National Smokers Association

14mm, copper

About this token:

• Emil sent this link: http://www.esnarf.com/a115k.htm I'll copy the text below in case the link doesn't last:

  Jennings Trade Stimulator, 1930’s ~ National Smokers Association
  This token is smaller than a dime. On one side it says, "National Smokers Association". On the other side it says, Membership 1754 ODJ. ODJ was the initials of the O.D. Jennings company. They were the second largest manufacturer of Trade Stimulators and Slot machines in the 1920’s and 1930’s. This award token was vended out by one of their Cigarette Trade Stimulators from the 1930’s. If you hit the winning combination, the machine would dispense this token to you. The player could trade the token in at the location for a pack of free cigarettes!

  The “National Smokers Association Membership” was a way to get around the gambling laws. It was a sham organization set up to give their members free smokes. To get a membership token, you had to play the trade stimulator and win one. The number in the center of the token would match the serial number of the Trade Stimulator machine. These tokens are in perfect condition because they were found in the payout tube of an old trade stimulator that sat unused for over a half century. Two are shown in the photo so you can see both sides. You are getting one. These are extremely rare. If you have a token vendor Jennings Trade Stimulator, you need this token for it to be complete.

  Note: web page is selling the tokens for $14.85 each plus $1.85 shipping. I'm not sure about the "number in the center of the token would match the serial number of the Trade Stimulator machine" since I'm pretty sure all the ones I've seen have the same number.

• Trade stimulator payout token. Listed in Alpert & Smith's book "Video Arcade, Pinball, Slot Machine, and Other Amusement Tokens of North America" as IL 150 NAY. Listed under Chicago, IL because that was the headquarters of the company, but was likely used in other locations as well. Two varieties listed: copper-plated iron, and nickel-plated iron; each 14mm in diamter, and each valued at $0.50. Alpert and Smith include this information about these tokens:
  "Trade stimulator payout tokens of O. D. Jennings and Co.'s GRANDSTAND machine, produced between 1937 and 1939. The reels picture cigarette packages. Hitting a winner on a 5c play, pays out one to four tokens, each worth 25c in trade. Another version of this machine, called PENNY CLUB, was introduced by Jennings in 1938, in penny or nickel play. It used the same tokens. PENNY CLUB was made with cagarette or baseball reels."
  
• The book "For Amusement Only" by Thomas Gustwiller has this picture of a "Grandstand" trade stimulator (below) on page 176. It is listed as being made from 1938-1940, and is given a rarity of "C" (most common, at least 25 examples known to exist) with an estimated value of $500-$600 for the cagarette reels, or $800-$1,000 for the baseball reels. The book introduction also states that manufacture of trade stimulators mostly stopped in 1941, as the metal was needed for World War II. [This suggests that many of the machines may have been used for quite a while after that.]
  

Know anything about this token? Please send me a note: pineconeforge(at)gmail.com

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