New Tokens Review

[dalto]

In the rush leading up to the holidays I purchased quite a few tokens in addition to the ones that came with my machines. I bought 10,000 new tokens (to support my nine new Pachislo machines) from two different vendors on Ebay. I thought I would take a minute to do a brief review of each in the event that anyone else was planning on buying from either of these vendors.

The tokens I bought came from two different vendors. They were all purchased on ebay from Direct Gaming International (DGI) and slotsarcade4u. Throughout this post I will be comparing the tokens from the two different vendors.

Appearance
The tokens from DGI are almost red in color. They have a picture of a slot machine on one side and 777 on the other. Unfortunately, most of the tokens have small dark spot on them. They almost look like water stains.
The tokens from slotsarcade4u are a standard brass color. On both sides there is a slot machine with the words Fun Merchandise written over it. On the top of each side is the web URL for them. On one side on the bottom is a legal disclaimer and on the other side there is a phone number. They are very busy and look like a token shape advertisement.

Weight
When I picked up tokens it was obvious that the DGI tokens weighed significantly less than the other tokens. I weighed all the tokens on a postage scale and included the results. I have also included the used tokens I received from Stealth and Big Bear with my machines for reference.

DGI------>4.1 oz
slotsarcade4------>4.7 oz
Stealth------>4.4 oz
Big Bear------>4.7 oz

Playability
All the tokens play very well with all my machines(including my arcade cabinet). However, the tokens from slotarcade4u are very “square” on the edges. It gives them a natural tendency to form into a neat column in my hand when I pick them up. This makes them an absolute joy to play with as I spend less time getting tokes ready to load into the machine.

Price
The below chart pretty much says it all. Both of these prices are great prices at this quantity for new tokens.


DGI

Price $239.00

Shipping $39.00

Total $278.00

slotsarcade4u

Price $275.00

Shipping $36.98

Total $311.98

Overall
Since all the tokens I received worked well in all my machines I would have no qualms about recommending either of them to anyone. However, if you can past the billboard design of the brass slotsarcade4u tokens I would recommend these as my first choice despite their higher price tag. They are heavier, crisper and do not have the black spots that showed up on the DGI tokens.

Final Thoughts
First of all, let me say that 10,000 tokens is way to many for nine machines. I never found a time when anything like that many tokens were in use at the same time. Even with five of us playing and all nine machines having tokens in the hopper. Secondly, if I was to do this all over I would definitely buy all the tokens from one place so that they would match. Lastly, please keep in mind that used tokens can be had for mush less than this. I almost bought used tokens instead and I am still not sure if I made the right decision paying more for new.

[Tulsa]

Nice token breakdown. I think the best thing though is to use that auto-credit feature and totally reduce the need for such large quantities of tokens at the beginning.

[Chris V]

Nice token breakdown. I think the best thing though is to use that auto-credit feature and totally reduce the need for such large quantities of tokens at the beginning.

I disagree with this statement. I set most of my machines to pay out at ~100% and I hate it when I need to open a machine to put more tokens in during a bonus round. Having the machine payout from it's hopper store make me feel like I actually won that many. There are always going to be cases where you are going to have to add tokens to the hopper for example the other day I was playing destroyer and got into a D-Rush Frenzy. When I was done I was payed out over 2500 tokens and there is no hopper that I know that can hold 2500 tokens naturally.

JMO

Chris

[websherpa]

When I bought my first machine (Hanabi Hyakkei) it came with tokens and I bought extra, they were new Japanese tokens from parlours in Japan. They are silver and I thought they were great! They were minted for many different parlours so exploring these was like an adventure in itself. Some even seem oriented towards children, the designs are playful.

Assuming all tokens were like this I ordered some more and received new "gold" brass tokens. I learned that these were new and minted in North America, with eagles and "No Cash Value" stamped on them. They can be sourced from many places across North America. They're only tokens, and the brass colour is nice, but I personally prefer the authentic Japanese Parlour tokens.

Maybe it's because I had them first, but the silver Japanese parlour tokens add more to the whole Japanese aesthetic for me, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy more of them.

[azlew]

I disagree with this statement. I set most of my machines to pay out at ~100% and I hate it when I need to open a machine to put more tokens in during a bonus round. Having the machine payout from it's hopper store make me feel like I actually won that many. There are always going to be cases where you are going to have to add tokens to the hopper for example the other day I was playing destroyer and got into a D-Rush Frenzy. When I was done I was payed out over 2500 tokens and there is no hopper that I know that can hold 2500 tokens naturally.

JMO

Chris

WELL STATED !!!

[alstonj1]

the tokens you got from dgi sound like the ones i got earlier this year mine are a copper - red color and have the slot machine on them also and your right their a lot lighter than my silver tokens from gaku .but the problem i discovered over time is 2 fold the tokens from dgi got a dirty film feeling on them as you played with them the silver ones didn't the feeling was like that of old penny's and not a good feeling either made you want to wash your hands ..... i eventually separated the 2 types and bought more silver tokens
so i took the copper colored ones and put them in my American slot machines that takes quarters or tokens as i see fit to put in the coin comparator . the copper tokens where lighter so they had a tendency to jam in the industrial hopper in these 2 behemoths also the metal is a clad type like a penny and is to easy to damage which is what was causing the jam ups .
as soon as i put in the old stand by silver tokens the jams disappeared .... in short i don't recommend this type of token their too soft and don't feel very good over time i don't think you'll like them unless your one of the Felix Ungers on the board and like cleaning your tokens weekly .....

