Brothel Tokens - real or fantasy?

Where there ever any real brothel tokens? There are tons of fakes out there (I even bought a bag of them off of eBay a while ago and handed them out as souvenirs at my bachelor party).



But, I was wondering - where there any brothels that issued tokens? And, is there a catalog of them? This is one of the few I've come across that seems credible - a token from Cuba:



There were other countries were prostitution was legal and closely regulated (I'm thinking primarily of Argentina). Did any issue government tokens? Or have particularly large / organized brothels that issued their own 'currency'?

 

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Yes.

 

Yes, there were quite a few legitimate brothel tokens issued, particularly in Nevada. One of the most well-known is (was) the Mustang Ranch near Reno, NV. At one time, it was even listed on the NYSE. The only caution I can offer if you're interested in brothel tokens from the Las Vegas area is that prostitution is illegal within the city limits, so the establishment would have to be located in the county rather than the city.

Chris

 

awesome! I want some!

 

I am aware that there were legit establishments, but did they produce tokens? If so, who were the issuers, which are most common, and what was the ratio of exchange?

Were most produced as souvenirs or for actual use?

 

And, while I believe many of the modern brothels offer silver rounds, were any tokens produced and used prior to 1930 (which is when I think the last American red light district was shut down)?

Here's a merchant token (found on eBay) for 50c in 'adult merchandise'. I would presume that this was issued before 1960, but it may be more recent than that:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/380446528337

(in case this thread is viewed 6 months from now, it is an silver/aluminum colored token with one side labeled: "Good for 50c in merchandise" and the other "Offering the Finest in Adult Material - E-WAP".)

 

And here's a token listed as a "French Brothel Token":
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110896839239

 

Most are fantasy or souvenirs. There is a web site ( Adult material) that has a link to a 2007 book on the subject of Brothel tokens, and other info. You can find it by google searching the subject. It is info only site, not a seller.

I do not want any links to the site in any Cointalk thread. Thanks!

Jim

 

Does the Holabird Guide to Pioneer Tokens discuss any material that would fall in this category? I don't have a copy, but am thinking about picking one up:
http://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Pi...9897951&sr=8-1&keywords=holabird+guide+saloon

 

Thalia's in SF was real. When they started to clean
up the district they pretended to be a coffee house
and issued tokens as a coffee house.

There's quite a few brothel casino chips
too issued as advertising.

 

What do you make of the Stiffhorn Saloon Tokens from Killeen Texas? Modern fantasy pieces or the genuine article?

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1872-stiffhorn-saloon-killeen-tx-110628185

 

I'm not sure who your asking. If it's me I take the view that most brothels
are as legit as US Trade Dollars from Shanghai. But I also don't think
it matters at this point. Fantasy brothels and nations are IMO fun
without the "shall we play a game" grading or counterfeits.
I don't worry whether the fantasy nation island is real.
It's not. It's probably a peeble in someone bird bath.
But if it has a funny story or funny names or a Galt's
Gultch theme I'll buy that sucker in a NY second. It's
the same with brothels. If you like it and can buy it as a
fantasy piece, I don't see what is wrong with that. This
stuff is suppose to be about enjoyment not a second job.

 

Actually it's illegal in the county (Clark) as well. Washoe County also outlawed it (Reno).

 

A nice sidebar to brothels would be Sarsaparilla tokens. :devil:
Oh, and soap tokens. They did have soap back then
didn't they? Oooh, now there's a appealing visual.

 

Well, I guess what I'm wondering is whether it was made in 1872 and has a scarcity associated with that or whether they're still being made in somebody's garage and sold in Killeen today.

 

I doubt it. It says that it's a katie reproduction.

 

There is somthing that always bothered me about brothel
tokens. Why would anyone issue them at all? I'm sure the
cowboys could figure out where to go.

 

If you are talking about US tokens good for "services", then no there aren't. There are some for Brothels in other countries. Now some of the US Brothels also had a bar or saloon associated with them and some of the brothel saloons did have tokens. So there are US Brothel tokens but they are good for a drink at the bar.

 

Tokens & the like existed for several different reasons.

1) The seller of the token (the madame, the saloon keeper, or whoever managed the place) could take their cut. IE; selling the token for $5 and redeeming it for $4.

2) Ditto - but so that a government agency could collect a tax.

3) To avoid laws that criminalized providing sex for money. The tokens weren't money... so, the sex wasn't "sold".

4) So that the tokens could be given to someone as a gift, with a directly intended use. I can just picture a ranch boss paying these out so that his cowboys would only patronize a "clean" establishment.

5) They could be sold at a discount in batches. That way, the sale was booked upfront and if any were lost before being redeemed, then that was pure profit. Kind of like store branded gift cards today.

I'm probably missing some other reasons that tokens would be issued. Any occur to you?

 

I remember now in Captains & Kings
Joseph's boss-the guy who left him
the empire-gave him a brothel token.