Last Token On Earth

June 4, 2018

For our May contest, we wanted to know what you would do with your very last Token. With over 600 entries, we absolutely blown away by the creativity and thoughtfulness of you answers! It wasn't easy, but we picked one grand prize winner and ten runner-ups. Below, read some of our favorite responses from our winners and many fantastic honorable mentions:

John: I will hold a final farewell funeral for my very last SEPTA token. My token is survived by the turnstile and the farebox. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the "Dude Its Rude" Passenger Etiquette Campaign.

Sarah: If I had one last SEPTA Token I would use it on my trip to Rome to make a wish in the Trevi Fountain.

Anthony: Give it to the administrator from my high school (Central High School) who was responsible for giving everyone their student token packs, which all students needed to get to and from school. He deserves to hold on to the last one as memorabilia.

Anusha: I am framing my last token in a shadowbox alongside my Phillies 2008 World Series Game 5 ticket and a few pieces of confetti I saved from the Eagles parade this year -- the BSL features prominently in my memories of both Philadelphia championships in my lifetime and my display would not be complete without that signature token!

Natalie: I am in the process of making a mosaic mural on the wall of my back patio. I would like to include a SEPTA token as one of the objects in the mural as a connection to Philadelphia and the 10+ years I have lived here without a car, relying so heavily on SEPTA to get me to work, school, home and all the great sites around the city. It is such an iconic item that I would like to have it connected to my home for my time there but also a throwback to the changing landscape of the city for owners after me.

Timothy: I would give it to my wife because we met on Market-Frankford line in 1987 during reconstruction at Huntingdon station.

Alice: I'm a Philadelphia-based printmaker and I would ink up my last token and run it through a press to print some SEPTAlicious token images. I think it would be a great way to remember how many of us used to get around before the key. The metal tokens are a lot like an etching plate and I think all of the fine lines and designs would hold ink and print beautifully. How cool would it be to have some token wallpaper or stationary?

Craig: With the last SEPTA token on Earth, I would take it on a proper Philadelphia date. We could rent a Kayak and row down the Schuylkill, share a cheesesteak on South Street, and at the end of the day I would slip it into my headband and run up the Art Museum Steps with it. After a wonderful Philly day neither of us would forget, I would use it as fare to get a bus back home. Because if I know anything about a SEPTA token, he would be a gentleman and drive me home at the end of the day.

Megan: I would send if off with a proper Viking funeral. The token would be sent down the Delaware River in a burning boat set alight by a dozen flaming arrows. We would all sing "Closing Time" by Semisonic as we watch the token sail into the sunset.

Abigayle: If i had one last token, I would first use it as guitar pick and strum a brand new original song about time passing in Philadelphia in honor of the token. I would then create a suspension box and feature it proudly as art in my home.

Angelica: I would give it to my dear friend whom I met in Philly and who taught me how to use the transportation system when I first arrived. Life circumstances now keep us apart...I am going to find a messenger...give him the token and tell him I support him unconditionally. Tokens are symbolic of growth.

Mara: If I had my last token, I would make it into a necklace.

Gabriela: With my last token on Earth, what WOULD I do? Maybe take the bus to the nearest icecream shop on a hot Summer's day, or take the MFL all the way to City Hall to enjoy the water springs at Dilworth Park. Maybe I'd forget the token in one of my jeans and find it at the bottom of the washer the next day, or maybe I'd give it to my friend who always seems to lose her transpass. Honestly, I would probably just use it to go somewhere different and spectacular, where only a token would be necessary to take me to my wildest adventure. That's what I would do with my last token on Earth. I would let the to-ken take-me anywhere.

Steven: With my last token, I am probably going to keep it in my change jar.  Every time I empty it, I'll see it and be reminded of how old I am.  Once my son is old enough, it will remind me to tell him stories about black and white TB, rotary phones, and life before iPhones. Maybe I should just get rid of it.

Frances: I would put it in a frame. Proud to be a SEPTA Rider.

Maryann: Memories you have to hold on to them, so the generations after you can can hold a piece of that memory.  My grandmother did that for me on the old PTC system love the green and the tokens PTC how you held on to the ropes and the high back seat.  I remember those drivers along Frankford Ave with their hats on always with a smile. So my token is a gift to the future a token of love

Cathy: I would keep it forever and ever!! To remind me how far SEPTA has come into the modern age.  I learned yesterday on the news that SEPTA is also going to get rid of the paper passes.  Kudos, SEPTA!!!  I love the idea of tap and go!  And I would wear my token proudly around my neck!

Arthur: Last token on earth; Clinking down the farebox. Beep; What it was made for.

Samuel: I'd have a whole marching band come and the police & fire departments, or anything with sirens, and hold up SEPTA in the middle of Center City, right outside City Hall or somewhere incredibly busy,  hand it to the bus driver, pose for pictures, and the bus driver would do the honors of placing it in the farebox :)

Angela: If I had a token, my last token.....I would keep it as a momento. I already have one from the old PTC (before SEPTA). Wait....that's a great idea! Is it too late to buy just one?

Danny: For the past few years, I've created a map of the US and with each new state that I visit, I glue a pass/fare/ticket from public transportation from that place onto the map as a way to mark off the states that I visited. With my last token, I'll proudly display it over the great state of Pennsylvania!

James: I would give it to someone who needed it more than myself.

Kevin: I would keep it as a memory. I would be able to look back on all the places I went and good times I had. I only used tokens to go down Temple to hangout with the students. Also I would keep it to show the future generation we used get on the bus with these lol.

Waltrina: I have been a SEPTA rider for many many many years. My entire family both children and grands have rode SEPTA as well. My grands will never know what it was like to use tokens on any SEPTA service line because they are to young at this time to have to pay for their ride(s). My last token will be saved and cherished by being placed in our scrap book of memories.

Michelle: I would frame it for keepsake.

Shana: I would take a ride downtown to sight see and to enjoy the nice weather.

Jacqueline: For my proper send off of the SEPTA token is not really what one would consider useful utilization! For me it's more emotional, a nostalgic connection I made with SEPTA when I found out I had to take a trolley to school rather than the school bus like all my friends did. My house when I was a kid was apparently too close to the school for my brother and I to qualify for the bus. So off I go to my first day of middle school on a trolley, my mother had put several tokens in my bag, enough for the whole week. In that first week of school, on of my classes made a field trip to the Natural Sciences Museum right by Logan Square. I remember during our break, we were in the square with the beautiful fountain. I was mesmerized, so much so that I forgot there was a hole in my bag, where the tokens were! Ofcourse most of them fell into the fountain and explaining this to my mother is another story! I would take the last token ever that fountain, in Logan Square, make a wish, and bid it adieu!

Quintina: I would save it as a keepsake. The years of using tokens in school , work, and just going downtown are memories for me. These are stories to tell your grandkids about . Whether it was how you meet your first love, or first dates, taking your siblings someone or just hanging with friends. You always meet friendly person wherever you go and it's just showing your brotherly love wherever you go. It's definitely a keepsake for me.

Kareem: With my last token I would keep it in my Philadelphia collection, which commemorates what I love about my hometown. SEPTA tokens have played a big part of my life, and makes me feel old seeing the tokens being stopped lol. I can almost remember my first time taking septa with my mom, and my first time buying tokens and taking the train alone. The SEPTA token is definitely apart of Philly and will always be.

Brendan: I would save it for a museum exhibit.  Share with my nieces and nephews who will never use them, and help show my age.  Ha-ha

Thailand: If I had only one more token left , I would hide it and store it in my wallet as a memento to remember what a SEPTA token looks like. Although using the token to travel to a place within the Philadelphia area is a tempting and exciting idea, I would want to save it and show my 5-year old daughter what I used to get to where I needed to be (work, school, friend’s house, dance class, etc). I am a sentimental person and I believe in saving things as a reminder of how things use to be, and saving my last SEPTA token would be a great memento of the many trips I took on SEPTA.

Hilda: I would save it for all times sake.

Margaret: I would have a hole drilled into it and add it to a bracelet.

Ashlee: I would make a picture out of my last token that pictures everything SEPTA from when the token first came out to the very ending.. showing all the good parts and show how much peopel loved the token and convince of it that how I would use my last token.

Samantha: What would I do with this SEPTA token? I would give it to a friend or a family member who needs it go back home to Philadelphia to spend time with family, or a love one.

Debbie: I would use my last token to take SEPTA to 69th Street to get my haircut and to have my nails done.  It's been quite a while since I have pampered myself and it's been a long time coming!!  The nasty weather we've been having lately has taken a toll on all of us!  I just need one shiny, beautiful day to get out and treat myself.  Thank you.

Rob: I would frame that puppy and hang it on my wall at home as that token is a part of SEPTA’s legendary history. It deserves to be framed and showcased as this is SEPTA’s roots and should never ever be forgotten.

Dayzze: I'll frame it, to show my kids what was used to pay for transportation..

Candice: Making it into a necklace!

Harold: I would hold on to it forever just to remember.

Theresa: I would poke a hole in it and carry it as a good luck charm.

Taryn: I would take my last token and go to the home opener for the Eagles to tailgate and celebrate the super bowl win.

Christopher: I would use it to go from West Chester into Philly and see a show at the Kimmel Center since I’m a big Broadway nerd. It would feel like a fitting send off to tokens to do something I love with it!

Jaquira: My very last token I am saving as a souvenir of times past.  I am saving it to show my children and grand-children how "back in the day", you needed a token to ride the bus or train!

Francesca: I would put my very last Token in my massive memory box, nestled in between birthday cards, letters from my grandmother, movie, concert and event tickets, childhood pictures, novelty items, small souvenirs from past trips, etc. The reason I keep a lot of what I put in my memory box is because I never want to forget the people, places and things that I've experienced, and I love being able to physically look back on life by saving pieces of it. My last Token would remind me of simpler times, and of the times that I had when Tokens were still around—of the first time I ever rode the subway my freshman year at Temple, of times I'd stop at the station ahead of time to get Tokens before an event I was really looking forward to, of times when we didn’t quite think ahead, and the adrenaline rush my friends and I would get hearing the roar of the subway in the distance when our Tokens hadn’t come out of the machine yet, of times I’d be excited to find that the four quarters I thought I had in my wallet were actually four Tokens, and I felt like I could travel the world (okay, the world within city limits). The list goes on, and if my memory serves me correctly, a little Token is worth way more than a one-way ride.

Cathy: I would wear it proudly around my neck, to show how far SEPTA has come

Brenda: Jewelry, earrings...

Jimmy: In my travels on SEPTA daily, I’m always approached and asked if I have two dollars or a token to spare. I always give up extra tokens that I have because I always seem to have some in the change lingering in my pocket. So if it was the last token on earth I would give it to someone who need it, like a homeless person or just a needy friend or family member. So they can get home to here’s familys safe and sound. Because SEPTA will get you anywhere you need to be.

Kathi: Being a new resident of Philly, when I first saw tokens my initial thought was, "What the heck is this?" I was happy they stepped into the 21st Century and made the key card the official travel currency. I have a token I found in the bottom of my purse and I'm thinking of having it perma-plaqued as a reminder of the olden days lol.

Tondalaya: I would put it away has a piece of history.

