Description
I'm less interested in knowing the monetary value of this token/coin/medallion, and more interested in knowing what it was used for. This is a coin from the now-closed Hecht's Department Store in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area. One side of the coin says "The Hech'ts Co." The other side says "S.O.U" in the middle, and "Sense of Urgency" around the edges. Please let me know if you need more information about it.
Re: Hecht's Department Store SOU Coin/Token
Not finding much info. There is this one that sold on Etsy and has a 1986 date https://www.etsy.com/listing/887433163/vintage-hecht-company-baltimore?…
From this page http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2010/05/hecht-co-washington-dc…
In the comment section,
“Coin token was for the shopping bag dispenser located in the vestibules as you entered the store”
Not much info here but an older version of a Hecht token https://jewishmuseummd.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/ED1FA89E-D837-4D…
I guess before credit cards there were charge coins or tokens but since your’s appears to be the 1986 one I think it’s more likely to have been for a shopping bag dispenser.
Re: Hecht's Department Store SOU Coin/Token
This is curious, though, as mine doesn't have a number anywhere on it, so I'm not sure it's the same one as might have been used for the shopping bag dispenser (it also doesn't look anything like the one in the picture you linked to (that one is oval and a lot thinner).
Plus, the Etsy link was to a bookmark that is from 1986, but it doesn't specify that the coin is from the same year. I don't disqualify it being from the 1980s, but just because they are sold together in that antiques store I don't think means they are necessarily related items (except in coming from the same store).
Re: Hecht's Department Store SOU Coin/Token
I think your’s is the Etsy one. I included the older one just to show that there had been a history of using tokens by that department store. You could try contacting the Etsy shop owner and seeing if she has any more info on it, when she got it etc.
I did find one more at worthpoint but no info https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-hecht-company-token-2022…
And one of the older charge coins https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/baltimore-maryland-charge-coin-h… that isn’t like yours.
Re: Hecht's Department Store SOU Coin/Token/Medallion
I'm sorry, I meant that I agree that it is the same as the Etsy one. But that one was listed with a bookmark from 1986, which doesn't necessarily mean that the coin itself is from that period. They are two separate items from the same store that are listed together.
My bigger concern was that it doesn't look anything like the coins used for the shopping bag dispenser. Those ones are numbered and oval (as described in the comment and seen separately in the image). Mine is much thicker, round, and says "Sense of Urgency" which I'm not sure would make sense as a coin for the shopping bag dispenser. I'm not ruling out your theories here, I just am not sure it's quite a right match.