All Night $3 Check

Do you think you get all 12 for the $3? I guess if you calculate going rates and use the rate of inflation, you can estimate age ;-) (assuming demand has remained pretty constant)

'Arizona Territory' may date it back to before Arizona statehood. Would be at least late 19th Century if it's an accurate indicator.

Do you guys think it's worth anything? I like it, so I wouldn't sell it or anything but it's good to know.

Maybe if you could tie it to some memorabilia from the 'Uncle Same Hotel' might fetch the highest value.

This item is a modern, fantasy (fantasy meaning there was no such business) token, produced within the past decade or two. There are dozens of different varieties, all alluding to the old west. They can be commonly found at flea markets and antique co-ops. As I recall, the company that markets these items is located in California and sells them for about $2, apiece. They tend to have a brassy or goldish appearance and are usually the size of a dollar. They make good gag gifts, but there's virtually no collector value attached. Oftentimes, the folks who buy these think they've gotten a rare item for maybe five bucks. Steve Alpert described these fantasy tokens in his book, published in the 1990's.

Here's a link to Alpert's listing:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...w.google.com

Uncle Sam's Hotel is at the bottom of the list. Dream on ...

IIRC, these were fantasy pieces put out in the 1960s, there were no "originals" from the Arizona Territory or anywhere else.

There is an interesting comparison to WWII. Sojers in Hawaii would visit the seamier areas, where five bucks would get companionship and perhaps a disease or three or even robbed.

In a rare case of government doing something intelligent, the army took a proactive step. They built little buildings with an open outer area and four separate small rooms in their center. They called in the girls and gave them two options: continue as is, and face constant harassment; or sign on with the gubmint.

Girls who signed on got free health inspections and a guaranteed flow of clients. In exchange, they became three-for-three girls. Sojers paid $3 for three minutes, at the end of which an MP knocked on the door and told you your time was up.

The girls made up in volume for the lower price, had military protection, and didn't have to share with, or live in fear of, a "manager". Army doctors had healtheir sojers, everyone was happy.

Biggfredd may be correct about some of these fantasy tokens (fantasy means that no originals ever existed) date back to the 1960's, but the floodgates opened in the late 1980=90's. I used to occasionally see classified ads in coin publications, offering a mix of 8-10 varieties for under $20.

While I'm not familiar with the WWII situation, cited by Biggfredd, there was a similar situation that sprung up in Nashville, during the Civil War. It worked so well that the mortality rate from venerial disease greatly declined. I kid you not!