Keema: If I was to used my last token it will be my last day of work!! That's right my retirement that way I don't have to worried  about going anywhere again.  Please that will be the last resolution to travel a bus, trolley or train!! So to that aspect I would save that token for my last day of work and never look back!!!

Lundyn: I’ll save them for a rainy day.

Miranda: As a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, I've had hundreds, if not thousands of tokens come in and out of my life. As a student in the School District, I remember when we used to receive tokens, not trail passes. This year, when I merged my life as a student and a teacher, I chose to hold on to my last few months with my remaining tokens, rather than convert them to a Key Card. Going back and forth between my job as a student teacher in South Philly and my life as a college student in West Philly, visiting my sister at Temple, meeting up with friends in Old City, this year has been marked in tokens. With my final token, I'll complete a collection of memories from my final year of college. With my final token, I will know that I lived a year well spent. With my final token, I will remember that this city is mine to explore. While it may no longer be accepted by SEPTA or recognized by the next generation of travelers, my final token will remain in my wallet, behind the license to drive of which I find myself rarely in need. For as long as I have a token on me, I know I will always be able to find home. For as long as I have a token on me, I know I will always have ownership of this city. For as long as I have a token on me, I know no one can stop me from moving forward. When I die, they’ll look into my wallet and find my prized final token. If they happen to be from Philly, they’ll quietly place it back where it belongs and double-check that their own final token is safely where they left it. 

Alex: I would collaborate with all the local breweries and allow people to trade Tokens for discounted or free beer or other tasty nonalcoholic beverages like sodas, smoothies and milkshakes.

Sabrina: With my last tokens I would use them for a good cause and not just wasting a ride or token. I would use my last tokens to work or to go to college and finish my enrollment process. I Would use my token for a ride to work or a ride to class. I would use my tokens on something that's good and worth it for my future! I would love to be a winner!

Jennifer: I'd get it made into a key chain to remember the past "keys" to travel in Philly, while using my SEPTA Key Card.

Tyra: What I do with my last token probably would keep it as a keepsake to remember that SEPTA use to sell them.  The good times I had with the token I use to use on the bus or train going to place I had to go too.  It was always fun to have tokens but that one I would keep as a keepsake to remember the good times I had with them. Thank you for have them tokens but now we have moved on SEPTA pass.

Brandi: The thing I would do with one last token is give it to my 5 year old to put it in the fare box. I know that she gets on free but to see the smile of accomplishment when she swipes my pass,  I know me telling her this is the last token in the world,  would make her the happiest little girl in the world. My daughter resides in NJ because of school so I get her on the weekends. My time with her is special and priceless. Anything to make her happy.

Markeeysha: I still have a few tokens  , I tried to keep my old school tokens but that didn't work... if I could with my last SEPTA token is keep it in my car change pocket as a memory and somewhat motivation that things change.... we change , we grow but we never forget.

Brian: Frame it plain and simple.

Paula: I would place in a time capsule.

Christopher: I bought 52 of them before SEPTA stopped selling them, and I'm planning on tossing one into a fountain in all 50 states + D.C. and then framing the 52nd coin as a keepsake!

Chris: I would have it laminated with a SEPTA transfer dated the last day tokens were sold.

Dana: I have two tokens left & I'm either going to make pendants out of them for a necklace or frame them. I framed an old paper SEPTA bus pass that I found in a used book & it's a great conversation piece when I host gatherings.

Freddy: Find another token and make a set of cuff links and wear them proudly. 

Rachel: With my last token I would do a heads or tails with my best friend, to see who would pay for lunch. I would go have a great date with someone I love and finally probably use it in slot lotto machine  to try my chances at winning $1000 to have a night on the town in the fabulous city of Philadelphia!

Alicia: I'm gonna find that PTC token I have and retire it with it. Am I telling my age!? LOL!!!

James: I would keep my SEPTA token as a collectible. I have a prized PTC token. I also have a smaller SEPTA token. Remember the SEPTA Bicenntenial token (had one lost it)?

Keana: With my very last token, I would super glue it to a metal ring with a clip and hook it on to my key chain. My keys go everywhere I go, which means so would my token. As I ride the bus daily, I will see my token on my keys and remember the times :)

Bernice: I would save it so my great grandchildren can see what I used to ride SEPTA.

Anthony: I would take it to one of those places that makes rings out of coins and wear on a chain.

Lamont: My very last Token would be the remaining infinity stone needed to complete my Infinity Gauntlet glove. I've traveled throughout the universe to collect all six infinity stones needed to obtain unlimited power to rule the universe. Once I place this precious SEPTA token inside my Infinity Gauntlet glove, with just a snap of my fingers, i will ride SEPTA for free for eternity. As long as the Infinity Gauntlet glove is within my possession, I will never relinquish this power of unlimited travel through SEPTA. 

Timothy: I'm going to take my last token and the school token I have left from high school and have them made into a charm or pendant I can wear on my gold necklace. SEPTA tokens almost have a sub culture because of how much they were used in this city. So tokens are very sentimental to me. That's why I'm gonna have the pendant made that I can always wear.

Bruce: When we were kids we would go to the movies at the "Midway" Theatre at K&A. We would put pennies in the tracks of the trolleys on Allegheny Ave. and after the movies we would see whose penny was the flattest and widest. Run a token over and see what happens.

Ron: I’d probably keep my last tokens to see the confused look on my grandkids face 20 years from now when I show them how we caught SEPTA back in the day.

Daniel: The first challenge will be finding the token. (Isn't it great that you can't lose SEPTA Key) After we find it, we will hold on to it as a keepsake for our grandchildren. We will describe what a token is to them, and then explain to a confused SEPTA driver what a token is, put it in the fare box, and congratulate ourselves on the token we bought for $2.00 becoming worth something like $15.00. That is, if we ever find the token. :)

Danielle: Token lady here! I am living THE TOKEN LIFE (www.etsy.com/shop/iDeaHoff) - I make tons of gifts and accessories mostly out of the old Garden State Parkway tokens that were taken out of circulation in ‘09 - rings, bracelets, dog tags, cuff links, and some jackets with the tokens as buttons! I’ve done a few custom pieces with the SEPTA tokens - CUFF LINKS are my favorite!! I use any kind of local tokens I can find - subway, bus, arcade, parking - mostly transit. People love it (!) and I am quite a collector. I think my small, growing business is the best idea :) and either way I’d love to get a SEPTA tshirt to wear at my vintage trade shows. It’s SO fun to repurpose these old pieces of history, and also bring some nostalgia to fellow travelers everywhere!

Teresa: I would put my last SEPTA token with the Chuck E.Cheese and CCMC tokens that are no more. They are worthless except to bring out and say, "back in the day"....

Vy: I would keep it until the last day that SEPTA stop accepting token, then go on a bus, use that token and get on a bus, exploring Philadelphia.

Rosalyn: I would go into one of those artisan jewelry store and have them make me a bracelet. They would put the token, my two daughter's birthstone and the birthstone of when I got married. This is where I happily got married and had my two beautiful daughters in the City of Brotherly ❤.

Debbie: I will place my last few SEPTA tokens in a container with the older tokens that I still have. Saving the older tokens got me into saving tokens from various things and places.

Pedro: I have two tokens left I’m trying to find some more to make a end table top with them. Even old monthly passes.

Benjamin: I teach English as a second language, and one of my long-time students is from Poland.  She is fascinated by American transportation systems and we have spent many lessons discussing buses, trolleys, trains, subways, stations, and so forth.  She absolutely loves the "quaint" way that buses here still have pull-cords to signal stops, and has told friends and family members across the globe about using tokens to ride SEPTA.  Because of the birth of a new baby, she hasn't been able to leave the house much recently, and somehow missed the announcement that tokens were officially a thing of the past.  She has used all of her tokens up and is honestly sad to have said goodbye.  My plan, when the time comes for her to move back to Poland, is to include my own last token as a parting gift, so she can bring home such an important part of her stay in Philadelphia to show her family and friends (and one day her son!) that she was here during such a time.

Christopher: I happen to be extremely lucky. I happen to have about 30 tokens. But I will spend them wisely. I will pay for people’s rides when they don’t have enough for a fair. I will pass them out to the homeless. I will use them to get back and forth from work. I will travel the city and see it’s beautiful sights. I love you SEPTA.

Susanne: I was born and raised in NYC and have two tokens from that transportation system that I want to make into earrings. Secondly, I have lived in the southern NJ/Philadelphia area for over 30 years. The SEPTA token would be incorporated into a bracelet. I would wear them all as a set to show what cities shaped me into the person that I am today.

Juli: With my last token I would definitely hop on the 7 and take it to the Chick-fil-a on Columbus Boulevard! That’s my go to spot and it’s 100% worth my last token.

Melissa: I had a lady come in to my place of work and said "I am not crazy but I lost my token to get home" she asked me if I had money so she could get home and I said no but I have a token that I can give you.  She was very grateful.  That was my last token.  So I was very happy that I was able to use my last token to get someone home. 

Sierra: Throw it into the Schuylkill River and make a wish!

Quadira: What would I do with my last SEPTA token? Actually that is a good question, I would save it as an  antique and give it to my child so In the future when he gets older it might be worth much more.

Katie: I would put my last token into a shadow box commemorating my first year in Philadelphia. I learned the subway system using tokens, I gave them to my clients in the homeless shelter I work at to get around to important appointments, and I gave them to friends and my boyfriend to use when we were painting the town red. Tokens are a part of my Philly history and I will miss them!

Sonia: Although Philadelphia is the place that i was born and raised, this December I will be moving to Los Angeles, California. There i will start my new life and pursue my career. I will never forget what Philly has done for me. With my last token, I will simply keep it forever in hopes to one day show my kids, who will more then likely be born on the west coast, and show them what life was like in PA when i was a child; Just as my mom showed us pictures and gadgets from her childhood.

Nick: I would save it for my grandchild to bring to school for show and tell in ten years.

Irene: I have always kept tokens on me to pass them to someone in need.I would get a transpass and token bag  to pass along.I have gave many away to a friend needing one or just someone who had no carfare and needed one. So I actually did give my last token to someone who was stranded and needed to get on the bus to work.I truly believe to always pay it forward.Good deeds come back to the person doing them in the way of blessings.

Stephen: I am keeping my last token with coins I’ve collected from around the world.  I look through them on occasion to go back through memory lane, or in this case turnstile.

Brooke: My last token will be saved to reflect upon, to see what used to be. I will keep it with my other monetary souvenirs. It will live with Shekels, Swiss Francs, Euros, British Pounds, and Canadian currency, coins and bills alike. It will be saved with these other currencies, special in their own ways, that may be similarly discontinued or I may never return to their place of origin.

Ayana: With the last token from SEPTA I would save it and frame it because I would like to be able to show my future children that we used tokens to get on the bus and train. The future children will only know about the Key Card systems.

Katrina: I am putting my last one in my memory box under my bed.  It contains memories from the past 50 years. cards, things I made, tap shoes, old love letters, diaries, report cards, special photos, concert stubs, zoo elephant key, and sometimes, things that are not being made anymore..like cassettes, telephones.  Yup, it's going in there with the rest of it.  My own little time capsule.

Caron: I would keep my last token in my wallet forever. I often tell people that growing up some words of advice from my mother were, “always keep a token on you”. This was in case of an emergency and I was stuck somewhere, it didn’t matter if I owned a car. So, I would keep the token as a fond memory of the token itself and of my mother.

