SHELL COIN GAMES
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Introduced in 1969 the Shell Oil Company's "States of the Union" promotional coin contest built on the success of the previous year's "Mr. President" coin game. The game as described on the outside of the game card folder shown below was a promotion where customers would receive a free "coin" with each visit to their local Shell Service Station. The "coins" were to be stored on the inside of the bi-fold game card (see below) until a winning grouping was assembled. They could then be redeemed for the advertised prize. 
Outside face of 1969 Shell Oil's "States of the Union" Coin Collection Contest Card 
Inside of the 1969 Shell Oil's "States of the Union" Coin Collection Contest Card THE "COINS" THEMSELVES These medals were copyrighted and marked such by Shell Oil Company in 1969. The private mint who struck them is not known to this writer; however the lack of a Franklin Mint mintmark and the series not being listed in the Krause Guidebook of Franklin Mint Issues (1973 or 1981 editions) leads me to the conclusion they are not a Franklin Mint product. It stands to reason that Shell would limit the issue of certain "key coins" in each prize group. It further stands to reason that any of these that did find their way to a player would be redeemed which required surrendering the "key coin" along with the others in that group to Shell. Therefore, when trying to build a set of these today it is quite difficult to find any surviving "keys." The aluminum game pieces:
INSTANT WINNER PRIZES
THE BRONZE SET The bronze "States of the Union" set like all the other Shell Coin Games uses a modified obverse and a completely different reverse than that used on the "game piece" set of aluminum "coins." The bronze reverses contain the State's date of admission to the Union and certain facts about the State The lack of the Franklin Mint mintmark plus the series not being listed in the Krause Guidebook of Franklin Mint Issues (1973 or 1981 editions) leads me to the conclusion they are not a Franklin Mint product.  Cardboard "States of the Union" Bronze Set Holder  Original "States of the Union" Bronze Set Envelope The bronze set included an informative booklet produced by Western Publishing Company that gave additional details about the states featured on the medals.  Front Cover "States of the Union" Bronze Set Booklet  Sample Page "States of the Union" Bronze Set Booklet THE STATES OF THE UNION The "Original 13 States of the Union" Bronze Set is not simply a subset of the larger 50 states set but an entirely different combination of obverse and reverse designs. Just what every collector dreams of - more varieties to collect!  Cardboard "Original 13 States of the Union" Bronze Set Holder  "Original 13 States of the Union" Bronze Collector's Set Envelope The "Original 13 States of the Union" bronze also set included an informative booklet produced by Western Publishing Company. The text inside for each of the original 13 states is identical to that of the 50 States booklet.  Front Cover "Original 13 States of the Union" Bronze Set Booklet  Sample Page "Original 13 States of the Union" Bronze Set Booklet THE STATES OF THE UNION
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