TTC tokens are officially out of commission, but online, Torontonians are reselling the legacy fare for upwards of $100. Is it worth that much? Well, a local coin collector is sharing his two cents.
Sunday marked the final day that Toronto commuters could use TTC tickets, tokens, and day passes in a shift towards fare modernization, the transit agency explained in a 2024 press release. As of Monday, passengers will need to use PRESTO cards, debit or credit cards, or cash to pay fares.
The TTC stopped selling its tokens, tickets and day passes at stations in December 2019, while third-party retailers stopped selling TTC tickets in July 2022 and TTC tokens in March 2023.
Although they’ve now become an obsolete payment method on the transit system, some people are taking advantage of their nostalgic and collectible value by reselling them online at inflated prices.
A browse through online marketplaces shows rolls of TTC tokens listed for as high as $160, with individual tokens selling for between $2 and $15 depending on their condition. The pay-as-you-go equivalent for a token/ticket fare was once $3.10 per adult and $2.15 for youths/seniors in 2019.
TORONTO COIN COLLECTOR GIVES HIS TWO CENTS
While many sellers aimed to get rid of their final batch of tokens before the deadline, few are pitching these as nostalgic keepsakes or collector’s items, and Arcade Coin & Stamp Galleries owner John R. warns that there isn’t actually much value.
“It’s unlikely that they will become anything substantial,” John told Now Toronto on Monday.
Rare coins, tokens and paper currency are some collectibles the shop specializes in, but John says as the TTC has produced tens of millions of tokens since its inception in 1954, the vast majority are not worth the steep resale cost.
“The production figures were very, very massive. They just simply made too many of them,” John said.
Unfortunately, for sellers hoping to cash in on a piece of the city’s history, the tokens may have to remain as simply just that.
“It’s not something that people really collect,” he emphasized.
“It’s more of a novelty, you know, a souvenir of the past. But in reality, it’s not something that’s collectible.”