Reggie: Have them in circled/incased in gold plating and given to your employees at their retirement ceremony.  

Selena: I'm keeping my own *very last token* in my wallet.  When tokens were my primary SEPTA payment, I always tried to have an extra token hidden away just in case.  Why not keep tradition alive?  My last token will keep it's place of honor among my loose change and rewards cards.

Mark: Since I have at least one token from the nearly SEPTA’s entirely operative time. I simply added one of my current tokens to the mix, which I do anticipate shadow boxing, since I am a native Philadelphian.

Lisa: I was going to just keep them but my son got a job he starts tomorrow and I have to make sure he can get there and back. Pay day isn't until Friday for me and he needs this job. I'm gladly giving them to him so he can be another productive black man in society!!! I really wanted to keep them when I found out SEPTA wasn't selling tokens anymore I decided to keep them; then my son calls me today and said mom I got the job I start tomorrow.  He said I need  bus money I was like there goes my tokens. They will serve a great purpose because he has a way to get to work and back. Mom to the rescue. I'm just glad I had them. I hope he has a great first day at work. Thanks SEPTA.

Emily: The end of an era. The end of the SEPTA token. This is the hypothetical story of my very last token. It's May 1st, coming out of rainy April to sunny skies, but that sunny feeling doesn't last long. I look into, what used to be, my token coin purse and there's a sole token left. One token, to take one last ride before I invest in a SEPTA Key. Where would I go? Maybe to the Art Museum steps to climbs the stairs like a triumphant Rocky. Or maybe to Spruce Street Harbor Park to people watch while swinging on a hammock. I could go anywhere in Philly with this token, but in the back of my mind I know this token was meant for more and deserves more. This token deserves to be the beginnings of a wish... Thrown into a fountain where it will sit with my wish attached to it. Not just any fountain, the world's most famous wishing well... the Trevi Fountain. A trip for not just me, but for the token which survived an era of being shuffled between buses, trolleys, subways, and the El. I would take this last token there and wish my biggest wish, a wish worthy of this token. And there my token would sit, indefinitely with my own wish attached, never to be forgotten.

Sandra: Since my 1 & only daughter is only 22 months old. I decided to tape my token in her memory/baby book so she knows what it looked like & what we used when she grows up. Have a piece of her mother's history when she grows up.

Patricia: With the last tokens I had, I would definitely need to and drill holes at the top of them, I am homemade jewelry maker and would make earrings out of them.  They are a special color so they would go with just about everything.

Joseph: Instead of a hypothetical answer I'll tell you what I did with my very last SEPTA token. I had a family trip planned to the Cumberland Gap National Park at the beginning of April and I brought my last token with me. Since this is one of the oldest National Parks I figured it was safe from development and would be a place studied by historians, scientists and other academics for a long time. We took a hike to what is known as the seat of the gap. It's a place where you can see Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia at the same time. When we got to the scenic overview I took the token out of my pocket, took one last look at it, thought about how my life has changed since I first moved to Philadelphia 9 years ago, and tossed it on to the mountain below. I know it is littering but I thought of it like a time capsule. The terrain down there is rough. It's not exactly a place people hike very often. My hope is that it stays there for a long long time and some time in the future it would be discovered by someone trying to collect artifacts for days passed. It would also be a little funny to them hopefully, finding a public transportation token from a city hundreds of miles away that hasn't been in use since near the turn of the 21st century. That's my hope at least, for that token to end up in a museum someday as a testament to the tourism that the Cumberland Gap attracted.

Shawn: Frame it and place it on my wall.

Kevin: I would take my last token ever and throw it into the Schuylkill!

Fe: I will put my last 2 tokens in my penny loafers.  This way they will always be with me & I’ll have them in case of emergency.  You never know when you may be stranded.

Isabel: If I had 1 very last token I would take bus and just go around the City. The reason that is my answer is because if I stay on the bus I I’ll get to experience see different people, neighborhoods. Our streets of Philadelphia are sometimes odd, in many different areas people live a certain way and I just want to see what it’s like I want to see what separates the “good side“ of town compared to the rough streets of Philly.

Leslie: I will keep  the very last token to show my grandchildren  and there children to show them the  way we used to travel I will treasure  my last token as a fair well gift and my memory  of the best traveling  way I  used to travel. So long my silver and brown friend.

Rhoda: I would use my last token to see my grandson, my eldest son & daughter in law in Ridley Park and hope I choose a beautiful, sunny day. This way I could join them for a walk to their neighborhood playground. Then at the end of my visit pray my son can get me back home to South Philly,lol.

William: I would definitely shine it up and frame it and put it on my shelf and show my 2 daughters what we used to get on SEPTA back in the day 💪 #ISEPTAPHILLY

Sarah: My grandmom gave me a token from when they were redesigned to it's current look. I'd probably have them mounted together on a necklace or bracelet because it's soooooo Philly. The rides on the 101 and Market Frankford with my family brought me a lot of joy as a kid.

Lisa: What I plan to do with my last token is to put it away in a safe place so when my son grows up, I can take it back out and show him how we used to pay for public transit when he was born (early 2017). I thought that would be a really cool thing to do, especially because who knows what kind of crazy technology we'll have when my little guy is older.

Tolan: I have 2 tokens that I had put aside for my sons for emergency fare home if they were to lose their school passes ,in the plastic bag with a dollar folded inside.  I plan on punching holes to turn them into keychains. When they start driving, I'll attach a note about how it was their unused emergency token. They can still use it for a ride, if they're unable to drive, no questions asked, just call me for pickup.

Jennifer: I’d probably save it for memories. My autistic son is obsessed with riding SEPTA for no reason, just for the ride and he’s so used used to getting tokens from the machine which we don’t do now with the card.  I’d save a token so he’d remember them.

Todd: As an avid coin collector, I already put my last token in my forever book. Reason for keeping it, HISTORY!!! Still have over 20 tokens,  that will be used, but that token is my souvenir!! Who knows, perhaps could be worth something one day.

Amarilys: I would turn one into a pick for my boyfriends guitar. Also get one gold-filled for a necklace charm for me.

Kathleen: My dad was born and raised in Philadelphia and is a long time collector of “toy trains” with a room in house house devoted to his train platform. I think it would be a cool Father’s Day gift to give him a token to display on the platform as a memorabilia of his childhood and to share stories with his grandchildren.  For example he always tells us about how he took the subway to go to the candy store and back home again.

Andrew: With my very last token I would want to give it a proper "Philly" send off by using it to take a ride on SEPTA to my favorite section of the city, the Art Museum. Once there I would take in some culture and history, head over to the Library for some peace and quiet and the grab a snack and hang out near the fountain.

Nina: My last token will stay with me forever! I was a little bummed out since I have been using tokens for over 15 years. I would even use tokens as "buried treasure" when playing with my friends in grade school...way before phones and apps.

Patricia: I actually have 2 tokens left, one is in my daughters piggy bank (the kind you have to smash to open.) I want her to remember how we got around all the time. The second one I keep with me all the time in case of an emergency.

Rebecca: It would go into a time capsule with a SEPTA map and information on the history of transit in this region. The time capsule would be opened on the 500th anniversary of the founding of Pennsylvania.

Destiny: I would frame my last token on my wall. Why? For my future kids / grand kids to ask "what's that" and i could explain to them the gold ol’ days of SEPTA tokens and fun Philly days.

Elisa: I have saved my last token. I began using them when I started high school and continue to use them until I had to use a pass. Then my children began using them. I just want to have it in case I have grandchildren and I can show them how much has changed since I grew up. I want them to see that not everything was always electronic.

Katharine: I'd like to keep my last token as a souvenir. I'd probably punch a hole in it and make it into a keychain!

Karen: Instead a of penny in my loafers, how about tokens?

Charlene: I will save it till i ready need 2 use it on the bus.... you never know when u need be use it for the last time.

Melody:  I would make it into a keychain to keep.

Suzanne: I would keep them in the same place as the other vintage SEPTA tokens that I have from the past.

Andrea: I'm going to trace the front and back of the token, date it and put it in my scrapbook. Then I'm going ride the 23 bus southbound to The Reading Terminal Market and use the token & take a picture of that bus.

Ellen: I'd keep it for my kids to see.  I don't think it will be worth millions in the future or anything like that.  However, it's a piece of history.  I think that is neat to pass down.

Amberlee: I would use my last token to ride the subway as far as I could, reflecting on when this city operated on simpler terms.

Cheryl: I going to keep my last token as a souvenir. Just like a rare coin. Also like the school tokens as well. Cause a lot of the kids today they don't know about the school token.So if you keep one you can show it to them. That's what I would do.

Kevin: I had a ten pack, so I debated with myself if I should use them or not. I decided to use two thinking I wold save the rest. Then I used two more leaving me with six. Then I decided t go and grab the SEPTA key card to use that instead of the tokens i had left. Then a week ago or more I get a text from a good friend who ask if I had any token so he could get to work. I debated if I should give him the money to grab tokens. I was lazy so I gave him my last six so he could get to work. It was a good cause, but post makes me think that I should have kept at least one. Oh well... I would probably would have eventually used it myself rushing out the house.

Courtney: I'm going to save my last token so in 50 years (or maybe more like 10), I can find it again and have a little piece of Philly history.  Even though I paid for it, I don't think I'll ever use my last token because the Key cards just don't have that same jingling charm in your pocket.  It's almost like one of those fancy pennies you can get from the zoo or Disney!

Phillip: I would shine it and put it with my vintage coin collection just like I did with the last PTC token before I lost it..

Felicia: I would hold on to my token and share stories with my grandchildren/greatgrands  (who may mistake it for a game token) about what it was like to have this handy fare.  Often times having a token was like GOLD when you didn’t have cash to  take public transportation.  People would give you a token before giving you cash LOL.  While I will certainly miss the sound of the token going into the fare box, the memories will last a lifetime. 

Jennifer: I wish I had realized that it was my last token when I used it!  I would have ridden the El from end to end and back.  I was a suburban girl but I fell in love with the city.  Riding the El to my first job in Kensington (York & Dauphin!) was a good reason why.  No traffic!  So fast!  No need to park!  I love the El and I loved tokens...it would have been a nice send-off.

Alysha: I will use my last token to take a trip to my local church this Sunday ❤.

Angie: As an Early Childhood major at Temple University, I look forward to sharing this artifact with my future classrooms. I would save my token for my future students and my children. The reactions of students who will grow up on the SEPTA Key, using Kiosk machines, and online ordering instead of traveling to a booth and using tokens to get to after school programs will traumatize future generations of students. I am twenty years old and I don’t know what I would do without my SEPTA App or my Google Transit App. I am nearly certain I would have to touch a bus or train pamphlet (which I have done once or twice out of curiosity)! I’m looking forward to seeing the improvement on efficiency and dependency of the SEPTA Key Program, as well as the look of awe from my future students in 5, 10, and 20 years.

Theresa: I would hold on to my very last token as a souvenir. A memory of how technology is always changing, even when it comes to transit fares.

Florence: I would put it in my penny loafers along with my next to last token.

