In addition to chips I collect encased pennies (cents) and other coins from Nevada casinos, California and other States card rooms, pool halls, bowling alleys, horse racing tracks, etc. Basically I collect all encased coins with a gambling theme. Thought I’d share some of the more unusual examples in my collection.

If you have any of these for sale or trade please drop me an email. With a scan of both sides if possible. If I need it for my collection I will make you a buy or trade offer that will rock your world. (Much better than you could ever get on !)

If you have an encased cent in your collection and just want an opinion on its value and scarcity I can probably help with that too.

The 101 Club of North Las Vegas. The cent is a 1968D. A very hard to find encased cent. I’ve seen only 5 or 6 in all the years I’ve been collecting.

The Swanky Club, Pittman, Nevada. This one has a 1952D cent. The only piece of exonumia I’ve ever seen with the word SMORGASBORD on it. I got this piece from Bob Reno. He found it in an antique mall and picked it up because he remembered that someone collected these. He sold it to me for what he paid for it. Yes, he is a nice bunny! Is this a great hobby or what?

Oasis Hotel – Bar & Casino, Oasis, Nevada. A rare Nevada encased. This one has a 1947 cent. I have a theory about why some of these are so scarce. Original orders could be for as few as 50 encased. That would make a particular encased scarce to begin with, and sooner or later Dad would probably pass the encased along to one of his kids. In the late 1940s and early 1950s a kid could buy a pack of baseball cards (with gum!) for 1¢. I believe that the coin was removed from many of these encased cents to buy candy.

Wagon Wheel Saloon, Stateline, Nevada. This one has a 1956D cent. There is also an encased Carson City Silver Dollar from this casino. It’s encased in a round plastic capsule with the wagon wheel / bison skull logo. The encased dollars pop up on a couple times a year. Usually go for $100+. Believe it or not the encased cent is harder to find than the dollar.

The California Club, Las Vegas. A 1952D cent. The rarest Las Vegas casino encased cent. This is the only example I’ve ever seen.

Horseshoe Club Café Bar, downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. A 1951D cent. There are two other encased cents from the Horseshoe. “Horseshoe Hotel & Casino” and “Joe W. Brown’s Horseshoe Club.” These encased exists in several varieties (reorders galore!) and the cents date from 1955 to 1970. Both are very common and can be added to a collection for a few bucks. I believe the Horseshoe Club Café Bar piece predates the other two. It is RARE!

Club Elko, Elko, Nevada. Cent is dated 1946. Ok, this joint was a night club, but did it have gambling? It’s not listed in TGT or Fuller’s Index. The last time I posted about this piece here someone responded that he has dice from this place. Figures, now I can’t find that thread in the archives. Rare. I’ve never seen another.

This is the last photo. Just a bunch of encased cents not from Nevada. The Lookout House is from Covington, Kentucky, and the 500 Club is from Atlantic City. There are several listings for China Lake Tavern, Ridgecrest, California, in TGT. None list A.M. Fitz as an owner. Maybe he was the manager? This piece also shows why some encased are so damn rare. It was holed to be used a a key chain fob. The encasements (or collars) are made of aluminum. Doesn't take but a year or so for the aluminum to wear through and for the encased to be lost.