Who uses tokens?

[ARCADE5280]

I would really like to have some nice tokens for my game room after seeing the photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/petromyzon/sets/587315/  I would really like some custom ones but they are really pricey.

Who here uses token in their games?

Is it worth the "experience" to go to tokens?

Can you post images of the tokens that you are using? (other than the BYOAC and MAME ones).  Thanks.

[Stingray]

Mine look like this, except they're brass & not nickle.



I think I paid about $10 for a couple hundred of them. Even though every game I have could easily be set to free play, I still prefer pumping in the tokens. There's just something about the sound they make as they wind through the mech and crash land in the bucket.

-S

[Wade]

I use tokens only in my gameroom, for lots of reasons.  I didn't get expensive custom ones made, I just bought about 500 used ones for $15.

1) Games set on Tokens vs. Freeplay - lots of games don't have attract modes when on freeplay.  Some games don't have a freeplay setting at all!  And on Freeplay on a pinball machine, what tends to happen is people hit the start button several times and get a 4 player game started, and don't even know it.  Then they wonder why they have so many balls!  Kids do this especially.  Inevitably they walk off with the game still running.

2) Tokens vs. Quarters.  I'm not putting $100 in quarters out in my gameroom just so people can accidentally walk off with them.  Someone walks off with my cheap tokens, who cares?

3) Adding a token/quarter to a game to start up IS part of the arcade experience.  The coin-up sounds in some games are classic!

I just keep a bin full of tokens in a central location, and people just pick up a few as needed, or a pocket full if they are serious gamers.

Do it, you'll be glad.  I have a box full of quarter mechs so I can throw a couple in a game if I'm selling it.

Wade

[Clonedsheep]

where is a good place to find some good used cheap tokens?

[Wade]

Noice on the KLOV forums often sells them for a sweet price.

Wade

[Thenasty]

where is a good place to find some good used cheap tokens?

cheapest place....Well I get mine everytime I go to a place like Chucky Cheese, they usually give you tokens with purchase and I just keep it, then I walk around and see more in the machines, floor etc...The other place I go to is Sportworld, or any arcade and I just gathered the tokens I found and use that in my home machine. I have the "Ultimate All in one Coin Mech" so it does not matter what tokens is used, it will accpet it, and on top of that, if the player want to use there own coin (penny,dime,NIckle,Quarter) they can use that too. Check my page in the BYO Gadget for the "Ultimate All in one Coin Mech" to build yourself one.

[Stingray]

My mechs have all been converted with the nasty's method. Any coin that will fit through the slot will credit the game. Sadly the BYOAC tokens are too big to fit every machine that I own. I still wonder why they chose that size, they're completely incompatable with Midway coin doors.

-S

[Clonedsheep]

Weird idea but I was thinking of  putting up like 5, 10 or 20 bucks for a token exchange program. I would like my tokens assorted from different arcades from different parts of the world. I thought it would be kind of neat. Especially if we can use different sizes with The Nasty's plans. What do you guys think of this?

[Stingray]

I've considered this myself. I organised something similar on a car-related board that I'm a member of a couple years ago, only on that one we were exchanging license plates. That one was probably a lot less complicated though because most people just sent a plate from their region and I sent back one from mine. Obviously this gets a lot more complicated given that everyone involved would probably have a pretty large assortment of tokens to exchange. Not sure how to put it together. Any suggestions?

Maybe someone should start a new thread and see how much interest there is. The main forum, or everythine else would be better than arcade misc, because both get much more traffic than arcade misc.

-S

[peanut]

I like nasty's idea, but is there a way so it ONLY accepts your tokens, rather than everything? (I dont want my friends sticking pennies, dimes, etc in my arcade)

[psik0tik]

I went to an old arcade and just bought some off the owner. I think I payed like 20$ for 150

[Jon L.]

Old arcades may be the good choice - if you just buy little quantity and they would like to offer.

I know some China factories who are manufacturing tokens, but normally they will ask for a mimimum order quantity of several thousands for your designs.

[ARCADE5280]

Would it be better to modify my happ .25 coin mechs or just new token mechs? Opinions please.

Also...I found this link to get assorted arcade tokens:
http://www.wcsdeals.com/tokens_us/arcade.htm

I wonder if the namco tokens look anything like:
http://www.geocities.com/btokens/tokenN2.jpg

[Stingray]

If you've already got the mechs it only takes a few minutes to mod them.

-S

[ARCADE5280]

Thanks for the info.

[missioncontrol]

Santoro is doing a run of BYOAC 2006 tokens. He's taking pre-orders now.

the run of BYOAC 2005 were awesome

The run of the MAME tokens were great too

you may want to take a look at them....

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=41233.0

http://www.arcadetokens.com/html/2005_byoac_tokens.html

[peanut]

I thought most tokens were the same sizeas quarters, and the mechs in them weighed to see if they were quarters or not. Is it possible to mod the mechs to accept tokens only that are quarter sized?

[ARCADE5280]

I found some interesting .880" tokens.  Is this an uncommon size?