Mary: It’s in my bedroom drawer who knows maybe it will be worth something someday or become an antique that i can one day show my grandchildren when they have to interview as part of a school project

Nikki: I've been planning what I'll do when with my last token for at least three years now. Knowing that SEPTA would inevitably stop producing these beauties, I've been keeping 2-3 of them tucked inside my 'memory box', knowing that some day they will be cool, interesting memorabilia that I can show to my kids (our first baby is arriving later this year). When I was a kid, I remember my parents showing me a couple of old NYC transit tokens they had kept from the 1970s; they fascinated me and brought to mind so many visions of all the public transit experiences my parents had when they were younger, good and bad: the sounds, the characters, the textures and dimension of it all, the freedom to move around anonymously in a big city. All of this charmed and delighted me. That old token was a tactile portal into that mysterious world. Now that SEPTA has said goodbye to our Philly tokens, I treasure the ones I have tucked away all the more. Our kids will have no clue what they are, and we will have to explain that we had to purchase them from a person at a booth (or from a mechanical machine that was 'out of order' half the time...). And then we would drop one into a slot in order to ride the trolley, bus, or subway. We'll also get to share with them that feeling of losing a token you swore you had in your pocket, and sometimes having to embark on a wild goose chase to get more, depending which station you were at and whether you had *exact change* for the fare instead. And we'll regale them with stories of those two times we glimpsed the Money Train on the BSL late at night in 2006 and 2008! And they'll look at us like we're dinosaurs. Then, they'll look back to the token in their hands, and maybe they'll imagine what our lives were like back in the old days of the early aughts. I can't wait for that moment! "

Mary Beth: I actually have a scrapbook I keep with different adventures we've done, or things that are special for some reason... And I have one token left I'm planning to add to the collection!

Jasmaine: If I had the last SEPTA token available I wouldn't use it. I would keep it and use it as my special scratch off ticket scrapper.

Eric: I would keep the token in my wallet just in case someone less fortunate may need their bus fare to be paid.

Chantel: I would put my very last token in a scrapbook i made for my children, they are 9, 10 right now and when they get older despite how the method of payments for transortation changes it may be totally different when they turn 18 so i can show them the things we had and how much they hace changed.

Lisa: I would put my very last Token in my shadow box along with my concert tickets, movie stubs, and other beloved collectibles.

Jozlyn: Hello!! i would keep i until my children get older, so i could show them some of the things we used before key cards came along!! Also explain the value of the token!! Token will go down in history!!

Amarylis: With the last token I have I would keep it for memory. I will show my son the token and tell him how we had to use this in order to get on the bus, train and trolleys. It would be a good memory to tell my child in the future!

Diane: Pretty sure I'd look for a fountain, close my eyes with the token in hand, toss it into the fountain while making a wish. It said wishes don't come true if you say them out loud but this is a very important wish. My wishes, would be that people would just move to the back of the damn bus.

Carrie: I would use my last token to visit my grandma grandma grave site and to bring her flowers and candy and a song that i wrote for her sit and talk to her grave stone for awhile

Brian: My last token I would bury in the ground. As a memorial of times changing with SEPTA. Catching the green painted trolley car or the bus with sliding windows. We all change with the times. But would keep my last token as a keepsake in my life.

Tom: My last tokens are in my car for any school children who would still need them in an emergency.

Rose: I would hold onto it. Maybe even a couple if I had them still. It might be amazing to see what it could be worth later down the road on a rainy day. Travel-related items can be quite collectible. That or hold it to show grandkids about how things were in the past before it became automated.

Monica: While I regularly purchase a weekly pass, I keep a token tucked away to give to a homeless or needy person, who's current situation may not be favorable as mine at the time.

Linda: Well I actually was giving this subject some thought when I heard SEPTA was going to stop 'making' tokens. I do have 1 'last' token and I am going to shine it up and save it next to my 'last' school token from the early 80's. That way I can show future 'generations' what we 'used to' use "Back In the Day"

Lisa: I would turn it into a pendant and wear it around my neck.

Erika: I would keep the token as a souvenir or antique

Ali: I would use the Last Token on Earth to see my message my mom. She is my best friend and a wonderful person to know.  As she has gotten older and health is not the best right now and surgery is pending,  I would walk from Philly to Norristown just so she use it to go to the doctor, or anywhere she needs to go as she is that selfless for her family.

Rainah: I'm a Philly girl and I've been using tokens since I started riding SEPTA. I am going to keep my very last token and make is part of a scrapbook. I'm sure my grandchildren will not believe that there used to be special coins to pay the fare. Now I'll have proof!

Susanne: I am currently redoing my garden and I think I will place my token in a metal box with a note about 2018 and my story, then bury it deep in the ground so that one day someone who also shares the same love of gardening will find this token from years past and have one of the remaining tokens!

Ahmed: If i had the last token on earth i would save it for a few years an hopefully it appreciates and theres a market out there being as though its the last SEPTA token ever , then i would find a collector and sell it and use all the money i receive no matter what it is and go to the major transportation stations in philly like Bridge and pratt , Arrott terminal , 69st, and broad and olney and feed the homeless that hangs around those places

Samantha: I will punch a hole in my very last token and put it on my key ring. I take my keys everywhere with me, so the tpken will forever be there.

Joseph: I have it wrapped in plastic alongside the last school token I had from high school. I hope to pass them down generations.

Anthony: I use SEPTA all the time for work & play its the easiest way to travel around Philly i go to sporting events dinners & to visit family SEPTA is convenient & comfortable i believe SEPTA us most reliable transportation I’ve been on so far its clean safe & i will choose SEPTA over driving any day

Mary Kate: I used my first token ever to go to a Phillies game, and I've been going ever since, so I would use my last token to ride the BSL to another Phillies game!

Stephanie: What to do with my last token? At first thought, I imagined an extravagant destination might be in order. In truth, I plan to save my last token for my modest coin collection. My dad learned a love of collecting coins from his father, and later passed that interest along to me. Tokens have been a significant part of my life and Philadelphia and will make a great addition to my coin collection. A token to invoke a memory of days passed and routes traveled.

Victoria: I'd use my last token to ride a bus around the city. Just to soak it all in like I did as a freshman in college 7.5 years ago!

Sarah: The most obvious answer is clearly time travel.  In the not distant future, we will be able to move freely between realities.  Once we do I'm sure that SEPTA will adapt that technology, since we are now on the cutting edge of transportation technology with the Key Cards.  I'd use that last token to travel back in time (with a transfer to get back to now) and experience Philly in the 1950s. That or keep it to show my kids, who will undoubtedly be amazed at simplicity of the early 21st century."

Landuleni: For my last token usage, I'd write my initials (with a fine-point Sharpie) on one edge of the token (the date on the other), as to not distort the color strip in the middle. I'd take the 23 bus, starting at Chestnut Hill, and ride it all the way to center city, transferring to the 45, and ride that all the way down to South Philly, while listening to Boyz II Men's "End of the Road."

Ashley: If I had one token left, I would not use it for myself, but instead, give it someone who good.  Sometimes people do not have monies available to make payment for their fare on whatever their method of transportation may be - and if I had one last token, I would give to a person who needed it.

Angelina: I have one token left that is owned between me and my partners. We plan on getting a mini shadow box for it and putting it on our night stand when we move to Virginia this summer.

Victoria: I love all things vintage so rather than use my last token on a trip, I would turn it into a necklace. If I had two, then maybe a set of earrings. I’ve already switched over to using the SEPTA Key so I would rather have “the last token on earth” as a keepsake.

Josh: I would head down to Old City and toss my last SEPTA token on Ben Franklin's grace because a token saved is a token earned

Jillian: The trolleys are my favorite, especially around the holidays.  I would jump on a trolley route I have never been on before, & ride on it from the start to the end of the route, to explore a section of the city I don’t see much, while enjoying the ride! 

Paula: I would take my last SEPTA token and apply it to my Key Card. I think that the Key Card program was the best innovation SEPTA could have ever invented .It cuts down on searching for change and holding up lines making it available to get where you want to be quickly.

Mariya: My last token is now a keychain so I can keep it with me at all times!

Nicole: I would make cufflinks for my husband!

Anita: It would be something I would keep and put with other things that I collect. Who knows whether or not it may have some value to a collector years down the line. It might be a future investment that may pay a bill down the line. I have always been one to collect old things and this will one for my collection

Jennifer: I had bought my 1st token when I found out I was expecting my son @5months. I never touched that token ever since its near my son sonogram pictures. 6 years later I still have it . And I will never touch it. I'll save it so I could share my story with my son. I love him so much. Thank you SEPTA you guys rock.

Tyler: A charity auction! I would auction it off with all proceeds going to one or more local charities. One week of online bidding leading up to a 3 hour event in City Hall the last 15 minutes of the exciting conclusion of the bidding near the end of the party with an exciting count down. Local vendors sell food and drinks. Local musicians play before and after the last 15 minutes of bidding. A big charity event is great pr for you. Even though the token would normally not auction off for much money, the charity aspect of it would draw higher bids because it is no longer the token that is the prize but the status of a philanthropist. Lets put the philanthropist in Philly!

Selima: With my very last token I would put it on a memory board along with other SEPTA fare things such a one day pass, monthly pass, weekly pass, and one day Trailpass. With caption Old Philly how is use to be and no longer is. Technology has arisen and change is on the rise.

Elizabeth: I would turn it into a pin and wear it proudly on my neck for all to see how awesome and beautiful it was to travel on SEPTA with a token. I will you so much token.

Richard: Before I use my last token, I'd make sure to get as much use out of my second to last token as possible. This of course means using SEPTA’s biggest budget deal they offer, the MFL to BSL transfer. Starting on the MFL I'd leave early to travel to City Hall, conveniently and effortlessly switching to the BSL southbound. I'd travel to a place I've only been once but always remembered, the Navy yard, by going to AT&T station. A scenic Navy yard trip, walking along the water looking at impressive ships, I'd eventually make my way to FDR park for more views. And right before the sun sets, I'd use my last SEPTA token ever. Taking the BSL back to the MFL, where I'd watch the sunset on the elevated portion of the MFL. A perfect send out to the strongest Coin to ever grace Philly.

Eric: Hang onto it when I commute just in case someone is in need of bus fare.

Wanda: I have a collection of old things. For instance, I have a food stamp book from ( $1, $5, $10) when I was on welfare. I have SEPTA passes every June 5th ( except When it fell on Sunday’s). I have lamenated them in hopes that the Philadelphia heritage would live on (not food stamps) ha.  We have 5th & Market with all our old city heritage, and I would love a SEPTA display with old trolleys, old subways, old buses, old fare machines, old school tokens(I have), and old tokens. I would love to see the many transitions that SEPTA has made since being in existence. We are one of the first transportation systems in the world and the most expensive.So, that’s where I would want my last token to be enshrined!

Joia: With my last token, I'd drop it in the farebox to go to a part of the area I've never been before. I'd catch a trolley to some random part of Delaware County. Catch a cross-town bus I've never taken a ride on. Go on a SEPTA adventure.

Brittany: I currently have a ten pack of tokens that I purchased a year ago and a ten pack of school tokens from 2000. I refuse to sell them or put them on my key card. These are classics and will be a great story to tell my kids one day.

