This is an encased penny (I know... technically the correct word is cent) from a joint called the 114 Club. I collect encased pennies (ok, ok, CENTS) from Nevada Casinos and other gambling venues in the USA. Got a few from bowling alleys, horse racing tracks, California & Montana card rooms, Moose Clubs, etc. Kind of a cool collectible when you can't find the chips you like.

Anyway, I found this one on a while back. Got real excited as The Gaming Table lists a 114 Club on 114 W. 2nd St., Casper, Wyoming. This encased has a different address on it, 114 E. 31st St., but I thought as the addresses were similar (maybe the joint moved?), the dates were close (encased is a 1949 cent, TGT lists dates of operation as 1930 - 52) and the encased was cheap, it was worth a shot and a little research.

I sent a description to a fellow encased collector in Cleveland. Jim Lawniczak is an attorney, and a researcher beyond compare! This is what Jim came up with in only a few days.

"Hello, Dave, while Wyoming is possible, I’m very skeptical based on phone number. In 1949, there were very few locations and only really big cities that had 7 digit phone numbers. For example, Columbus OH did not, Buffalo , NY did not. NYC was the first to have 7 digits (started in 1930) and the address is NYC too. CAnal was a NYC exchange but from what I can see, it was Canal 6 and 8, I don’t see a 5. Also, can’t find a 114 club listed in Manhattan in my 1953 directory. But, amazing what I found when I looked in my 1940 D & B, 141 Club Inc. is listed as a restaurant, bar in NYC. An inversion of the actual listing.

Actually, I found it in the next city I tried, the second largest city at the time. In my 1952 Chicago Yellow pages, there is a listing under taverns for: “114 Club, 114 E 31, CAlumt 5-5872.” So, it’s Chicago , no question.

In terms of finding phone numbers, http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html is the old database (not nearly as easy to search) with information on phone exchanges (click on “database” to search the archives). I can’t find any listings for Casper . I tried finding a 114 E. 31st Street in Casper WY and according to Yahoo, there isn’t one, although there is a very short stub of an E 31st St . It is possible (though unlikely) that addresses and their existence change over time in cities. Thus, even without the positive to Chicago , I think Casper would have been unlikely."

Is that fantastic detective work or what?!

What's this got to do with chips? Ummm, well... nothing. But, if you have an encased cent or any other encased coin with a gambling theme I'll make you a crazy offer for it! I'll even trade chips for an encased coin I need. Just as an example, I'll offer $150 for a Colony Club encased Silver Dollar, like the one below. No questions asked!