I'm wondering if anyone reads Japanese. I think these tokens are written in Japanese (if not, I apologize if I offend anyone). Unfortunately, I cannot read Japanese, except for making out a few dates of coins that I also collect. I could use some help in identifying these tokens as to use and country of origin as well as what the writing says translated into English. My computer doesn't have Japanese symbols on it. If it did, I'd try to type them on a word document then see if I could get it translated..Oh Well. In addition to World Coins, including US, I also collect Tokens, and am currently trying to assist in putting together a catalog of world tokens, but inorder to inventory them, I need to know what country they are from, what they say, and what they are/were used for. The pictured tokens are left to right the first three are one side of the token and the second three are the other side of the token. Some additional information is that these tokens are all silver colored metal, perhaps nickel plated brass or stainless steel. They are all 25mm in diameter. If these turn out to be some sort of gaming token, are there the same type of machine in the US (I.E. Las Vegas) that these tokens were made for, or are they for machines, in Japan, etc. It makes a difference when inventorying the token in a catalog. I'm hoping someone on this site might be able to assist me. Thanks for taking a look. Regards, Bill
I found a similar token in a quarter roll a couple of months ago - I conjecture it is some sort of game parlour token - game parlours are very popular there and they do use tokens for them. Occasionally I see slot machines that are ex-Japanese casino machines that are exported but still use those particular type of tokens.
The Kanji character in the center of the one on the left is "Kane", which translates as "king". The characters at the top might be "Dai Ni Pon", which is "Great Japan". One of the characters at the bottom may be "roku" or "6". The middle one has the word "Queen" in Katakana, the syllabic writing system used in Japan, for foreign words. Without pictures having greater contrast, that's the best I can do. My guess is these are Pachinko tokens.
Thanks for your reply. I tried cleaning up the tokens a little, and rescanned them individually, hopefully they came out a little clearer. The Third token has just one symbol on it. It's in the middle of the token, and in comparing it with a cheat sheet of Japanese numbers, it resembles the number 5. There is nothing else on the token except for 8 stars surrounding the 5. Both sides are the same, and as stated before, the token appears to be nickel plated. My guess of nickel is because the token is severely banged up, and the metal seems softer than stainless steel would be. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a better contrask due to the tokens condition. Its 25mm in diameter.