Jenna: I was out of town on vacation when SEPTA announced that ticket sales would soon end, so I only had one left as a keepsake! I planned to frame that single last token in a small shadowbox to hang on my wall. However, a good friend of mine, who used to live in Philadelphia and moved to Michigan, was cleaning out an old purse and found 2 unopened 10 packs and a handful of loose ones and offered to send them to me! I'm now planning to make a keychain too. I'm hoping I can possibly find an old SEPTA weekly token holder keychain and fill it up to frame in the shadowbox as well.

Mari: While rummaging through the nightstand beside my bed looking for the lip balm I had carelessly thrown in there the night before, I happened upon a SEPTA token. ""Oh wow,"" I thought. It had been quite a few months since I had held a token as I have become accustomed to the glossy teal SEPTA key that I keep in the breast pocket of my light jacket. I immediately put the token in my pocket, excited that I would be able to get an extra SEPTA trip without using $2 from my Travel Wallet... but then it hit me... This would be the last SEPTA token I would ever get to hold. Flashbacks to 2003 rushed into my mind– it was the year I had begun my regular commute to and from middle school via the number 2 bus. School tokens were a thing and were a miniature version of the regular SEPTA token and I had not seen one in almost a decade! I knew right then that I could not use this SEPTA token. It represented a segment of my life in which I learned to be independent. The token represented my path to school, to exploration of the city, to volunteering activities, and recently, it has represented my path to the office for work, which is currently the path I am taking to build my career and future.  And now with the token safely back in that nightstand, I want to make sure that I never forget all of the personal growth that it represents. I will be putting it in a frame that I will keep at my desk at work along with the message ""always on the go"" to remind myself to keep moving and striving to achieve wonderful things!"

Jason: This is an amendment to my previous entry. I said I would take my last token and put it in the wreath of TransPasses my girlfriend gave me. Here is a picture: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HesiTNX4NE9aALie2.

Rydira: My last token i will save it and put it in my book if things I wanna pass down to my daughter. So that she can see all the things before her time and she can have th knowledge of all the things I know about .

Elizabeth: I would use my last token to take the 2 bus to the YMCA on 17th and Christian to go for a swim! That is one of my favorite activities and a huge stress reliever. Rather than a big new journey, I’d prefer to bring the token routine to an end in the same way it started—getting me from one part of my daily routine to another. Though the fare method is changing, I’m so glad that SEPTA is still going strong!

Rueben: Since my childhood I collect currencies and stamps. I will include my last SEPTA token in my currency collection and plan to make a collage of my most memorable experiences while transporting through SEPTA since My move to Philly.

Colleen: With the last SEPTA token I would visit some of the larger stops and see if anyone there really needs it more then I do. Every day we find people short on change or just down on their luck. This is where the rubber meets the road. While I value the significance of history; people are more important.

Martha: I would put it in my coin purse in case I somehow find myself without my Key card 😏

Luz: I am keeping my last token as a souvenir so that one day I can share it with my kids. It will be a great conversation piece of back in the day transportation pass lol.

Ivan: I will keep my last Token and it will go into my coin collection book.

Marie-Luise: I would keep my very last token among my special coins to show my girls when they are big. 9 and 6, my girls have been riding SEPTA since they were infants. SEPTA takes us on so very many adventures. Even just a ride on the El can be a fascinating sight with the painted walls along Market Street and the skyline coming into view out of 69th street. With so many treasured memories, that last token will be added to the collection and bring back all those wonderful family trips we've taken.

Karin: I'll be very honest I've no idea what I would do with them. I still have 2 tokens and was planning on using them when my mother visits next, but that won't be until December this year. I've never ridden the buses here as the schedules are very confusing, too many routes and yes even though I've been here for a while not being someone who drives I don't know streets except for those that are directly around me. I would most likely use them on the El to take my mom to Center City to see the sites at Christmas if I can still use them at that time.

Yvanna: I will save my last token so I can save a piece of history and show it to my grandchildren and say "This is what we used to use to travel on SEPTA."

Trina: I once spoke with the Director of Chosen 300 Ministries, which provides food and services for people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. I had the privilege of planning Temple University's largest community service event: PB&J Day, where we planned to break the Guinness World Record for "Most Sandwiches Made in a Year." With hundreds of pounds of peanut butter and jelly, countless hours of help, and over a thousand volunteers, Temple and its students became Guinness World Record breakers and donated 49,100 sandwiches to those in need in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Before the event, I called Chosen 300 to find out if they wanted any of the donations delivered to them after the event. The director kindly rejected: they already have plenty of food to provide, and he said that something that could make an even bigger difference, like collecting the most SEPTA tokens and donating them to people struggling without jobs and no way of getting to interviews to find another one. His words have stuck with me. Yes, the sandwiches meant a lot, but there's so much more we can do to help. It's just a start, but I would give my last SEPTA token to someone who needed it. I've got my SEPTA Key anyway! :)

Kemba: What I would so with my last token is keep it to show my family in the future. I would show them how it was like to get around when I was younger without all of the new technology.

Walter: I would simply save the last token I have, possibly put it away somewhere safe.  It's something that probably 30-40 years from now will be a collectors item just like many other subway tokens no longer in circulation. 

Erin: I plan to save my last token. Over the years I have saved various coins from all over the world and plan to either frame them or make a table top and my Token will fit in perfectly. Each coin has a memory attached and the token won’t be any different, many memorable commutes and adventures into the city immediately come to mind.

Jenille: I just recently had a baby girl! At her baby shower we made a a keepsake board! Since she will never know or see what a SEPTA token looks like I’m gluing it to her memory board!! She caught SEPTA her fourth day of life!! It will be blast from the past! We she gets older

Adun: I have a few unique pairs of earrings in my collection, so I thought why not make token earrings. I have not one but two tokens that I've held onto for a while in case of an emergency, I have a drill and the hardware for earrings. So my next move is pretty obvious. I should make token earrings.

Tracey: I would put it in my box with all the other things that I want to put away and open up in 20 years. So people could see the past.

George: I had the most vivid memories as a child riding SEPTA with my mother. I remember we use to ride the old Route C bus from 66th and Broad to City Hall. We use to do this every weekend as a child. Well she passed away at the young age of 46 in 2004. Im 40 now and I still remember those memories of me loving riding down broad street on the C bus as a child. With my very last token i have kept it next to my moms Obituary on my night stand. Always remembering those special memories as a child

Maria: With my last token I would probably make a bracelet out of it that’s if I only had one left. My father is a carpenter on the other hand and makes frames so we could always make a nice picture frame with the remaining tokens in which we had. And just frame our picture of somerset station at sunset.

Donna: I gave it to someone who needed it.

Celeste: I would make it into a ring or earrings.

Philip: With my last token (by the way i still have and plan not to use lol) i would get on the Orange Line at Fern Rock and ride down to Pattison Ave. Then cross the platform and ride back to city hall and go through the free exchange and get on the Blue line and ride from 15th Street to Frankford Transportation center then back to 69th street and along the way enjoy our underground views and our above ground views of our beautiful city from above and make it a final token ride for the ages.....i was raised on SEPTA and i love SEPTA....and #ISEPTAPHILLY everyday for work.....wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kathryn: With the last token I have. Would keep it in my keepsake box. It will be with with all my treasures.

Denis: Melt it down and wear it as a ring!

Sharifa: What would i do with my very last token? I would keep it for years to come. To preserve the natural color i would get it laminated and taped to my book of memories that i have,  treasured from events throughout my life. I would occasionally post pics on social media, news outlets and even remind SEPTA about it years down the line. I would remind my children of how times have changed and proudly show youth that were not around to see how much we have advanced technologically.

Tommy: How about what I did with my last token? I was going to save my last token, I go to the Veterans hospital at 39th and Woodland. I kept in my book case that I take to my appointments, as a memory of school days, and maybe a emergency fare ride! A couple of weeks before April 30th on my way back from the VA, A nice older gentleman needed something to complete his fare for his sister's house, I said I was sorry but I had no money myself. Then I remembered my last token, I share it with him, and he gave me a big smile and went to catch his bus. A new memory, and that token is still helping somebody, somewhere, out of circulation or not! Thank You Septa, VET T.M.McCann

Joy: Back at the end of December 2017 the friendly SEPTA ticket taker on my morning Media/Elwyn train ride into the city retired. I heard a rumor that he had worked for SEPTA 50 years, and as a post college Millennial, who had already held 4 jobs, I had great respect for the tall blonde fellow who had so faithfully served the city of Philly. On his final day he descended from the train dressed in his original SEPTA uniform, and I felt as though I was climbing aboard the great Polar Express train. The combination of how sharp he looked in his uniform, and the knowledge that this was his final day of faithful service, was nearly enough to make me tear up. I share this memory with you to say this: as a theatrical costumer and seamstress, I would use my final token to create a button. A button which I would sew on as the top button on a Polar Express conductor jacket. Not only to serve as a reminder of SEPTA's tokens, but also to remind me of the friendly ticket taker, who always smiled each morning and who put in 50 years of service to SEPTA and the people of Philadelphia!"

Christina: I would take the El to 5th & market and walk down to South street. This is the first thing I ever did with a token on my own with my friends that made me feel grown. It wasn't the mall, or school, it was South Street, in all it's wonderous glory and curious delight! Teenagers love weird cool and different stuff and that's what I was, a weird cool different teenager -with a token. :)

Norlean: I would give it to a person who needed it more than I did.

Lisa: I would frame it and save it for memories.

Jennifer: I wouldn't drop into a fare box that's for sure!! Tokens began for me going to LF Girls Catholic....took me to many places.. I grew up, traveled the city, fell in love and had my heart broken many times.. Mostly tokens allowed me a seat on a SEPTA vehicle~ where I'd could relax enough to daydream..or figure out life complexities. So I pop it in my memory box ore put it on a chain. SAFEKEEPING. My greatgrands will never know what one is.

Kevin: If I only had one SEPTA Token left I would take the next bus to my hometown of Willow Grove, Pa and spend the entire day with my family only in hopes that I find just one more token to pay for my bus fare back to the city!

Tharon: I'd keep like I got some of the other old ones (PTC).

Alvin: I do have One Last SEPTA Token and I also possess several classic PTC tokens. I would framed them all in a creative manner hopefully along with my June Anywhere TrailPass...

Marques: With my last token, I will not use it;  but in fact I will bury it into a time capsule. I will bury the token with other momentous memories. Pictures, letters, amazing stories and all.  To be in the lifetime seeing and being witnessed to a crafted metal substance,  being introduced, used, and then eradicated is something to cherish for future generations. The time capsule will be unearthed for our future to know what the past was like and to literally get a feel of the objects we used.

Shykies: Give it a kiss on the cheek, hold it tight, then insert it into a SEPTA Fare Kiosk for a new SEPTA Key Card.

Terrell: Go to work because knowing me I won’t have anything good going on.

Pansy: I have a 10 pack of tokens that I am holding onto for my grandson who is only 6 months old I will hold on to this pack of tokens for him until he reaches 5 years old and if it is his wish to use those SEPTA token or tokens is up to him but as of now it is in his treasure chest and they will remain there until he is 5 years old.

Anna: I would use my last token to go down to Columbus Blvd for the Spruce Street Harbor Park to relax in a hammock for the day with my boyfriend while enjoying a nice breezy day by the river.

