Token mechanism with magnetic separation means

摘要

A token which cannot be easily counterfeited by inexpensive methods and a simple token acceptance mechanism which will reject easily-made counterfeit tokens. The token is a disk-shaped object which has two sections along its axis. One section has a notched periphery and the second section has a smooth periphery. The notched section interacts with a pawl in the token acceptance mechanism and the smooth section interacts with an arm. The pawl and arm are interlocked so that only tokens which contain both the notched section and the smooth section are accepted. Therefore tokens which can be easily made by stamping or by turning on a lathe are not accepted by the mechanism. A chute with a barrier projecting from one sidewall and a magnet adjacent the opposing sidewall acts to pass semi-magnetic tokens but trap non-magnetic or wholly magnetic tokens.