Press & Media Kit
The nostalgia economy is booming and people are spending serious money on Chuck E. Cheese tokens. In the last 12 months, collectors have spent $45,074 on tokens tracked via online sales.
- 619 tokens cataloged across decades.
- 27 brands represented (CEC + ShowBiz core).
- Highest verified sale: $2,500.
- Free editorial use with attribution.
Includes logos, photos, screenshots, and a one-page brief. Free use with attribution to cectoken.com.
- Cataloged Tokens
- 619
- Brands Represented
- 27
- Highest Verified Sale
- $2,500
Founder story
Most collectors don't visit Chuck E. Cheese today and just buy tokens online for the nostalgia. I started by buying bags of mixed Chuck E. Cheese tokens on eBay for $0.25/token and got lucky finding a 1977 token in one of the first batches. When I learned it was worth hundreds of dollars, I got hooked and eventually became one of the most dedicated collectors.I learned a ton from sites like cectokencollectors.com and r/CECTokensCollector on Reddit but found most people tracked their collections with spreadsheets.
I built cectoken.com with modern technology to help collectors track their collections and improve the availability of pricing data. I'm passionate about these tokens and truly believe they could appreciate in value, while also recognizing it's a niche, quirky hobby.
“For a lot of us, these tokens are tiny time machines. You hold one and you're back in front of an arcade game counting tickets as they come out. That feeling is real, and collectors chase it.”
Rarity spotlight
Oldest token: 1977 (first year Chuck E. Cheese opened).
The 1979 Santa Anna token is believed to have only ~30 minted, with fewer than 10 discovered. They're so rare because the location never opened and the first batch contained a typo, so most were destroyed.
Geographic Reach
Did you know they called it Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse in Australia?
The brand emerged in March 1981 in Queensland, Australia. The concept mirrored the U.S. brand but operated for only a few years and closing around the mid-1980s. Their tokens are some of the rarest cataloged by cectoken.com.
Short timeline
- 1977: First Chuck E. Cheese opens; earliest tokens minted.
- Late 1970s-1980s: Rapid expansion, regional designs appear.
- 1980s-1990s: ShowBiz and affiliates introduce their own token ecosystems.
- 2000s-2018: Height of token usage, these are the most common.
- 2018-present: Tokens evolve from arcade currency to collectibles as "Player Passes" become widespread.
How pricing works
cectoken.com tracks eBay sales tags each sold lot to the appropriate token. An algorithm then creates an estimate of the fair value based on the recent sales as well as the peak sale price. Values reflect scarcity, condition, collector demand, and historical interest. Common tokens hover near commodity value while rare locations or composition variants can sell for over $100 for a single token.
Featured tokens
First-year pieces tied directly to the brand's origin.
A rare and unique token from the other side of the world.
Dozens of families by location, art style, and composition.
FAQ for journalists
- What is cectoken.com?
- A fan-run archive and pricing guide for Chuck E. Cheese, ShowBiz Pizza Place, and affiliated arcade tokens with a living catalog and sales insights.
- How big is the market?
- It's niche but active — common tokens are inexpensive, while rare variants can sell for hundreds or thousands depending on scarcity and demand.
- Can we get a quote or interview?
- Yes. Email contact@cectoken.com Copied! .