Mike: Take a ride to 69th Street to see a concert @ Tower Theater

Lisa: I will have my jeweler turn it into a ring to commemorate the history of how SEPTA started using tokens in the first place for payment. 

Eileen: Well if I had a couple of them. First I would put one under the regional rail train and flatten it, second  i would keep the rest in a jar and just hold on to them for the future grandkids to see. They can sell them for money but keep at least one.

Jennifer: I actually have a SEPTA token as a memory knowing they'd disappear. I want to display it as memory to all these years taking Septa to and from work, home, friends houses,  etc. They got me through Alot especially when I was broke and i had to sell a pack for food money. They got to me places for emergencies at the last second. This is why I want to display it in a case. Tokens are a great memory to me. Ill miss them symbolically.

Kevin: I would keep my last token. It’s the last token I would keep it for a memoir. Everytime I see I would think of all the places I went with a token because I only a bought a token when I was going straight somewhere and back. The two pack token was less than $4.00 plus it could get you further if you grabbed a transfer. I always used my two pack to go to a temple party down Cecil B. Moore so I would keep it to remember my all my great time and good vibes

Chris: So here it is, my last token.  The symbolism hidden within this small coin is nearly infinite. The catalyst for so many important events in my life. Running my finger along the edge of this coin I can’t help but be reminded of every first kiss, every smiling face, and every job interview I have to thank this little guy for. It almost seems sad ya know? Like, it’s the end of an age, it’s a big deal and I’m sure people feel like they’re losing something by giving up Tokens. And it begs the question: “Do I keep it?”  “Do I keep my last token?”  For a while, I was going to. I couldn’t stand the idea of giving up the last one I’d ever see. Cuz, ya know, change is scary, and it’s hard to let go of things. However, within the last few days I happened upon a phrase that shifted my view completely. It reads simply “When life starts to shift you, indeed it feels strange, but moving on is easier when you embrace change” Over the last few days that phrase had made more and more sense to me and finally I knew what I was going to do with my Token.  I got up this morning bright and early and made breakfast. Had my shower, had my coffee, and made my way out the door. I continued up the street until I made it to the bus stop, where I stood waiting. After a short time my bus arrived. In one swift motion I stepped on the bus and dropped my final token in the slot and found a comfortable seat at the back of the bus, riding it to it’s very last stop. My point in telling you this whole story is, a token alone made me realize that, letting go of something doesn’t have to be scary and that embracing change is important for progress. Because, well, when things change, it’s usually for the better, even if you can’t see it yet

Adrienne: I would keep that good ole SEPTA token tucked in my bra like my grandma use to. So close to my heart that the SEPTA logo would be a permanent marker on my breast.....you always keep a good thing close to your heart.my trips to the gallery in the 80 came from a five pack of tokens

Suzanne: I adore the token. I would buy ten-pack after ten pack unnecessarily, stockpiling those weighty little plastic bags in every purse and coat pocket, like a little extra comfort, a fascimile of a security blanket every time I stepped out the door. And then, every time somebody I met on the street would ask me for change or food, I could give them a token instead. Maybe they would sell it, or maybe they would go see their Mom. If nothing else, there it was...just a bit of freedom and dignity in the guise of our beautiful token. I would, and plan to, do with my last beloved token, the same exact thing I’ve been doing for 30 years now....sharing the love by passing it on.

Meghan: I'd put my last token on my key card, because I like using the SEPTA key so much more than tokens!

Christina: I will put it in plastic then in a frame to put on the wall in my dining room.

Caitlin: I am keeping it in my wallet for good luck! It symbolizes Philly’s past and bright future, so it is a reminder to keep moving forward with my goals and plans. :)

Victoria: I would use my last token to go to Reading Terminal. It is where I had my first date with my fiance, and it is where he proposed to me 11 years after we started dating.

Karen: I would weld the token onto a historical plaque and place it in City Hall's Court Yard, probably facing East, where  many of SEPTA's buses travel up and down Market Street. The plaque should explain the many years that they have been in use, it's cost to customers and to produce, and why it wrnt out of circulation. (I would also include the school token, as well).

Cynthia: I would keep it as a memorabilia and then in 5yrs I would take it to antique collector to see what its worth.

Niamh: I would keep my token for the future generations as a part of Philadelphia history. Times and technology are changing so rapidly that i preserving pieces of it are key to representing progress. This coin will stay close!

Theresa: Recently, about a year ago, I found a token for the early 1970's and I used it. I have plenty of new tokens. What will I do with my last token? I may have it turned into a pendant for a necklace to wear. Hey, I am old enough to remember when transfers were free. This is how long I have been using SEPTA. I am going to miss the tokens but we have to keep up with technology these days. In the future, I hope I find secret SEPTA tokens on the beach and other places.

Suzanne: I'd want to meet up with friends at a Phillies game for Dollar Dog night, eat Philly pretzels and water ice - quintessential hazy, lazy Philly summer day 😊

Sharron: What would I do with my very last SEPTA token, I would actually keep it as a  souvenir to show my younger generation how we use to travel back then . Technology has officially won with the  kiosk machine...but the tokens will forever be remember to the true travelers of Philadelphia.

Nathan: Hang it up on my wall next my collection of Philly stuff such as iverson Jersey t.o jersey etc.

Paul: It would be very cool to keep and pass on to a descendant. Picture it:  years from now -- on Antiques Roadshow 2118 --  my great-grandchild could sit down with an appraiser who will tell a story about how the metal tokens were all the rage for a long time. And then eventually paper and plastic cards took over. But in 2118, even those are gone -- replaced by retina or thumbprint recognition scanners.

Josh: The last token.

Not merely a token;

Of things past, a way of doing things.

Transmuting from metal to plastic,

The old gives way to the new.

Progress?

Moving forward. Like the bus. Like the train.

Give it a quick kiss, give it its due;

And toss it in the box to go home.

Marc: I would probably give it to someone who needs it. I am new to the city here to attend Drexel University (Go Dragons!), and I have experienced a whole new world here. One of the biggest problems in the city i have seen is homelessness and it breaks my heart to see people who cannot afford to get around the city for food or shelter. I would give my last SEPTA token to someone who really needs it. Besides, I've got a cool new SEPTA card!

Lisa: With my last token (in which I still have) I would save it and add it to the "Memories of Philly" book I will be creating. A book dedicated to the long but not forgotten features of Philadelphia like a photo of International Records or a photo of the old sign in the subway saying "Fidelity Bank".  Like these the SEPTA token is a classic and should be saved as a memory and a party of Philadelphia history.

William: I’d place it with the other tokens I’ve collected over the years...I have a PTC School token, a PRT token as well, it would be another piece to my collection.

Shaquan: What I would do with my very last token is maybe put it in a time capsule, with other things I have that I may not use anymore. Bury it for 20 years. Then dig it up and show my future children some nostalgic items from my generation. That would be awesome. 😀

Diego: I would keep the token as a commemorative coin. It will serve as a memory of my youth living in Philadelphia and a reminder of how we take things for granted

Maria: I would keep it as a souvenir so when my 3 month old grandson gets older and understands u can show him and tell him about one if the ways we paid for our public transportation and also that would and could be  considered as a piece of history in years to come and I would love to have that memory that made me feel responsible when I was growing up because I paid for my own transportation

Deborah: I would use it to go into town and maybe your around the city.

Tracey: I would frame it.

Twanda: I would keep it to show my grandchildren what we used to ride the bus with.

Joyce: If I only had one token left, I will keep it framed and boxed up, like how my history teacher collects old money. He is proud of his money collection because now the money he has is rare. I will keep this token safe and be proud that I own the only token in the world. In the future museums may want to display this token and so they would probably buy it from me. Tokens will definitely be remembered in the history of SEPTA!

Irene: What I would do and did do with my last token was put in away in my jewelry box and in a few years when my youngest grandson turns into a teenager I will show him and see what he say about it. That will be very interesting to hear

Kaitlyn: The SEPTA token may be gone, but the memories behind it will last forever. From late night train rides home from parties in college, to the subway ride in to my first day on the job. Since the first day I moved to this city, SEPTA coins were scattered throughout my first apartment, my favorite purse, and the coin cup in my car. With my last SEPTA token, I added it to my travel map. For each place I travel I add a significant item from that trip. With SEPTA tokens, I traveled this city, and I'll always remember Philadelphia by this token.

Mildred: I would keep my token because it is a part of my travels and memories. I moved to Philly when carfare was .35 and transfers was .10 and I had my token from back then as well but misplaced it so I will make sure I keep this one and a great memory to share with my greatgrands.

Pauletta: A keepsake key chain or an old fashion 80s shirt that says open in case of emergency.

Nicole: I would give my very last token to my grandmother. My grandmother has septa bus tokens kept away that my grandfather used all the time back in the day. Now, she can have her husbands token and my token together!

Stephanie: I would keep it in a scrap book to show my children when they're older. It'll be a cool part of Philadelphia history!

Rebecca: I would leave a note SOS in a bottle and throw it out into the Atlantic.

Doris: With my very last token I would travel to the furthest destination allowed and take pictures of my final token voyage.

Mary: I'd keep it as a souvenir because I'm a train buff, might even frame it :)

Joanna: I'd use my last token to get to graduation at Temple University.

Shea: To commemorate the iconic SEPTA token, I'd try to collect as many tokens as I could from friends, family and neighbors and make something decorative, but practical out of it. For instance, I might make a set of coasters or a laminate table out of tokens, similar to those that are made out of bottle caps or coins. Another idea would be to make a mural or mosaic out of tokens in the shape of the SEPTA logo, or another Philadelphia icon. It would be best to do something that can be enjoyed by the many folks who have relied on tokens over the years for daily travel, and displayed in a place that can be seen often.

Teresa: I would donate it to the Smithsonian.

Elaine: I'd toss it into the Logan fountain for good luck and hopefully it will help someone out in the future.

Joan: I have saved at least ten tokens and hope to fashion them on to some articles of clothing. Maybe I’ll even have some added to my nieces wedding dress since she is getting married in Philly! Only if she lets me!

Justin: I'm going to save it and frame it.  Then in 30 years when my grandchildren ask what it is, I will sit them down and regale them with stories of how we used to use paper and coins to pay for things instead of cards and phone apps.

Nafis: I would save the token for memory because tokens where around since I was a kid and that's how I got around in my younger days. It would be a great idea to have the last token put in a casing and put on my mantel piece and every time I look at it I think about my younger days

Sadae: With my last token on earth I would travel to the heart of the city and take family pictures. Because every moment is worth keeping and remembering my last time using a token can go with a special moment in my life.

Marina: If I was down to my last SEPTA token I would get it framed. It’s bound to become part of history since they will be out of circulation. It would be something special to share with future generations.

Kay: My first thought was of course give a proper send-off and drop it in the Box, why wouldn't I, I paid money for this. Then I thought why not make it into a cool piece of jewelry like a ring or bracelet charm. But then a little more logic kicked in, I would keep it in a safe place come as a momento for my future generations to see. I'm sure that in the future things like tokens will be very rare so why wouldn't I want a piece of the past to stay in the family. Also I'm sure collector in the future may find it very valuable.

Kathy: I would use it for opening up certain containers that need the use of a small coin (like battery compartments).  That is, when I'm not tucking it away safely like a prized jewel.