Is there any way to easily make my .25 happ coin mechs accept the .880" token?  I found the how-to for allowing the .984" tokens at: http://www.miavio.com/HappILMech.htm

[quarterback]

You can find random token lots on eBay and elsewhere on the www.

[ARCADE5280]

I found that the NAMCO arcade in London's County Hall has it's own exclusive currency - the Nam.  Any idea what these look like???

info> http://www.namcostation.co.uk/index.htm

[Wade]

where is a good place to find some good used cheap tokens?

cheapest place....Well I get mine everytime I go to a place like Chucky Cheese, they usually give you tokens with purchase and I just keep it, then I walk around and see more in the machines, floor etc...The other place I go to is Sportworld, or any arcade and I just gathered the tokens I found and use that in my home machine. I have the "Ultimate All in one Coin Mech" so it does not matter what tokens is used, it will accpet it, and on top of that, if the player want to use there own coin (penny,dime,NIckle,Quarter) they can use that too. Check my page in the BYO Gadget for the "Ultimate All in one Coin Mech" to build yourself one.

TheNasty,

   How is this cheap?  Places like CEC give a handful of tokens with a pizza.  Noice has sold me 500 tokens for $15 before, and I've seen him offer that up other times (once, with brand new, never circulated tokens).  It would take a heck of a lot of trips to CEC and a lot of pizzas, to get 500 tokens.

Wade

[ChadTower]

I've considered this myself. I organised something similar on a car-related board that I'm a member of a couple years ago, only on that one we were exchanging license plates. That one was probably a lot less complicated though because most people just sent a plate from their region and I sent back one from mine.

It's also illegal, you goit.

[Stingray]

I've considered this myself. I organised something similar on a car-related board that I'm a member of a couple years ago, only on that one we were exchanging license plates. That one was probably a lot less complicated though because most people just sent a plate from their region and I sent back one from mine.

It's also illegal, you goit.

How so? These were all expired plates, it's not like anyone was stealing ad trading current year stuff. There's no law against collecting and displaying them that I'm aware of and it's actually a very active sub-hobby among car guys.

-S

[ChadTower]

How so? These were all expired plates, it's not like anyone was stealing ad trading current year stuff. There's no law against collecting and displaying them that I'm aware of and it's actually a very active sub-hobby among car guys.

Plates are property of the state licensing registry (RMV, DMV, whatever it is called where you are).  They are not personal property.  They are not transferrable without proper paperwork.  Plates not being kept for usage reasons are supposed to be returned to the registry for either reassignment or destruction.

Sure, it's an active subhobby, but that doesn't make it legal.   The penalties are probably pretty damn small, though, unless you're trading recently active plates for fraudulent use.

[Stingray]

Plates are property of the state licensing registry (RMV, DMV, whatever it is called where you are).  They are not personal property.  They are not transferrable without proper paperwork.  Plates not being kept for usage reasons are supposed to be returned to the registry for either reassignment or destruction.

I think those laws vary from state to state. In OK the plate is assigned to the car not the car owner. In thoery that plate stays with the car for it's life, though in practice you can get a new one free every year. I've never once had anyone ask for an old plate back when being assigned a new one.

Possibly it may be illegal, but I can't imagine there being a very stiff penalty, I mean I've mailed US plates to there countrys several times. I told the folks at the post office what was in the packages every time and not once was I called on mailing state property out of the country. Maybe having plates on the wall of the garage is the car guy version of having a bunch of roms on your MAME system.

-S

[ChadTower]

In MA, and many states, it is registered to the car, but the car is registered to an individual, and thusly that individual is responsible for those plates.  In fact, they are charged excise tax on that car until the plates are returned, whether or not they still own the car.  I got a bill for excise tax two years after I sold a car once because I never turned the plates in and the buyer never registered the car.

[Stingray]

OK doesn't have any laws regarding plates being returned. I almost always get a new plate when I buy a car - for some reason I always buy a car with a really messed up looking plate. Never had anyone ask for the old one. Almost every car in every salvage I've ever been in still had the plates on it.

-S

[RayB]

In MA, and many states, it is registered to the car, but the car is registered to an individual, and thusly that individual is responsible for those plates.

[Stingray]

In MA, and many states, it is registered to the car, but the car is registered to an individual, and thusly that individual is responsible for those plates.  In fact, they are charged excise tax on that car until the plates are returned, whether or not they still own the car.  I got a bill for excise tax two years after I sold a car once because I never turned the plates in and the buyer never registered the car.

Sounds more like a clerical error than "the Law^TM"

Aren't you Canadian Ray? You're making the common mistake that those from outside the US often make. Underestimating the stupidity of the American legal system.

-S

[ChadTower]

Sounds more like a clerical error than "the Law^TM"

When I protested, I was told that I had to provide a bill of sale, signed and dated by the buyer, from the sale.  The problem was that the buyer never registered the car, and thus they had no circumstantial proof that I had sold it.  I had the bill of sale, but ended up paying the tax.  The bill was $13 and it was going to take me a couple hours to find a place where I could use the fax machine.