Question: What Are Tokens?

TNG has it right.

A token is exchanged for something. A medal is stand alone and has no exchange value.

There are dozens of specific genres under the exonumic umbrella.

Simple numismatic classification flowchart:

Is it made of metal or a similarly rigid substance? If no, then it's a "banknote", or a "voucher", or a "coupon", or some similar thing. If yes, then continue...

Is it intended for use as money and/or does it bear a nominal value or denomination? If no, then it's a "medal". If yes, then continue...

Is it issued by a government or an institution or individual under government authority or contract? If no, then it's a "token". If yes, then it's a "coin".

So a "token" is an object that was made to be used as money, but without the official sanction of a government or governmental organization that was authorized to issue such a piece of money. They include:

"Token coins" - such as those issued by the colonial governments of several Canadian provinces. These governments were uncertain as to whether they had the legal right to issue their own official coinage (or they were pretty certain that they didn't actually have any rights to issue coinage, but were in desperate need of locally usable small change), so they hedged their bets and called their new coin-like objects "tokens", a classification that remains to this day in the catalogues.

"Trade tokens" - issued by merchants and businesses for use with their own customers; in times of a shortage of small change, such tokens may well circulate in the general population, depending on the reputation of the issuing merchant. American "hard times tokens" would fall into this category.

"Specific purpose tokens" - things like telephone tokens, carpark tokens, carwash tokens, arcade game tokens, bus tokens... tokens issued as a substitute for money at a specific time, for a specific purpose - usually, to avoid having to handle large numbers of or odd amounts of coins. These usually would not be recognized as having value outside of the specific circumstance of their intended use.

"Tourist tokens" - things intended to be sold to tourists; the tourists could theoretically spend them like money within the tourist precinct, but most of them were expected to be kept as souvenirs. Canadian " Trade dollars" and Disneyland money would fall into this category.

"Advertising tokens" - things which businesses made to distribute, similar to trade tokens, except the intended primary purpose was not use as money but advertisement of the business. The coin-like objects were often made to resemble coins closely enough that, if found in the street, would likely be picked up and looked at rather than ignored. American Civil War era "store cards" would come under this classification.

Things that aren't usually included:

- Coins issued by unrecognized countries, such as Transnistria or Hutt River Province. These are "Unofficial coins"; these coins were legitimately issued by the government, but there is doubt as to the legitimacy of the government itself.

- Objects claiming to be legal tender coins, but they're not. These are "Fantasies". They might look like legitimate coins and claim to be legitimate coins, but they are lying about their legitimacy. Fantasy coins are not entirely different from outright "counterfeits" and are treated as such in many jurisdictions.

- Souvenir medals that bear no indication of value and had no expectation of being used as money. These are just "medals", even if their design superficially resembles coins.

- Privately-made bullion pieces. These are called "rounds", if they're round, and "ingots" if they're more rectangular in shape. While they legitimately "hold value" in terms of intrinsic value of the precious metal, and are traded on the basis of that value, they are not "money", in the sense that if they are traded, they are traded on the value in actual money the piece might have.