Expert: Ronald Fern - 1/15/2010

Question
Hi Ron,
I have a 10 cent brass/copper(?) coin or token imprinted alike on both sides "PLEIKU AB" around top, "AIR MENS CLUB" around bottom and 10 & cent sign in middle of coin, no dates.  Any value to coin?
Many thanks,
Les

Answer
Hi Les:

Thank you for your question.

I'm not familiar with tokens struck for use by the military, but I searched the web and found a little information about the AFB and a similar token from another base. I'm hoping this may help you to establish the value of your item.

A similar token:
Old Kadena Air Base Non Commissioned Officer Open Mess Advertising Token Coins in this lot. These are not dated but they are old. They appear to be made of brass. They may have been used as change or they could have been used as slot machine tokens. They are marked on the two sides as follows: KADENA NCO OPEN MESS,KADENA A.B.,GOOD FOR 5c,IN MERCHANDISE. Two tokens for sale at $24.95, or $12.50 per token.
See link for more info: http://www.timepassagesnostalgia.com/%26pm=0%26searchkeywords=campaign+coin%26si...

I did find several AFB tokens under completed listings on eBay. They sold for about $10 to $15 each.

About the AFB:
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield is a military airfield of the Royal Thai Navy located approximately 90 miles (140 km# southeast of Bangkok, near Sattahip on the Gulf of Siam. It is serves as the home of the Royal Thai Navy First Air Wing.

For several years, beginning in 1981, U-Tapao has hosted parts of Operation Cobra Gold - the largest U.S. military peacetime exercise in the Pacific - jointly involving U.S., Singaporean, and Thai forces, and designed to build ties between the nations and promote interoperability between their military components.

Prior to 1965, U-Tapao was a small Royal Thai Navy airfield. At Don Muang Air Base near Bangkok the USAF had stationed KC-135 air refueling tankers from Strategic Air Command (SAC) for refueling tactical combat aircraft over the skies of Indochina. Although Thailand was an active participant in the war, with a token ground force deployed to the Republic of Vietnam and a more substantial involvement in Laos, the visibility of the large USAF Boeing tankers in its capital was causing political embarrassment to the Thai government.

In June 1965, The B-52F was first used in the Vietnam War. B-52F aircraft taken from the 7th and 320th Bomb Wings were sent to bomb suspected Viet Cong enclaves in South Vietnam. The B-52Fs were stationed at Andersen AFB on Guam, the operation being supported by KC-135As stationed at Kadena AB on Okinawa. By November 1965, the B-52s were able to support the 1st Air Cavalry Division in mopping up operations near Pleiku.

With the completion of U-Tapao, most American forces were transferred from Dong Muang, and U-Tapao RTNAF became a front-line facility of the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Vietnam War from 1966 through 1975.

The USAF forces at U-Tapao were under the command of the United States Strategic Air Command (SAC). The APO for U-Tapao was APO San Francisco, 96330

For more info on the AFB, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Tapao_Royal_Thai_Navy_Airfield

You may want to check eBay listings in the exonumia category under coins and currency from time to time to see if tokens like yours are listed and what they are going for.

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Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.