Welcome to The Chip Board, James!

A premium token is generally a token given as a bonus for playing a casino game. Often they would fall from a slot machine when a certain combination of symbols (or even a random abount of time) was achieved. The 'silver strikes' or silver premium tokens seen in a number of current casinos are an example of this. They generally have some value, but cannot be played in a machine or other game. The modern silver premium tokens actually have a face value and can be redeemed for money.

I don't know the exact use of the Mint token you have, but it is likely they were a bonus from a slot machine. Some collectors believe they were similar to the current slot clubs, in that you accumulated the premium tokens and exchanged them for prizes, meals, or other hotel services.

These tokens are 30-40 years old and are from the downtown MINT hotel in Las Vegas. There are 5 different designs, some of them having the Del Webb name on them as well as the Mint. Most of them are aluminum, but they are known in brass, and I believe there was one struck for collectors in silver as well.

Value for the aluminum tokens is $3-5 and they are fairly easy to find at chip shows and coin shops.

Hope this answers your question.

DonL