[Tulsa]

I disagree with this statement. I set most of my machines to pay out at ~100% and I hate it when I need to open a machine to put more tokens in during a bonus round. Having the machine payout from it's hopper store make me feel like I actually won that many. There are always going to be cases where you are going to have to add tokens to the hopper for example the other day I was playing destroyer and got into a D-Rush Frenzy. When I was done I was payed out over 2500 tokens and there is no hopper that I know that can hold 2500 tokens naturally.

JMO

Chris

Disagree all you like it doesn't make it any less true. I stated it would reduce the need, not eliminate it. With this modification you do not need as many tokens to effectively play as you do without it. Pure and simple. The machine still pays from the hopper with this modification. You just don't need a pile in front of you to load. Now you factor in that the average front token tray can only hold about 300 to 400 tokens, having 500 in your machine causes it to play quite nicely. Now your preferences may vary but that has nothing at all to do with my statement.

[steam furnace]

I bought my machine from dgi and my initial tokens, obviously were from them as well. I purchased an additional 500 from them a couple months ago, and they were identical to my initial batch; clean and copper colored with the slot on one side and the 777 on the other. Mine were not discolored in any way; and they haven't developed a film on them or jammed yet in my King Camel.

[luckydog]

Milt's brass tokens are the best, but being a coin collector I really like the original Japanese tokens.

I keep the different styles seperate and have about 1,000 in each machine.

[slotter]

Dalto, I'm confused on the weight of your tokens. How many tokens were you weighing to come up with the above ounce amounts? My silver tokens from a parlor weigh in at 5.2 grams each or in ounces it would take 25 or so to come up with your above figures.

My fav tokens are the bi-metal type but they don't work well in all my machines because they are ever so slightly thicker around the edge. They are slightly heavier, as well, at 5.4 grams each.

avatarcoin.jpg

[dalto]

Dalto, I'm confused on the weight of your tokens. How many tokens were you weighing to come up with the above ounce amounts? My silver tokens from a parlor weigh in at 5.2 grams each or in ounces it would take 25 or so to come up with your above figures.

My fav tokens are the bi-metal type but they don't work well in all my machines because they are ever so slightly thicker around the edge. They are slightly heavier, as well, at 5.4 grams each.

avatarcoin.jpg

Sorry, those weights are per 25. There was a table with headers that said that in the original review and the table got messed up when I pasted it in so I removed the headers and forgot to mention the quantities.

[slotter]

I forgot to comment on the number of tokens needed per machine. IMO, ff you are not going the auto-credit route, you need approximately 1200 tokens for each machine to play comfortably and not have to continually refill the hoppers or move tokens from machine to machine. Therefore, your 10,000 tokens for nine machines seems to be an OK amount.

[slotter]

Sorry, those weights are per 25. There was a table with headers that said that in the original review and the table got messed up when I pasted it in so I removed the headers and forgot to mention the quantities.

FYI, for 25 tokens, my used silver parlor tokens weigh in at 4.59 ounces for 25 and the bi-metals weigh in at 4.81 for 25. I used a sample of 300 tokens of each type and converted the grams on the scale to ounces.

[dalto]

I forgot to comment on the number of tokens needed per machine. IMO, ff you are not going the auto-credit route, you need approximately 1200 tokens for each machine to play comfortably and not have to continually refill the hoppers or move tokens from machine to machine. Therefore, your 10,000 tokens for nine machines seems to be an OK amount.

I would agree that 1200-1500 is a good number for a single machine. However, what I'm seeing in my own house is that as you add machines you need less tokens for each machine. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. The biggest one is how full the hoppers get. When you are playing a single machine inevitably you go for a while without a payout and there are a lot of tokens in the hopper. However, the more machines you have going at once tend to average out how many tokens are in the hoppers. They are never all full to the brim at the same time. Also, proximity makes a difference. If you are playing one machine alone you tend to want to have a good size reserve of tokens on hand. Something in the 500-750 range. However, when more than one person is playing in reasonable proximity they tend to share a larger store of tokens and 500-750 still seems to the right amount.

[Lazarus]

The copper colored tokens from DGI will get water spots on them if they get wet and they stay wet for a time. I liked them at first because they were new and I could get enough to keep all one kind in a machine. Now the water spot problem makes them not look to good. I don't have to much problems with them jamming. The last time I got tokens they were from Seven Mile slots. A box of 5000. Used from Japan. All different kinds. I like them a lot and they were a little over 200.00 for them.

[alstonj1]

i have mixed silver used in mine also . love picking them up while playing and examining the different logos on them never fail to find a new one i didn't notice before (maybe their multiplying in that warm dark cabinet ?????)

[chaz70]

Remember, some machines like Sinbad Adv hold a massive amount of tokens. Others, like Super Black Jack don't hold a lot at all.

[wolfsblood]

I have some of the copper ones from DGI and they looked great at first, but when they get sweat from your fingers on them, they tend to tarnish rather quickly and look beat. I prefer the Japanese silver ones better because they look better in my opinion and have a better feel and weight about them. Also I must say though the DGI ones have never caused any jams or problems that way in the machines I was using them in.

[dishpan]

Occasionally I've had problems with the used silver tokens jamming in the speed loader of one of my machines. A minor inconvenience after which I then remove that token and toss it.

I've yet to have a problem with any of Milt's freshly minted coins.

No hopper jams yet ... touch wood.

Thanks for the review dalto.

[dattia]

Copper tokens...I feel your pain....my tokens are silver, BUT I have a Mexican hammered copper sink and fixtures in my bathroom. Unfortunately for me, I prefer the shiny new look to the aged patina...what a pain in the arse!!!!