Sales Tax Receipt Token

fbjr

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Apr 13, 2007
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Eddie Lomax

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May 10, 2008
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fbjr said:
Can anyone help date this and let me know if there is any value to this token I found ? It's a Missouri sales tax receipt token that I found here in upstate NY. Not sure how it ended up here and it has me curious. Both sides look the the same. Thanks for looking !

Really great pics. That's what is known as an "invisible token."
 

OP
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fbjr

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lol, sorry.... you hit it right on the nose ;D
 

Eddie Lomax

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I found a 5 cent one in South Carolina. These must be one of the most common tokens out there because I've seen them posted on here numerous times.
 

Mackaydon

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Another onliners response to the same Q. a couple of years ago:
"You have a Depression era tax token. It is from the 1930's and some states mostly western used them. Sales taxes were new and very low sometimes it figured out to less than a cent. They used the mil denomination for it was less than a cent, 100 to a cent I believe. Sales tax tokens are worth around a $1 each. Most states stopped using them after a few years as times got better and prices started to rise ."
Don....
 

Mackaydon

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and another response:
First produced in 1935, sales tax tokens were used to make change for sales tax paid. Missouri was one of only 12 states to employ this practice. After a few years, both retailers and the public found their use to be too much trouble, and they were discontinued.
 

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fbjr

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Apr 13, 2007
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interesting, thanks for the info !!
 

idahotokens

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Don--a mill was 1/10¢, so ten to the cent. These tokens were used in areas where they didn't use the bracketing techniques commonly used today (i.e. 1-15¢ sale = 1¢ tax, 16-30¢ sale = 2¢ tax, etc.). Back then a 5¢ sale meant maybe a 2/10¢ tax, so it cost the consumer 6¢ and s/he got back 8 mills in tokens. That's why so many of them were required, and since they weren't worth a lot and were a cheap souvenir, tourists carried them home, thus scattering them all over the U. S. of A.
John in the 208
 

Magicmantx

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Old thread but I actually dug one of these today . ATP hit 76 @ 8" pretty cool find for me . Oldest thing I've found yet
 

Jason in Enid

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Old thread but I actually dug one of these today . ATP hit 76 @ 8" pretty cool find for me . Oldest thing I've found yet


Congrats on finding one. They are really pretty cool to collect. Every state had different designs and differnt denominations were different still. In Oklahoma (where I live) the 1 mil tokens are EVERYWHERE old enough to hold them. They are aluminum but typically ring up like pennies. Then the 5 mils were brass and are far less common to find. Some were even made of pressboard paper.
 

gravityrules

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Congrats on finding one. They are really pretty cool to collect. Every state had different designs and differnt denominations were different still. In Oklahoma (where I live) the 1 mil tokens are EVERYWHERE old enough to hold them. They are aluminum but typically ring up like pennies. Then the 5 mils were brass and are far less common to find. Some were even made of pressboard paper.

Those 1 mil pressed and cardboard tokens don't ring up very well, about like the plastic Missouri ones :laughing7:
Although originally issued in the depression, Oklahoma used them longer than most states. I have a handful of OK tax tokens.

Here is a good reference site: "Sales Tax Token Encyclopedia and Catalog"

I think the values shown on the common tokens is way off, look at the tax token lot prices on Ebay and you'll see many in the 10 cents each or less range.
 

Jason in Enid

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Yeah, I bought a full collection of OK tokens from ebay for a couple dollars. They would be a lot more fun to dig up if they werent reduced to corroded, crumbly discs by the time we find them!

Oh, I've the secret detector settings for finding the paper and plastic ones. :laughing7:
 

A2coins

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very cool token I need one now!!!!!
 

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