Encased Coins
About
An "Encased Coin" is a coin, frequently a cent, that has been forcibly inserted into an aluminum blank or an encasement of other composition. Then it is placed into a press that squeezes the ring to hold the coin tight and adds advertisements and other elements to the encasement. Frequently one side will have a slogan such as "Keep Me and Have Good Luck". Hence these cents were called "lucky pennies". These were sold to businesses as advertising pieces, and as souvenir pieces. They could be customized with a wide variety of information, including "Name", "Address", "Phone Number" and advertising slogans.
Encased coins are classified as a token. Tokens include, but are not limited to love tokens, encased tokens, elongated cents, and trade or advertising tokens. Encased coins are recognized by TAMS (Token and Medal Society) as trade tokens as they have the implied value of one cent.
The encasement frequently has good luck symbols such as the horseshoe, wishbone or four-leaf clover and many contain them all. The first encased coins showed up around the "turn of the century (1900)" at the Pan-American Exposition Buffalo, N.Y. Encased coins containing coins dated prior to 1901 are known, but appear to have been created after 1901 or contain a coin that replaced the original coin. After 1901 encased coins can be found advertising restaurants, expositions, world fairs, and just about any business you can name.
Reprinted with permission of Bruce Perdue ([1])
Link to:
- United States (1862) 5 cents EP-69, Burnett's Cocoaine Kalliston encased postage stamp