Does anyone know anything about these military tokens. My father gave me a couple of these that he had brought home from his time in Vietnam. He told me that they were 5 cent tokens from FOB-1's mess. Apparently that was a special forces compound on the DMZ during the Vietnam War and he served there. He told me that a he had recieved a roll of them as a gift from a Colonel he knew following a rescue mission he was on. Apparently, the Colonel offered him the roll of tokens for the slot machine and all the beer he could drink or a Silver Star for his role in the rescue (he took the beer and tokens :thumb: ). Anyway, I thought it was a neat story. He said that he figured that not many of the tokens were made. I doubt they have any actual value but they are special to me. Does anyone know anything about these tokens themselves (or has anyone even see one before)?
Your token is id # is Cunningham VN3620a (new id system) and Curto # SC382 (old id system). There are varieties of this particular token. The metal is brass, diameter is 21mm. FOB-1 indicates Forward Operating Base #1, 5th Special Forces. They were used on the Phu Bai Army Air Field. FOB-1 tokens were also used in Camp Red Cloud (Ui Jong Bu) Korea, although they were different tokens than what is displayed in your picture. Phu Bai also issued similar tokens in 10 cent (18mm) and 25 cent (24mm) denominations. The obverse is the "Green Beret" side. While none of the three denominations are extremely valuable, your 5 cent token listed for $6 in my 1998 reference. For comparison, the 10 cent token listed for $7 and the 25 cent token listed for $10. Sentimental value of your tokens - priceless. I hope you cherish those tokens as they deserve to be. No mintage figures were provided.
Wow, thanks for the info-that was just what I was looking for! I'm honestly suprised to see that it lists for as much as $6, I figured it would only be work a buck or two. Not that it matters anyway because like you said...the sentimental value makes it priceless to me. So, thanks for the info!
You are very welcome Richie, glad to be able to help. I have a treasured item from my father as well, something that I will always have.
That may explain the references to both the DMZ (which is the demilitarized zone separating the Republic of Korea from the People's Republic of Korea) and Viet Nam, in the original posting, which frankly had me very confused. Ui Jong Bu, a short distance north of Seoul, and quite a bit south of the DMZ itself, was 8th Army HQ in the mid-50s, following the truce. It's one of the few places I've been in the world to which I have zero desire to return.
If it is my post that is confusing you, I was refering to the DMZ that was located in Vietnam in the 1960s (at the 17th parallel). The line seperating the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from the (former) Republic of Vietnam was also refered to as a Demilitarized Zone (which I never completely understood-I always figured it should have been called a "Militarized Zone"). Anyway, FOB-1 was the HQ of the 5th special forces which is the unit my father served with. It is located about 18 miles South of the DMZ.
