Exonumia: three interesting and fun encased coins

This trio of coins were all likely encased in the 1940s to 1950s.





Coin 1: "Stork Club Lucky Penny".

A 1945 Lincoln cent in an aluminum encasement. Though the coin is now brown and has the faintest whisper of rub on the high points, it was clearly an Uncirculated coin when encased, so I suppose we can date this piece to around the end of World War 2. The Stork Club was a Manhattan nightclub in New York City which operated from 1929 until 1965.


Coin 2: Rexall "Good Luck" token.

A 1953-D Wheat cent in an aluminum encasement with stock "KEEP ME AND NEVER GO BROKE" legend, and the horseshoe, four-leafed clover, and wishbone lucky symbols often seen on early- to mid-20th century Good Luck tokens. Again, the coin was clearly Uncirculated when encased, and still has traces of the original mint red around the obverse rims. This was a promotional item for "THE REXALL ONE CENT SALE", and that price and the condition of the encased coin no doubt places the token sometime around 1953. Rexall was an American drugstore chain which operated from 1920 until 1977.


Coin 3: American Museum of Atomic Energy "neutron irradiated" dime.

A 1946 silver dime in an aluminum shell with a clear plastic shield over the front, which displays the obverse of the coin. Encased circa late 1940s to early 1950s. Because of the uniface nature of these holders, it is impossible to determine if the encased coin had a mintmark or not. This piece of memorabilia dates to the dawn of the Atomic Age, when everything to do with atomic energy was popular. I believe the visitors to the museum provided their own dimes to be irradiated and encased. The radiation was harmless and there is likely little of it that would be detectable today except by a very sophisticated process. There is an excellent short article about these pieces here.


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Somebody followed the advice on that one, and carried it in their pocket for good luck, over a long time! Looks like they also holed it to put on their keychain or watch chain. I hope it worked out for them, and indeed brought luck.

 

I found one (also a silver Roosie) in a $3 pick bin at a show a little more than decade ago, which seemed like a pretty good price to me. They're a tad steeper than that nowadays, from what I've seen, but still quite affordable.

What did y'all typically sell 'em for?

 

That one's a beauty!

 

Wow. Never seen that type before. I note the similarity to my Rexall piece above, though you've got a smaller four-leafed clover and no wishbone.