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The Chip Board Archive 14

Cal-Neva Premium Tokens

As I understand the history, Phyllis, these were premiums dispensed by the slot machines in the late 1960's. There was an external mechanism that had a tube of these and one was ejected each time a jackpot was hit. They could be accumulated and traded for prizes like stuffed animals and things.

There are actually two versions of the token, one marked for Club Cal Neva in Reno and one that identifies both the Reno and Cal Neva Lodge at Tahoe. These places had common ownership for a while.

The tokens were made by Franklin mint. The sculptor was Barry Stanton. Each comes in several metals.

For the token shown on the left:
 

400,000 made in brass
1,580 made in bronze as proofs
2,161 made in sterling silver as proofs


For the token on the right:
 

10,160 made in brass
1,014 made in brass with proof-like finish
1,022 made in a silver-clad material as proofs


Both mint run brass versions are very common and you can often find them for a dollar or two
in antique shops.

The proofs are packaged in cards and are very difficult to find these days. I have only seen
two of the sterling tokens. None of the tokens were in the large annual gaming token sets sold to collectors but were sold as produced to FM collectors who subscribed to all the Special Private Issues (SPI) that the Mint made.












Messages In This Thread

grin Cal-Neva Token (side 1) ...
Re: grin Cal-Neva Token (side 2) ...
Cal-Neva Premium Tokens
grin Thanks, Don...

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