Gates Mystery Car Winner Coin 1969
Rustyz
I have a coin that has the words "Gates Mystery Car Winner" Dated 1969.
Can anyone tell me what this Dollar sized coin is about.
oly2059
> Gates Mystery Car Winner Coin 1969,
>
> I have a coin that has the words "Gates Mystery Car Winner" Dated 1969.
>
> Can anyone tell me what this Dollar sized coin is about.
Gates Rubber Company was (and still is, I think) a Denver, Colorado
based company that produces/supplies automotive rubber belts and
hoses. At one time, they had an unmarked car that visited gas
stations throughout the USA. They would buy fuel, of course, and then
wait and see if the service station attendant would offer to check
under the hood for oil and presumably the condition of the belts and
hoses. If the attendant did so, they would get one of the coins and
would also be mentioned in a company newsletter/ and or advertisments.
A good friend of mine had a famous restaurant and service station on
U.S. Route 66 in Illinois. On one busy day, the Gates Mystery Car
pulled in; my friend fueled up their car and did nothing else. When
he asked them for the money, they paid him and told him that he had
missed his chance to service the Gates Mystery Car. He told them to
go #@^*!!! themselves and to ++##@&!!! their mystery car up their
poopy chutes!!! However, several years later his son did do the right
thing when the Gates mystery car pulled in again.
Bob Olson (oly...@aol.com)
Dale Hallmark
"Rustyz" <rus...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:h4Z7b.146752$Ay2.34...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> Gates Mystery Car Winner Coin 1969,
>
> I have a coin that has the words "Gates Mystery Car Winner" Dated 1969.
>
> Can anyone tell me what this Dollar sized coin is about.
>
>
I can't tell you specifically about that coin but I do have a story from the far
side
and some speculation ;-)
There is a Gates, or was, I think they still exist, not sure now, who manufactured
automobile parts,
specifically such things as belts. Back in the dark ages there were gas stations
which were full service.
They cleaned the windshield and all other windows, checked under the hood for all
the fluids, checked the belts and filters, checked the tire pressures and pumped the
gas.
Now the Gates manufacturer had some representative that drove around the country
with
poor belts on the cars and checked the station attendants toughness. One visited a
station where my
father worked and he told the guy that the belts needed replacing. He asked my
father what kind did
he recommend and my father said that the best were Gates belts. Correct answer!!
My father received
an award plaque with 10 or 20 (I think 20) Silver Dollars in it. Quite a good
amount in those days.
By 1969 Silver Dollars were not as easy to come by but I think that your coin might
have a
somewhat similar story.
Hope you get an answer from someone that actually knows about your coin :-)
Dale
Harv
"Dale Hallmark" <dale...@xit.net> wrote in message
news:bjsfg6$mfk2a$1...@ID-151420.news.uni-berlin.de...
> Back in the dark ages there were gas stations
> which were full service.
> They cleaned the windshield and all other windows, checked under the hood
for all
> the fluids, checked the belts and filters, checked the tire pressures and
pumped the
> gas.
Aw, C'mon Grampa, yer makin' that up. They never did that. Hey everybody,
Grampa is going nuts again.. I bet next yer gonna tell us that story about
how you could buy a brand new full-sized car for $3000.00 and gas was 30
cents a gallon, and you walked to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill,
both ways.. now tell us that story about how you used to leave your car in
the driveway with the windows down and the keys in the ignition.. that one
makes us laugh too.. ;) ..
Harv
(Born in a log cabin he helped his Father build..) ..
Dale Hallmark
"Harv" <hla...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Rwm8b.54118$IJ6.1...@twister.socal.rr.com...
Maybe I won't tell you that but I will tell you that my father bought his home
(newly built) for $3,500 and my mother's father bought a 313 acre farm for the
princely
sum of $3,130 in the late 1930's (slightly before my time ;-)
Dale
May be old but not a Gramp ;-)
Dr. Richard L. Hall
> news:bjsfg6$mfk2a$1...@ID-151420.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> > Back in the dark ages there were gas stations
> > which were full service.
> > They cleaned the windshield and all other windows, checked under the
hood
> for all
> > the fluids, checked the belts and filters, checked the tire pressures
and
> pumped the
> > gas.
>
> Aw, C'mon Grampa, yer makin' that up. They never did that. Hey everybody,
> Grampa is going nuts again.. I bet next yer gonna tell us that story about
> how you could buy a brand new full-sized car for $3000.00
I bought my brand new 1970 Ford Maverick for $2100 in 1969 about Christmas
time.
>and gas was 30
> cents a gallon,
I think it was $0.24 cents a gallon back then but if you watched the price
wars and didn't mind waiting in line, you sometimes could get it for $.10 to
$.15 a gallon
> and you walked to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill,
> both ways..
Now I did walk to school. every day. But I had shoes and it was kind of
flat. of course, in the Northern NY winters there was a lot of snow. The
only time I ever remember school being cancelled was during the blizzard of
1966 when Syracuse got 72" of new snow in 3 days. And I went to the same
Catholic School for 13 years grades K through 12. And when we went to
basketball games, we often walked to the opposing schools. none of this
namby pamby school bus rides. We didn't even know what a school bus was.
> now tell us that story about how you used to leave your car in
> the driveway with the windows down and the keys in the ignition.. that one
> makes us laugh too.. ;) ..
Nah. I didn't leave the keys in the car but I did leave it unlocked. And,
unfortunately, I did leave my brand new 1970 Ford Maverick parked on the
street and had some regular A$$ ... er, idiot, run a stop sign and take out
the whole back end of the car ... $400 worth of damages. And the odometer
only read 240 miles at the time. Some high school kid showing off for his
girl friend.
