I have an original token from the Lagrange Chicken ranch. I'm pretty sure it is an original as it was left to me from my grandfather that just recently passed away and he was of the wealthy known partying type in the 60s and 70s...One side is blank, and the other side has 1 chicken in the middle with a heart on either side of the chicken. Across the top it says "Chicken Ranch" and then"Texas" underneath that. Across the bottom it says "Good for one ride". I could post a picture if need be. I was just wondering if this coin has any monetary value and any advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks, John....Houston, TX
The odds of it being authentic are remote at best. There exist only a small handfull of real such pieces and only a few of each. These were made back in the early '70's by a California company and in about thirty differnt types. Most are bronze, incuse, uniface, and about 31 mm. I used to own a very extensive collection and only one was real but there were a few key fobs and the like that were authentic. I traded it off because it didn't fit in with the rest of my collections.
I also have a coin from the chicken Ranch. But the one I have has information on the reverse side. I have pictures if anyone want them. I am also trying to locate a price on this item.
I would like to see pics of your token if you have any. The "Ride" tokens are not listed in my 2003 reference book by David R. Whalen, "Cathouse Connection, Guide for Brothel Collectibles", but they do list some chips that are valued in the $5-9 range. These chips were made as prototypes (salesman samples), and only a handfull had been made. They have used metal drink tokens for a long time and sell many as souvenirs, going thru about 20,000/year. The Chicken Ranch is now located in Pahrump, Nevada after relocating there from La Grange, Texas. This is possibly the most famous Nevada brothel that is in operation, with the original (that later became the Chicken Ranch) opening in 1844 in La Grange. The Brothel got its name during the depression. No one had much money, so the Ranch decided to accept chickens as payment for.....mmmmmm.......favors. They had a lot of chickens and that's all I'm gonna say about that. Sheriff T.J. Flournoy, who was the La Grange sheriff for 27 years, under orders from the Texas Attorney General John Hill, closed down the Chicken Ranch in La Grange on August 1, 1973. I have some links for their chips, but I will not post them here. Interested persons can message me for them.
Texas Chicken Ranch not related to Nevada Chicken ranch I almost bought the Nevada Chicken Ranch a couple of years ago. I am sorry , but the Texas Chicken Ranch is in no way related to the Nevada Chicken ranch, The Texas Chicken ranch did not "move"to Nevada. The only connection the Nevada brothel has with the old Texas Ranch, is the owners of the Nevada brothel took the name of the Texas LaGrange ranch . and purchased a few of the memorabila items from the old Texas ranch. I know this becaseu i have been in contact with the Nevada Brothel Licencing Association, and a madam and also current owner of the Nevada ranch since I considered buying it at one time. The people who first bought the Nevada Chicken Ranch had nothing to do with he original Texas Ranch, the staff was not the same. The owners hav ben totally different. So I am sorry, but the notion of this Texas Ranch moving to Nevada is not true. If you want correct info on this contact the Nevada Brothel Licencing Assoiation, or just call the brothel and ask for a madam that has been there a long time. Or better yet, ask to speak to the owner. I decided against buying the Nevada business becasue of a too high price tag on the bussiness. -thanks, Markeymark, Texas
Fall, 1963, three college boys from Baylor University (good Baptist boys, by the way) made thier way to LaGrange . Everyone in town knew "when you under the railroad track, you've gone 1 road too far". It certainly wasn't a "ranch". More like an old Army barracks.................................................
I have one too I have a coin from the chicken ranch too and I am looking for a price. Mine has a chicken and a rooster on the front with a heart above them and says The chicken Ranch La Grange, Tex. on the other side it says good for all night with two hearts. i can email pictures if someone can help me determine a value. Thanks.
While looking for something else, I found a TAMS Journal that mentioned your Chicken Ranch token. The article indicated as far as can be ascertained, the La Grange Chicken Ranch never issued any tokens, and that the token you have was made after the Chicken Ranch closed in the mid '70s. These fantasy tokens typically sell for a couple of bucks on ebay.
If anyone was interested, the TAMS Journal was Volume 19, Number 5, Oct. 1979, Part 1, and the article was titled "Texas Fakes".
Chicken Ranch Coin Sorry it's been so long since I checked back to this thread! I checked back for a few weeks after I created it and had no responses, so here I am about a year later. My coin is bronze. It is larger in diameter than a standard 50 cent piece coin but only about 1/3 to 1/2 the thickness. It has on the back what looks like a seam down the middle( where two halves were melded together). Don't know if this helps, but I will get pictures on here this evening if I can figure out how to upload them to this site. If not, anyone that might be able to help with trying to figure out if it's authentic and help with an estimated value can give me their email address and I can send the pics there....Thanks so much to everyone for their input!
Chicken Ranch Token/Coin Hello everyone I'm back! lol I am the original starter of this thread and I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's input. I have checked back in here over the last few years and I have to say that this thread is one of the more informative, not to mention one of the very few, discussions that come up under this topic(try "Google" and you will see that we are at the very top of the list). I now have pictures and I hope that I can get them posted on here but here goes. One thing I wanted to point out that I did not make very clear in my original post is that my grandfather was known to visit the Chicken Ranch back in it's hey-day so I'm sure it came from there. He was a multi-millionaire twice in his life, a pioneer with several inventions in the oil industry and resided most of his life in Houston, TX. There were 2 tokens found after going through his belongings, one of which my brother has and I the other. Once again if anyone has any info on the subject after seeing these it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
More pics of the same coin, not as good... And by the way everyone we all know what the chicken ranch was! lol Doesn't everyone know Marvin Zindler, a local reporter here in Houston who has since passed, exposed the Ranch that led to its demise?
to Pool138 Pool, I have the same exact coin. It was given to my dad back in the early 80's by the widow of the doctor in La Grange who checked the girls weekly. I also met her and was at her home just before my dad went to visit her. I'm sure she passed away a number of years ago. The coin my dad gave me is the exact one you have pictured. Its the original token and quite a piece of Texas history. Many 'knockoffs' are floating around but yours is the real thing. Thanks for the pics. I keep mine on the shelf above my computer.