Abbreviations, Terms, and Conventions

Metal Composition Descriptions

$20.56

No Cash Value Chuck E Cheese Token (118B)

Ownership Rate: 4.62%

Understanding metal appearances helps with identification and condition assessment:

Metal	New Appearance	Tarnished Appearance
Brass	Bright yellow-gold	Light brown-gold
Nickel	Bright silver	Dull silver
Copper	Bright orange-brown	Dull dark brown

Note: On cectoken.com the Brass / Bronze and Nickel / Zinc compositions have been merged. I chose to do this because dirty or damaged brass tokens often appear identical to bronze tokens. The same is true for nickel and zinc.

1989 Chuck E. Cheese Token in Brass, Copper, and Nickel Example image shows three 1989 tokens in the most common compositions of Brass, Copper, and Nickel

Special Finishes:

Anodized: Pinkish-rose discoloration embedded in the metal surface, often appearing as uneven staining rather than a uniform coating.
Black chromate: Often shiny, deep black coloration which is distinctly different than brass tokens which are dark from patina.
Painted: Often chipped; Usually red, blue, green, or yellow paint.

Chuck E. Cheese tokens with three different finishes Example image shows black chromate, painted, and anodized finishes.

Composition Codes

Code	Material
B	Brass or Bronze (Bz)
N	Nickel or Zinc (Z) Plated
C	Copper Plated
BI	Brass Plated Iron
NBS	Nickel Bonded Steel
W	Wood
P	Plastic
A	Aluminum

Prefix Modifiers

Prefix	Meaning
a	Anodized
b	Black Chromate
p	Paint

For example, 'bB' indicates black chromate brass, and 'aA' indicates anodized aluminum.

Manufacturer Mintmarks

Three primary manufacturers have produced CEC tokens:

Mintmark	Manufacturer	Location	Years Active
RWM / Pilgrim Hat	Roger Williams Mint	Attleboro, MA	?–2006
OC	Osborne Coinage	Cincinnati, OH	1835–present
HH / HM	Hoffman Mint	Fort Lauderdale, FL	1980–present

Tip: Buy this Magnifying Glass or Coin Microscope to see mintmarks more easily.

Example image shows 1986 Chuck E. Cheese token with RWM mintmark Example image shows 1986 Chuck E. Cheese token with OC mintmark Example image shows No Cash Value token with HH mintmark

Token Sizing

Standard token measurements and their metric equivalents:

Diameter (inches)	Diameter (mm)	Thickness (inches)
.800	~20mm	.075
.880	~22mm	.068
.900	~22.5mm	.068
.915	~23mm	.068
.984	~25mm	.061

Tip: Buy these Digital Calipers to easily measure diameter. Especially helpful for discerning between 22mm to 23mm.

Various Sized Showbiz Pizza Place Tokens Example image shows five different sized Showbiz Pizza Place tokens

Identifier Symbols

The catalog uses specific notation to describe token features:

Symbol	Meaning
" "	Exact wording on token
( )	Image on token
[ ]	Color of plastic, anodization, paint, or print
{ }	Identifying information not visible on the token
< >	Manufacturer's mintmark

Die Alignment

Die alignment describes how the front and back designs are oriented relative to each other:

Medal Orientation: Both front and back designs are "right side up" simultaneously. This is the standard orientation for most Chuck E. Cheese tokens.
Coin Orientation: The front design is "right side up" while the back is "upside down" (rotated 180 degrees).
Die Rotation Errors: Manufacturing variations where the alignment falls somewhere between medal and coin orientation. These occur frequently and to varying degrees.

Rarity Classifications

Tokens are classified using a five-tier rarity system:

Code	Classification	Description	Fair Value Methodology
1 (Circle)	Very Common	You'll end up with tons of these from bulk purchases	Bulk token sales data
2 (Square)	Common	You should get all of these from bulk purchases	Specific token sales data
3 (Diamond)	Uncommon	You may miss a few of these from bulk purchases	Specific token sales data
4 (Hexagon)	Rare	You're lucky to get a few of these from bulk purchases	Specific token sales data
5 (Star)	Very Rare	Nearly impossible in bulk purchases	Specific token sales data

Reference information adapted from the Joe Lewis CEC & SPP Token Guide and cectokencollectors.com.