Hello! I'm off work today and decided to take a couple token photos. I'm not proud of any of them because I'm having a hard time controlling my light and getting the colors right. Oh well. I'll come back to them later. I'm not really in the mood to research the base right now but Chanute AFB, located in Illinois, used to be a training base with a long legacy going back to 1917. In 1988 it was recommended for closure and shut it's doors in 1993. I think just about any enlisted active duty who trained there are out by now...or will be soon. IL20b, 28mm, MW 7/70, 1000 & 3/71, 1000 IL20d, 22mm, MW 6000 total 1969 - 1972 IL30, 39mm, antiqued IL31, 39mm, antiqued, unlisted This last one is not a trade token but just some kind of token that goes along with the series. It is my opinion that who ever made it had knowledge of the previous anniversary tokens as design elements from both can be seen. I also feel the '87 token is much cruder. It makes me think that by this year that Chanute was no longer on the trade token system. I feel like they should have done something with the reverse. Below is the sellers picture.
I love that you collect and catalog your tokens with all the zeal and dedication that you do ancient coins. In my opinion, both fields deserve some ink spilled on their behalf.
Aw well thanks Ardatirion! I really can't agree more! My poor tokens need more attention...maybe...don't want too much competition!
Keep up the great work. Coincidentally, I have a niche collection of US tokens, too. I started off trying to acquire pieces from places I have lived – my hometown, Belleville, NJ; my college town, Wooster, OH; and my current residence, Lancaster, PA. I was expecting to find a few good-fors from Belleville, so imagine my surprise when I found that Hard Times tokens were not only produced for local merchants, but actually struck in town! I soon came to find out that the third most productive manufacturer of HTTs was located just about a mile or two from where I grew up. Link: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=4970 As a side note, it's really fantastic having so many literary sources to work with. With the Roman lead that I usually collect, there's only a few oblique references in one or two of Martial's epigrams. I love having newspapers, case files, and government reports to work with!
I once scored a cool pool hall token from the town I grew up in. When I collected U.S. I sort of came across these types of tokens and at first I wanted bases I had been stationed at...well it turns out a couple of those are very rare. Anyway, things just snowballed and I joined the Dark Side.
