected in the first post.  Those who ordered before today are OK.

[KevSteele]

Just got the tokens today:



It is indeed hard to get a good shot of these bright, shiny objects!

They look great!
(Look for a 100% larger review on RetroBlast: "They Look Really, Really, Really Great!")  

Kevin

[Chris]

Just got the tokens today:



It is indeed hard to get a good shot of these bright, shiny objects!

They look great!
(Look for a 100% larger review on RetroBlast: "They Look Really, Really, Really Great!")  

Kevin

What... no video review?  

[KevSteele]

What... no video review?  

Don't tempt me...

Kevin

[Chris]

You need to do a jukebox review... after I finish DOSCab/WinCab 3.0, of course...

[jerrydel]

Wow, I just received my tokens today, They look great!!!

I want to thank everyone involved in this project, you guys did a fantastic job, extra special thanks go to Santoro for keeping everything organized and keeping the project on track!


Okay, now how about those MAME coins!!!!!


JerryDel

[patrickl]

Wow that was fast, I've got mine already. Sometimes transatlantic shipping can be quite fast  

I have to agree that the stippling is not so bad when you look at the actual coin, but still I think I'd rather have at least the BYOAC side without the stippling   (it's a bit cluttered now)

Also, it seems the player 1 guy on the BYOAC side shouldn't have had seperate arms and legs. The details are apparently too small for the mint (at least for negative imprints). Might be something to keep in mind in a future run. I'm amazed about the detail in these coins though. It's impressive that the artists' initials can be read so easily.

Anyway these coins are amazingly cool. Everyone seem to think I'm a dork for having "my own" coins, but hey, they must just be jealous    Thanks a lot for all the hard work!