Collecting tokens
Perhaps tokens will outlast coins. We live in an increasingly
cashless society. I rarely use cash now as virtually all payments are
contactless. It does not seem that long ago that shops would not take cheques
for payments under a certain amount. In some places you had to get a cheque
verified first before it would be accepted. Credit cards were for the rich and
for large amounts. The there was “your
flexible friend”. I wonder what happened to him.
The idea of a token in the senses of a voucher that has a
fixed value and can only be spent or used for one thing is still popular. This includes
machine tokens, car park tokens and vouchers for food. One thing cash is used
for is beggars although I have heard of then sometimes taking card payment. ( I
am serious and I do not belittle people who are genuinely desperate). Perhaps tokens
could be issued to give to people in need that could only be spent necessaries.
When I lived in the West Midlands the collectors I knew all
collected local tokens. I could never see the attraction in pub and trade
tokens. Looking back I think I get it. Tokens give an insight into life,
usually on a local level. They are usually connected with need as cash is the
prerogative of the wealthy.
