Garden State Parkway tokens to become a thing of the past
By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, 609-272-7201

Published: Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Here's the checklist for your next visit to the National Museum of American History:
Ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz."

The contents of Julia Child's kitchen.

A draft of the Gettysburg Address.

Garden State Parkway tokens.

Well, maybe not right away for the last one.
However, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority sent a dozen of the tokens - which will no longer be accepted on the parkway as of Jan. 1 - to the Smithsonian Institution-run museum in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The tokens were dispatched to the museum after turnpike authority officials thought they would check with Smithsonian officials to see if they were interested in having some.

"They agreed," authority spokesman Joseph Orlando said.

Orlando acknowledged only a small percentage of the museum's collection is on display, so he doesn't think the tokens will wind up next to the Hope Diamond display anytime soon.

"At some point, they might be on display," he said.

The tokens were accompanied by a brochure that was distributed when the tokens went on sale in 1988.

Tokens also have been sent to the official state archives and the American Numismatic Society.

The tokens, which were sold as part of a discount toll operation, were a success in their day: Motorists bought about $2 billion worth of them from 1988 to the end of 2001, the last year they were sold. There were about 50 million of them in 2001.

Orlando said the turnpike authority estimates there are about 5 million of the tokens still in circulation.

As the sun sets on the tokens, the turnpike authority is giving token holders one last chance during December to turn the tokens in for cash. That can be done in southern New Jersey at the Forked River service area at milepost 76 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 15, 17 and 19.

The token redemption program stipulates:

A minimum of 15 tokens for $5.

Redemption in multiples of 3 tokens.

A maximum of 4,500 tokens. Anyone wanting to redeem more than 4,500 should call 732-750-5473 for details.

A maximum cash redemption of $30 for 90 tokens. Checks will be issued to people cashing in more than 90 tokens. The processing time for checks is about four weeks.

Orlando said the turnpike authority doesn't expect to get anywhere near the 5 million tokens still in circulation. He said many tokens probably are lost or "stuck somewhere in the bottom of drawers."

As for the turned-in tokens, they're meeting a rather unglamorous end.

"We're melting them down for scrap," Orlando said.

E-mail Thomas Barlas: TBarlas@pressofac.com