Reflecting back, car damages besides, I remember why we called those days
the GOD (Good Old Days) Man, we had fun back then. When you talk about
drive-ins today, people think of drive-thorughs at McDonalds. And when we
talk about watching submarine races, people think of the cold war. Of
course, a poll back in the GOD asked what people's favorite number was. It
was 69, of course. A few years ago, people were asked the same question,
"What's your favorite number?" And the answer was .... 401(k). Times
sure have changed!
--
Richard
ANA# R-176949
http://home.netcom.com/~richlh
Dating Coins from the reverse:
http://home.netcom.com/~richlh/Coins/RD/Reverse_Dated.htm
Minor Errors: http://home.netcom.com/~richlh/Coins/Errors//Errors.htm
http://home.netcom.com/~richlh/Coins/Errors//Errors2.htm
Large and Small Date Lincolns:
http://home.netcom.com/~richlh/Coins/Large_and_Small_Dates.htm
Viewing the 3's on Lincolns
http://home.netcom.com/~richlh/Coins/Comparison3's.htm
RCC FAQ:
http://www.telesphere.com/ts/coins/faq2.html
Edward McGrath
again. LMFAO!!!!!
Dale Hallmark
Dale
/--------------------------\
my website:
http://www.austriancoins.com
"Edward McGrath" <dahli...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:17247-3F...@storefull-2374.public.lawson.webtv.net...
Tom DeLorey
>
> I have a coin that has the words "Gates Mystery Car Winner" Dated 1969.
>
> Can anyone tell me what this Dollar sized coin is about.
Don't know much about them, but there are some on eBay right now.
Tom DeLorey
Bruce Remick
> > Aw, C'mon Grampa, yer makin' that up. They never did that. Hey everybody,
> > Grampa is going nuts again.. I bet next yer gonna tell us that story about
> > how you could buy a brand new full-sized car for $3000.00
>
> I bought my brand new 1970 Ford Maverick for $2100 in 1969 about Christmas
> time.
Bought a nice 1950 Chevy for $50 in 1962 at a used car dealer. My 1966
Corvette cost me $4600 new. Gas was .15-.19/gallon during the gas wars
then.
>
> >and gas was 30
> > cents a gallon,
>
> I think it was $0.24 cents a gallon back then but if you watched the price
> wars and didn't mind waiting in line, you sometimes could get it for $.10 to
> $.15 a gallon
>
> > and you walked to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill,
> > both ways..
>
> Now I did walk to school. every day. But I had shoes and it was kind of
> flat. of course, in the Northern NY winters there was a lot of snow. The
> only time I ever remember school being cancelled was during the blizzard of
> 1966 when Syracuse got 72" of new snow in 3 days. And I went to the same
> Catholic School for 13 years grades K through 12. And when we went to
> basketball games, we often walked to the opposing schools. none of this
> namby pamby school bus rides. We didn't even know what a school bus was.
I walked to grammar school both ways as well as home for lunch. No SWAT
teams keeping us from coming or going on the property.
>
> > now tell us that story about how you used to leave your car in
> > the driveway with the windows down and the keys in the ignition.. that one
> > makes us laugh too.. ;) ..
>
> Nah. I didn't leave the keys in the car but I did leave it unlocked. And,
> unfortunately, I did leave my brand new 1970 Ford Maverick parked on the
> street and had some regular A$$ ... er, idiot, run a stop sign and take out
> the whole back end of the car ... $400 worth of damages. And the odometer
> only read 240 miles at the time. Some high school kid showing off for his
> girl friend.
Always left our new Impala parked unlocked when we lived in Alaska,
where a locked car would often stay that way in the winter. Noplace
much a thief could go with it anyway without being conspicuous.
>
> Reflecting back, car damages besides, I remember why we called those days
> the GOD (Good Old Days) Man, we had fun back then. When you talk about
> drive-ins today, people think of drive-thorughs at McDonalds. And when we
> talk about watching submarine races, people think of the cold war. Of
> course, a poll back in the GOD asked what people's favorite number was. It
> was 69, of course. A few years ago, people were asked the same question,
> "What's your favorite number?" And the answer was .... 401(k). Times
> sure have changed!
I think one big difference between growing up in the 40's and 50's and
today is how independent kids were back then in how they entertained
themselves. No parents driving us to organized activities. We walked
or biked (no freeways, turnpikes, or heavy traffic to worry about) for
miles through city or suburbs. We played pickup baseball on local
fields just about every day in the summer. Today, kids don't seem to
play any traditional "vacant lot" sports unless they're on teams with
uniforms and bleachers. Of course most taxpayer-funded athletic fields
are reserved for league play nowadays and there are few vacant lots left
for kids who do want to just mess around with a bat & ball.
Bruce
darcysch...@gmail.com
In 1960 my father was tending the service station in our home town of Watrous, Saskatchewan. The mystery car arrived at the gas pumps and my dad must have performed his job and attempted to sell Gates belts to the customer. He was awarded a plaque with five Canadian dollars. I have the award in my collection of "keepsakes" from my father.
I can send you a picture of the plaque if you would like.
Hope this helps.
Darcy.
mbeh...@gmail.com
jaso...@yahoo.com
henr...@gmail.com
henr...@gmail.com
John Savard
> If the attendant did so, they would get one of the coins and
> would also be mentioned in a company newsletter/ and or advertisments.
lost, because the coin wasn't that kind of a prize.
John Savard