B - brass (yellow, "gold-colored")
GB - gilt brass (brass, coated with a thin layer of bright gold color)
Bz - bronze (tan or brownish)
Cu - copper (reddish, same color as USA penny)
CB - copper-plated brass ("copper-colored")
CZ - copper-plated zinc ("copper-colored")
NB - nickel-plated brass ("silver-colored")
NZ - nickel-plated zinc ("silver-colored")
Zn - zinc ("grayish white colored")
NB? - reported only as "silver-colored"
WM - white metal; looks silver, composition unknown
Note 1 - Bronze can be difficult to distinguish from brass or copper, as bronze can occur in a variety of shades. Some brass tokens which have aged and oxidized may appear to be bronze.
Note 2 - Plated tokens are difficult to identify unless they are worn so that the underlying metal can be seen. Identifications as "CB" vs. "CZ" and "NB" vs. "NZ" should be regarded as somewhat tentative.
Suppl - listed in "Unofficial" supplement to Alpert and Smith's book.
FS - in my personal collection
Report - reported by another collector. Although I have no reason to doubt these, I have not verified them personally. Also may have typos, since I can't check against original.
eBay - token appeared for sale on eBay online auction.
Catalog numbers were assigned by Smith and Alpert using a method similar to that used by the AVA for transportation tokens. Each catalog number consists of a two-letter abbreviation of the state, a 2 or 3 digit number representing the city, and a three-letter designation of the specific token. All the Chuck E. Cheese generic tokens have catalog numbers which start with "CA 910" which is Sunnyvale, CA, the headquarters of Chuck E. Cheese. (At least the original headquarters, see the CEC history page for the whole convoluted story.) All Showbiz tokens have catalog numbers that start with TX 255 (Dallas, TX).
Extra Note: There are a lot of "minor" varieties of CEC and Showbiz tokens that I have not listed. These include variations in the size of text and dates, the shape or ornaments, and die rotation (relation between obverse and reverse). I may make a list of these at some later date, but for now I'm sticking to fairly obvious varieties.
Return to main CEC token page.
Return to main Showbiz token page.