It's been a little while since I've seriously added any new military trade tokens. I did pick up a couple Vietnam tokens before Christmas time and I "think" I posted them in the exonumia thread. As @longnine009 and @jello know I'm very interested in the Korean and Vietnam War. I've been looking to expand my Vietnam tokens as I feel they're poorly represented in my collection. So I was cruising the eBay and snagged a couple tokens. One of the great things about my collection focus is I can add to it for very small amounts of money. Seriously, the two tokens I'm posting here cost me less than a four pack of beer bought on the British economy. First up is this rough looking token from Kunsan Air Base (AB), Republic of Korea. KR1000a, Korea, Kunsan Air Base (K-8) Obv.: AIRMENS OPEN MESS / 5¢ / KUNSAN Rev.: (same) Brass, 20mm This token has seen far better days. I'm a little concerned about it and I bought it because it was so inexpensive and I don't have one from Kunsan and I was drinking a little. Maybe it can be cleaned up, maybe not. Just a couple quick tidbits about Kunsan AB: the Japanese first built a base there in 1938. In the 40s the U.S. Army operated out of it and with the end of WWII maintained a small presence. In 1950 when the North came south they took it. Well we took it back and the first Air Force unit to occupy it was 27th Fighter Escort Wing which was the direct descendant to my first Wing, the 27th Fighter Wing now the 27th Special Operations Wing. Kunsan AB currently flies F-16s and I have a friend stationed there, for his second tour in Korea. Moving to my Vietnam pick up... VN4150a/b*, Vietnam, Qui Nhon AB Obv.: QUI NHON MESS / ASSOCIATION Rev.: 5¢ Plated brass, 21mm, *two varieties exist "5" is 8mm or 9mm won't know until it's in hand. I actually have very little about this base. Built in 1966 and operated until 1975. More research needs to be done. Here are a couple other tokens thrown in for fun...
Here are two from my collection. I only collect (for now) tokens from Nha Trang and Tuy Hoa as that's where I was stationed.
I was hoping someone else would have something That Nha Trang is enviable! You said you were stationed there...curious...did you pick any of these from circulation?
Thanks Jwt. I was in Nha Trang from August 1969 to February 1970. These were not being used at that time. Same with Tuy Hoa, from February 1970 to August 1970. I have a dozen or so various Clubs and denominations. Paul Cummingham's book has been invaluable on collecting these.
I don't have the book handy right now but there is a book called "Vietnam Remembered" I think that is a catalog of all Vietnam War tokens, coupons, MPC...I has very good articles relevant to collecting and was published before Cunningham. Cunningham references it in his bibliography
Ray Bows has a couple of books that are very helpful in collecting Vietnam tokens. It wasn't till about 12 years after I left Vietnam that I learned about these tokens From Ray Bows) Didn't know they existed till then. Since then I have picked up a lot of different ones. (there were many). Still look for them but about all I see anymore are the common ones you see over and over. Most of the time at ridiculous prices. Iam surprised at how many Vets didn't know they existed while in country.
I have some from my dad's collection from Osan Korea. I'm assuming it's sentimental value? Some say 5 cents some 10.
If you can take pictures and possibly measurements in millimeters I can tell you a little more about them.
Here's an update: KR1050i*, Korea, Kwang-Ju Air Base (K-7) Obv.: KWANG-JU / NCOOM Rev.: 25¢ / IN TRADE (framed below) Aluminum, holed, *unlisted in Cunningham Seems like whenever I need my calipers I can't find them! This token is special to me because it's somewhere I've been! When I was stationed at Osan Air Base we went TDY (temporary duty) to Kwang-Ju. These days it's a small compound on a Korean Air Force training base; it has a couple dormitories, a chow hall, a theater, club, and outside the compound a gym and a convenience store. It was a fun little TDY. We went there for an exercise and were treated as follow on forces. Too bad this token is holed, but I'm just happy to have it. Also interesting that it's unlisted, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's a rare token. I've never seen one before or since in six years of collecting.
