Chuck E. Cheese‘s tokens might have the the big mouse on them, but they’re certainly not cheddar. Which is why one Danvers, Massachusetts library is asking its borrowers to stop using them to pay overdue book fines.
On Wednesday, the public Peabody Institute Library posted the message on Facebook, urging library members to stop paying fines and printing fees with arcade tokens from Chuck E. Cheese’s and Bonkers Fun House, a kid’s arcade in Peabody, Massachusetts.
“This summer we’ve had a surge of folks attempting to pay fines and printing fees with tokens from Chuck E. Cheese and Bonkers. Since they are not legal tender, we cannot accept them,” the post read. “Please note, we also cannot accept Canadian coins.”
https://www.facebook.com/danverslibrary.org/posts/10154556969852493
Bookkeeper Sue Kontos told the Salem News that she tallied the three Chuck E. Cheese’s tokens and one Bonkers token before she realized they weren’t quarters.
Apparently Chuck E. Cheese’s has long phased out arcade coins (RIP my childhood memories, along with Chuck E. Cheese’s house band) but when they were in circulation, they cost about 33 cents each. More than quarters, sure, but nothing the library could cash in for itself.
“Somehow, their coins turned up in the rest of the cash,” Kontos said. “Everyone got a laugh out of it.”
H/T CBS Boston