John: To be honest: I would want to keep a few. Donate one to a museum, and maybe make one into a bracelet so I would always have philly with me.

Jack: My very last token deserves a place of honor. Perhaps in a shadowbox or another type of frame. Displaying it for everyone to see. The token is a part of history and should be properly displayed. Someday I could donate the token to a museum as it would be a historic artifact. I am sad to see the token go but I am excited for the future of SEPTA. In fact I already have a token set aside that I plan to keep forever because it's a really neat thing to have. There's something special about a SEPTA token. Someday in the distant future I can show it to my children and grandchildren and tell them what it was like to ride SEPTA in the olden days.  One of my newest prized possessions is a pair of cuff links from the SEPTA store that are made out of tokens. I think they are the coolest things around and always make for a great conversational piece. As tokens begin to become rarer and rarer, they will become quite the collectible. The token is a part of transit history and SEPTA was one of the last transit organizations to continue to use it. I feel lucky to have been a part of history as the transition takes place."

Brooklyn: I would use it to ride from Frankford Transportation Station to 69th Street and back again just for nostalgia.

Thomas: Save that piece of art, it will be worth money one day if everyone else parts ways with their own. Rare coins can be more expensive than diamond.

Jennifer:  I want to have my last token made into a pendant to wear around my neck as a reminder of the good old token days.

Scott: I'd package it with a current newspaper, a photo of me and my significant other and a Hostess Twinkie, seal them up in a time capsule and bury with a marker saying to be opened in 2164 to commemorate SEPTA's 200th anniversary.

Alisa: Since tokens are still accepted on buses and trolleys, if I had one last SEPTA token, I would keep it in my wallet until I came across someone who really needs it near my work, which is right by the 19th Street Trolley and many buses, and I would give it to them! I would hope that they think of me and how I parted with my last token to help them get to where they needed to go. After all, SEPTA is how we Philadelphians move around! :) -Alisa Borovik

Robert I would clean it then make a hold in it and shine it up and gold plat it for my grandkids to see when they get older.

Lashonda: If i had my last token in hand, i would preserve it as a momento for my future generations to be able to see how i lived and how travel was in my time. I want them to know how far our travel system has come and what made their future possible!!

Jennifer: I'd have it set as a charm, so I could always wear it and carry it along with me!

Ayanna: I’m actually going to miss tokens! This is a part of my upbringing of a Philly native! However, I would go to Penns Landing with my last token, one end of the city. It’s the summer and the breeze by the river feels amazing. Also the view of the bridge at night can’t be beat! I would just take an Uber after that since I’d have no more tokens!

Edisnajda: I would keep the last token  I had with my foreign money that I have collected from different countries like greece.italian and Albanian coins in my little purse coin. And I keep that in a special place so i never lose it, thanks.

Rosalyn: I catch the train downtown to get to work and its very expensive for me. I live in New Jersey.  This would help me so much.

Katie: I would drill some small holes in it to use as a button eye on a handmade SEPTA cyclops toy.

Leona: I would keep it to show kids when I get older and they have no idea what I am talking about when I say I used a token.

Mary Frances: Honestly, with my last token, I intend on saving it as a small "token" - pun fully intended. I believe it is a small part of history and how we are advancing as people and as a city. It may never be worth much in the future, but it would make for a good story if I explain to people - years from now - what this token is.

Alyssia: If I had the last SEPTA token. I would save it I have a lot of SEPTA memorabilia because my son who is autistic loves trains and buses and it would be for him he loves to collect anything to do with SEPTA at 4 years old.

Erica: Turn it into a necklace.

Mark: I would hold for commemorative edition and hopefully keep it forever. Also if a friend need a token I would give it to them. The toke would be added to jewelry collection and maybe perhaps I would put it in 15th street el stop fare box.

Sharon: Nostalgia runs deep, creating a little shadow box, with the token a 21 bus schedules  and a photo of my favorite route 21 bus driver , Mel, to display on my desk at work would be a lovely way commemorate this momentous event.  It would be sad to simply use toss it in the fair box. I enjoy and look forward to talking with Mel about sports, especially Eagles, Sixers and Flyers sports, so sharing this with him, and keeping the token as a keepsake, is what I'd do.

Stephanie: I was very sad to hear that they will no longer be selling tokens anymore! I think the best way to display the last tokens would be wearing them as earrings or displaying a bunch in a glass table."

Danielle: I will keep my last token in a box of memories I keep on my coffee table, along with old tickets, vacation trinkets and notes from my boyfriend

Samuel: I would fashion my SEPTA token into a medal and pin it onto my graduation gown because SEPTA got me to and from school each day.

Joseph: I would drill a hole in the top of the token and place a hook on it I would then use the token to put on my Christmas tree every year.

Xena: I have saved five tokens, so I can put it in an album for my kids Along with pictures of them on SEPTA and old ways of transportation so as they age they can see all the different things used to travel throughout time and hopefully they will continue the album for generations to come.

Rose: I would meld it into an engagement ring!

Samantha: I would take my token with me on my upcoming cruise to the Caribbean and pay for an item with it on an island, disguising it as a quarter. Then my token would live in the Caribbean islands and find its way to someone else's coin collection as a "unique, never before seen coin/token from America!"

Aaron: I would use the token 50 years from now, and get into an argument with the bus driver...like old men do ;)

James: I'd use that sucker as a sweet eyepatch.

Ana: I will keep my last token saved in my album and when my babies get older I will show them with the first picture I have getting on a SEPTA bus and show them the token so they can see what I used to use for transportation.

Grace: I will use mine to scratch off lottery tickets with the hope that someday I can afford a car.

Mindy: Our last token is in a cup holder in my car. Somehow my daughter dropped it. I almost gave it to a gentleman who was short on bus fare. But I couldn’t find it. I will hold on to it and hope that it will be a way to reminisce about how it was used for bus fare.

Jabri: What I would do with my very last token is use it so I can anywhere or I would help my brother out so he can get to work and home with my very last token.

Janice: I would use my Last token to go and visit my mother. She passed away in February of Cancer. Today is Mother's Day and I have to work but it I didn't,that's where I'd be.! I miss her every day and wish she was closer so that i could visit her grave more often. Winning this Contest would help me to get to the Cemetery to see my Mom. Good Luck to everyone and God Bless!

Marcus: I would keep it . Have in my safe and just have it there for the rest of my time being here on earth. Therefore i can show and tell future generations what our bus fare used to look like back in the day. Who knows maybe it might be worth something in the far future. Probably 50 or 60 years from now

Lamat: I would send it to my mom in Virginia. She's from Philadelphia and always used these tokens since 1988. She's been in Newport News Va for over 20yrs so I think she would love to have a slice of home. More like a good luck charm. I would have it crystalized and diamond out and made into a ankle bracelet for her and send it across the states.

Vashti: I would keep my token for as long as I can. If I don't spend it, then I can show it to my great grandkids.

Sheril: With my last token. I would keep it tucked away in my wallet with all my other gift cards, but on one faithful day when I will have no other choice but to use it, then I will spend it just as how I did with my $2 bill.

Tel: With my last token I would take the subway to 15th street and then take the trolley with free interchange and take one of the trolley’s to university city. My cousin had graduated from Wharton. He had came up from Georgia. It was a great time on SEPTA with my late father, Milton, who before he passed was a SEPTA bus driver in west philly. That trip was so much fun! Because we used tokens to get to the graduation and back home for the celebration. I miss my father dearly, but I still have my memories. I will miss the SEPTA token dearly, but will still have memories.

Keisha: With my last token I will keep in my class to show my students a piece of Philly history because twenty years from now my class wont even know that we use to use tokens to get around.

Jose : I saved the best token I could find to pair with the PTC token in my coin collection. It’s only proper.

Carmen: I would have it turned into a cool earring. In this case, I could only have one but they would make a cool pair of stud earrings. I would still rock just one though.

Harry: I would have it embedded in my hand so i'd always have a tonken on hand,.

Jordan: I plan on turning my last token into a necklace. SEPTA and these tokens have taken me so far over so many years. I can’t think of a better way to honor the spirit and community of SEPTA!

Troy: I will keep my token just to show my kids and grandkids (if have them). For history purposes.

Erica: I will drill a small hole at the top of my final two tokens and turn them into earrings! This way, I can always remember SEPTA tokens. I did this a few years ago with a pair of Sakagawea dollar coins, and I still wear them often!

Eric: I'd save my last token maybe it would be worth something later on in life..

Adam: I purchased tokens for my only trip to Philadelphia to use on the subway during the 2008 pennant chase. I’ve kept that one token I had left over ever since and I couldn’t image ever parting ways with that experience of winning the World Series and what that meant to me and the journey I took to witness it.

Adrianna: I have a photo album that i tend to put more than pictures in...I will put it in a photo album book to keep its history. I will pass that token along with its story down in my family starting with my kids... I think it would be fun.

Danielle: With my last token i would take a sightseeing ride on the El train from Bridge & Pratt (The Beginning) to 69th street (The End ) and back.. As an early teen, i moved to Philly and my first introduction to public transportation was riding the El by myself from Erie & Torresdale to 60th street to spend time with my cousins. For me growing up in Bucks County my parents drove us everywhere, so being able to travel all through the city and to see so many exciting views that many people take for granted was and still are amazing to me, from the commuters, to the many buildings and art work I to this day I make it an adventure for my children to travel via SEPTA anytime we have business downtown and they love it!!

David: I'd save it to show my grandchildren and great grandchildren some day how we used to get around in Philadelphia ... with the same SEPTA service as them, just a different way to pay!

Emily: I would give my very last SEPTA token to my Dad. My Dad was born in 1956 in Philadelphia. He grew up in North Philly somewhat near Temple University. He always jokes that the trolleys we use today are the same ones that were used in 1960’s, and that people thought they looked old back then!

Daniel: What would I do with my very last SEPTA token? There's multiple options I could do! I could save it and use it as my emergency token when I lose my transpass! I could give it to a friend to use. Heck even throw it in a "wishing well" for hope that whenever I'm broke, the nice SEPTA Operator will gives "yours truly" a free pass on to the Broad Street Line! But, the more reasonable option would be to save this important piece of history and tuck it a way in a safe place. One day when I have kids and I'm showing them my awesome collections and things I treasure, and as my eyes glance over at the silver quarter-sized coin with a bronze stripe running across it's face. I'd pick it up and tell them the stories about how that one coin, had the power to take you on different journeys across the city of "Brotherly Love".

Margaret: I have a little box of random coins I have and I will be saving it with them. Luckily I have 2 left and one day when millennials and generation z are all old with hoverwheelchairs, and the new youth doesn’t remember what an iPhone is, I will use the SEPTA sky speed train and I will bring my token and see if I can use it! There will be a couple weird looks and murmurs, wondering what this little coin is for. 😂 Thanks SEPTA for all you do!

Danee: I've been using tokens forever but for the last 6 years, I've gotten them as a part of my job's pre-tax, transportation program. Most months I would have more tokens than I needed, and was able to give some away; sometimes to family members in need; oft times to riders who'd forgotten/lost their passes or just seemed like they could use a smile/lift.Thought to punch a hole in my last one, and keep it as a literal 'token' of the end of an era. But now, I think I just might find that person using cash; or asking if someone can make change on the trolley; or close my eyes, open them, and pick the first person who smiles back- and gift them with a free ride.

