Definition of wooden nickel 1 : a wooden commemorative or souvenir token having the value of a five-cent piece. 2 or wooden nutmeg : something utterly worthless accepted as a gift or purchased by a gullible person.
What does it mean to not take a wooden nickel?
The Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 issued wooden nickels as souvenirs, and the tradition of wooden nickels as tokens and souvenirs continues to the present day. An American adage, “Don’t take any wooden nickels”, is considered a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one’s dealings.
What is the history of the wooden nickel?
Wooden nickels are novelty coins, now scarce but once abundant, especially in the 1930s, though they may date back as far as the 1880s. They were usually commemorative, so, printed by the people throwing fairs or festivals, or by organizations like banks and boy scout troops, and distributed to the masses.
Who first said Don’t take any wooden nickels?
In the early 20th century, the expression was “don’t take any wooden money,” a phrase that showed up in Sinclair Lewis’ 1922 novel “Babbitt.” By at least 1927, smart, slang-slinging American collegians had modified the proverb to the more familiar version “don’t take any wooden nickels.”
What are wooden dollars?
Formal. An internal dispute over costs, margins, allocations etc that make no difference whatsoever to the real profits and costs – it’s just an internal departmental spat. The managers sitting above this row comment ‘they are simply arguing over wooden dollars’ – it doesn’t change a thing .
Where did the expression plug nickel come from?
Answer: The saying “It’s not worth a plug nickel” probably comes from the once-common practice of extracting some metal from a coin to be used for other purposes. Coins tampered with in this manner were no longer legal tender and therefore became worthless.
Are wooden nickels real?
Here in the United States, a wooden nickel was not (typically) legal tender but instead more of a novelty coin often redeemable for an item such as a drink issued by merchants or banks as part of a promotion. Wooden nickels became popular in the 1930s though they may date back as far as the 1880s.
What is a plugged nickel?
Origin of plug-nickel A plug nickel or plugged nickel is a nickel (now a five-cent coin, but originally a one-cent coin and later a three-cent coin) where the “plug” (center disc) has been removed, thus decreasing the metal value of the coin.
What kind of wood are wooden nickels made of?
The type of ink used depends on the time a nickel was produced and the desired effect. The wooden blank is made from a hard, durable wood, often rock maple. Rock maple (Acer saccharum) is also referred to as sugar maple or hard maple. The same wood is used to fabricate baseball bats, furniture and toys.
What is nickels made out of?
A nickel is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel, the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm).
How much are old wooden nickels worth?
Wooden Nickel Values Most wooden nickels are quite cheap. Sometimes you can buy handfuls of them for only a few dollars. Many are sold today for less than 50 cents each. Older, scarcer wooden nickels can fetch between $1 to $5 each, based on the demand for the piece.
Where does the term wooden dollars come from?
My old boss used to talk about a “wooden dollar.” It was a pump repair centre, owned by a multi-national pump manufacturer. The “wooden dollar” referred to a job we were doing for another subsidiary: benefit for us, loss for them, neutral for the parent company.
What does the term wooden nickels mean?
In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink. Scrip and tokens have often been issued locally in times of severe economic distress such as financial crises and the Civil War.
What does never take a wooden nickel mean?
An American adage, “Don’t take any wooden nickels”, is considered a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one’s dealings. This adage precedes the use of wooden nickels as a replacement currency, suggesting that its origins lie not in the genuine monetary value of nickels, but rather in their purely commemorative nature.
What is the origin of Wooden Nickel?
Originated in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Money that has no real value is sometimes called ‘wooden’.Probably stories about wooden nutmegs, wooden hams, and wooden pumpkin seeds contributed to the later use of the phrase ‘wooden nickels’ in American or even to the use of ‘wooden rubles’ in Russia.”.
What does Wooden Nickel mean?
Wooden nickel. In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink.
