Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Lucky Lindy

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Expert: - 1/25/2010


Question

coin
I have a silver coin/token that has a upper half naked woman. Left side says "heads", right side has "Lucky Lindy". The back of it has naked bottom half and "tails" on right side. It feels it weighs more than a quarter. I would like to know what it is. Is it real silver, does it have a meaning?  I remember seeing this item when I was a child, that my father had. So I would say I have seen it for the past 30 years or so. Thanks for you time.

Answer
Hi Michelle,
You have a risque novelty token, which were popular from the 1920's up to the 1970's. Many varieties were made and are often seen for sale.
The particular token here most likely dates from right around 1927 to 1930. At that time just about everything was made to be associated with the famous Charles Lindbergh flight. The term "lucky lindy" is often seen in association with Lindbergh and was put on many types of advertising tokens from this era.
The token itself would be made of an inexpensive material. This one appears to be silver gilded brass. It looks as though the yellow metal underneath the gilding can be seen on some of the high points, where it has worn off.
As far as value, an interested collector would pay around $5 for it.
Thanks for the question! =)
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    Commentthanks for the quick response and info on the coin


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Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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