I picked these up recently and am looking for additional information. The standing liberty design paired with the Spanish legend struck me as odd. They appear to be silvered copper. Quarter sized. I found an auction listing for similar pieces that described these as slot machine tokens produced for use in Cuba, c1920. Does that attribution make sense? Is there any way to find out which casino or casinos was using these, and when?
It would appear that there is an old thread from 2017 regarding a similar token. Nonetheless, I couldn't gather much information regarding the subject. However, from what I was able to collect, a gaming token seems to be the most plausible attribution. The question of national origin seems rather murky as both your source and the old CT thread diverge on that aspect. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/standing-libertad-value-25-token-id-help-please.290453/
Yes, absolutely true! You would think because this is a proven fact, they would be worth more money, maybe someday!
Proven fact? I hope someone is filtering your internet searches... It seemed like a valid theory to me. But, with tokens, unless there's a travelogue or other corroborating evidence describing their use, most end up being perplexing mavericks.
Well it was proven enough for me! I'm not gonna go through all the trouble it took me to find in the first place, as it took me a long time to locate the information. It was posted by Sedgewick Coins, if you want to look it up.
The link I ran across years ago stated mostly the same thing as listed above. Sorry, I can't remember if it said slot machines or not. I tried to find the link but I couldn't find it! That said, I bet the above statement was taken from that link as there's not a lot of information on these tokens at all. And only a couple that mention Cuba. The only reason I know anything at all about them is because I had a couple that I sold a year or two ago. I like to know as much as I can about the tokens I'm selling, so my research ended with the 1920's link.
Hi. Just as we speak I’m working on an essay of these pieces. Few reliable sources are Rulau/Fuld (TAMS December 1972); L. B. Fauver (1992), and some hints in the out of press bulletin MacNeil’a Notes (1984,#2). I have identified at least 23 varieties of these, which are classified by most experts as “game counters”. No clue in the Spanish LIBERTAD legend. There are also some that imitate the flying eagle in the reverse of the SLQ. Although some people say it may be from Mexico, Cuba or elsewhere in Latin America, my theory is that they may originate in some southern border states, since several have reverse English denominations and legends. Jorge Crespo