Dawn: I would put my last token in a coin case and frame it with a paper transfer pass and a rail line ticket with a pic of the R3 line and 102 trolley I ride to and from work and through my neighborhood and have the SEPTA logo in the background of these items I'd frame and save for my grandson when he becomes an adult

Allela: My very last tokens deserve a proper fair well. I believe I would take a trip to were I first learned to ride the train. I would definitely take that awesome trip down memory lane. I would bored the train at Broad and Susquehanna drop that very last token in the window and listening to it make that sliding sound. As it travels for the last time  down down down. and I would travel toward center city and connect with the el. Gazing out the window and watching the world as i ride by. I would arrive at 69th street and take in a film at the Studio Movie Grill

Wesley: I will devote an eternal shrine with the SEPTA token at its focal point. A daily burning of incense will take place to appease the powers that be and ensure on-time delivery of trains. Once a year, passes that have been collected prior will be shredded and used a kindling for the annual SEPTA celebration. The token will be polished. The token will be remembered. The token will be worshiped.

Erik: I have a young toddler at home, and we are teaching him the ways of the world. One way to work on his fine motor skills AND get him used to putting money aside is to introduce him to a 'piggy' bank. Well, we bought a SEPTA bus coin bank like this one https://goo.gl/images/htsZmD and I'll be proud to have him practice his skills by putting tokens into the bus, as his daddy has for years. It's a family tradition! And one we can pass on for generations to come.

Valerie: I would have it laminated in a picture frame as the hall of fame. In 53 and life without tokens would seem so different but everything must change one day life can't stay the same!! Hello new age world

Anthony: I would save it to show to my unborn child so they could understand life before the convenience of the SEPTA Key Card.

Ramieka: I would keep mine as if i was collecting something valuable. In time it may be worth somthing & the new generation will still be able to view it.

Eamon: With my very last token, I would put it in a special case to preserve it. It would not only be a piece of SEPTA history, but a piece of Philly history. My little piece of history. 😉 As I'm writing this, I can hear the sound of a token being dropped in a fare box on the bus. Oh memories! ☺

Rachel: I would smelt it into a very tiny sword and whoever wielded the tokenblade would be the next great ruler of public transportation

Brittany: I love this question, and mostly, because I originally moved to PHL because of SEPTA. I came to visit from Houston very shortly after Hurricane Harvey for the first time in late September, from the moment I stepped off of my plane & onto the regional line from the airport to town, I fell in love. My conductor who took my pass had a great hat, and it reminded me of old times past. When I switched to the MFL at Jefferson station, everyone was so helpful in helping me find my way around a new city. I told my friend I was visiting that I saw the true meaning of brotherly love through SEPTA and moved up here a week later. I carry my last coin around in my wallet and plan to get a SEPTA coin tattoo on the one year anniversary of my moving here, wherein I will take an anniversary trip with that same coin I have carried around since I got my card. Thanks!

Chris: The very last token I had I buried it with my 16 year old dog that passed away on May 5th I've been riding SEPTA for 25 years first 261 to go to Philadelphia traffic court at 8th and Spring Garden and now the 9 bus to go to 8th and Chestnut to go to work I used to bring my dog on the bus with me when I could we were to take the bus up to Andorra and walk the Wissahickon Creek home so that's my story about my last token

Sarah: I would punch a hole in it and add it to my windshield hanging on Philly row house porch.  When the wind blows it will talk to me.

Melissa: I love token there so easy to get around and much faster. What would i do with my last token? I would keep it for either something important, or keep it as a souvenir of SEPTA.

Jennifer: Use it to scratch a winning lottery ticket.

Gabriel I am keeping a two pack of tokens as a collector's item.

Shawn: I would give my very last token to someone in need such as a homeless person or someone struggling to find money for a fare they need to take. Sharing is caring :)

Paul: I’d donate the last token to The Smithsonian!

Catherine: I would put my last SEPTA token in my time capsule of my freshman year at La Salle University!

Mickel: There are a few things I'd do with my final token. One possibility is convert it into and wear it as a chain that I'd wear everywhere, so that even when I'm not in Philly I'll still have a piece of my city with me. Another possible way I'd honor my last token would be to stitch it into a hat or shirt, preferably one that reps SEPTA and/or Philly. Better yet, I could take that last token onto the BSL, 33, or, some other route I frequent, and go as far as the single token will take me to then admire the city. No matter which method though, all of them signify the same thing: SEPTA, like Philly, is changing for the better, and that final token is a relic of thd time before the shift.

Colin: I would keep it and save it in a box of mementos! Tokens are now a cherishable piece of Philly history, and I would love to one day be able to show future generations what we used to use to ride the subway.

Dawn: I would definitely save it as a remembrance of a part of my life events. Then I can show it to my grandchildren, so they can see how things have changed through the years.

Aquila: I would definitely save it. I am a fan of SEPTA. Keeping this one last token reminds me of all the times that it was indeed helpful when you don’t have a transpass. So SEPTA tokens will be miss tokens been around for years since I was a kid. Collecting tokens will be like collecting baseball cards it’s worth saving.

Judy: I'm going to put my very last token in my Philly memory box! I have lived moved around a lot in my adult life and lived in Philly for a little less than 2 years now. I became a city girl and relied fully on SEPTA so I can't use up ALL my tokens!

Adeline: I would make a wish and toss my very last SEPTA token into the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy for luck. If three coins are tossed into the fountain, the tosser is granted good fortune in their romantic endeavors and marriage. By tossing a SEPTA token, my hope is that the city of Philadelphia and all of the SEPTA lines are granted good luck and prosperity.

Jackson: I’m going to throw it in the fountain across from Art Museum...hopefully it will grant me a wish...free TrailPass and a t-shirt.

Nahray: Proudly wear around my neck.

Melissa: I would put it in a time capsule along with other things from the city that holds significance from this year- Like Eagles Super Bowl memorabilia. It could be opened for SEPTA’s 100 year anniversary on 2/18/2064! 

Sara: A token haiku:

a token of thanks

to the journeys you gave us

farewell golden stripe

Tiffany: I would turn my token into jewelry! I’d love to have it as a necklace as a reminder for when I used them to go to the Phillies game!

Sydina: I purchased a ten pack for a bracelet to be made. I also purchased several two packs to keep on hand to give away if needed since I already have a loaded key card.

Theresa: It's going in my High School year book!  I graduated from Saint Huberts Catholic High school in 1979. One of the first things I can remember when I started my freshman year was standing in a long line to purchase my small clear plastic bag of tokens!   Finally a high school student,  SEPTA was my transportation every day back and forth for 4 long years. Then off to my big job in the city . Once again the token was needed for the bus and the Frankford Elevated train.  That little token was part of my youth, so in my Year Book it will go. 

Jason: I will save my last SEPYA token, the token that I planned to use to go to the Eagles parade before I found out rides on the BSL were free that day. I would have gladly used that token to attend what will go down as one of the greatest days of my life. Now I will proudly display my last SEPTA token next to all of my World Champion Eagles memorabilia!

Samantha: I added my last token to a shadow box full of tickets from events that my husband and I attended in and around Philadelphia. SEPTA got us to many of these events, so I thought it was a fitting tribute.

Lorraine: I would laminate it, frame it and hang it on my wall with #RIPSEPTATOKEN2018

Diane: I grew up riding SEPTA I still have one of the original school tokens inside my jewelry box. Now what I would do with my last token is I'd punch a hole in it with my hole puncher then clip it on my keyring and this will be a great conversation piece for many years to come.

Kelly: I would save my token and carry it  every Philadelphia marathon that I run because it so easier to carry that a card. There will be one day that I will need that token to travel home on Septa rather than walk. 3 miles after 26.2 hurts a little..Hopefully it will be when I qualify for Boston!! 😂 I will gladly slide it through the partition!!If I make it a necklace will they still accept it as a fare with a hole?

Gerry: I would save it for my future grandchildren and brag that this thing here, token, could take me from one end of Philly to the other end. They would look at me in awe.

KD: If I had the last token on earth, I would take it and tape it inside my favorite book. After that I would go to my University and hide the book in my engineering building with a note saying "if found please, do not spend token. Instead move the book to your favorite spot for someone else to find."

Bob: I would toss the token into the fountain by the Art Museum and make a wish. This way the token stays in Philly and I have a great last memory of it. Then when someone finds it in the fountain, they can create a new memory with it and keep the token torch burning. "

Austin: I would keep the token in a piggy bank and hope that one day the value of a token can go up and also to remind my kids how it was like in the old days.

Brenda: Last night as I was changing my pocket book as I do every night, I shook at my bag and two tokens fell out.  I have already bought into the SEPTA card.  So with my last two tokens I would make earrings.  Philadelphia Love!!!!

Howard: Give to a friend to make a token ring! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPhCYLWDo2c)

Ian: I would give it to a local non-profit that uses tokens to help clients access their services. The token plays a vital role in helping folks take advantage of these programs. Without the token, it makes it difficult for low income folks to get the help they need.

Sue: I would keep it with my other vintage (old) SEPTA tokens. It is just a keepsake .

Ashleigh: I have three tokens left and with the last token I am going to save it and keep for memories in a coin box. I have used tokens since 2001 riding the 27 and charter buses from Roxborough to Hallahan! I have worked in the city for many years and I take pride in my bus and using my tokens. I never wanted to make the switch! I loved being able to lend one to someone if they needed. I will miss that the most. RIP Tokens we will never forget you!

Dominique: If I only had 1 token left I wouldn't use it because I would like to keep it as a memory and I would put it in a save box and put it up.

Roberta: I would save it. In fact, I have. It is in the silver box with a Buddha etched on the front that I bought back in October to hold my daughter’s jewelry. The token reminds me of her. She lived in Philly before I did when she came to attend Temple. I moved here 9 years ago. She loved the trolley and the “El”. It took me 4 years to begin riding the trolley. She passed away last August. The token is one I had sent to her after she moved to Denver. I found it when I cleaned out her apartment. It is a happy memory of her riding the trolley,

Damaris: I’d use my last token to go to a new part of the city I’ve never gone to so that I can explore and take pictures with my boyfriend. I feel it’d be a good use of my last token.

Alberta: I would carefully bury it in my rose garden for a future generation to find this treasure.

Macdonald: I actually scanned mine and made it into a poster to live on my wall forever.

Latisha: I would frame the token and put it in safe keeping. It’s an actual history keepsake and I would definitely honor that!

Yvonne: Ideally, my last SEPTA token would be lovingly embedded in the center of my reluctantly purchased and challenging to obtain SEPTA Key, right below the 16-digit ID number and above the text and graphics depicting the not yet functional debit MasterCard option. I value living in a city with a robust and extensive public transit system, but mourn the loss of the tokens that worked so well and for so long. Seeing my final token every time I tapped the Key might not be possible, but it would be a bittersweet blend of old and new.

Vanessa: I would flatten it out and then put the Philadelphia Eagles logo on one side and ask Malcolm Jenkins to sign the other side!

Chris: Since I have two tokens left, I would put it one in the firebox to give it a beautiful send off to celebrate the end of the token era & the other token, I would put it in my SEPTA collection & keep it as a souvenir for other generations to come & for others to see the old way to pay you fare on SEPTA.

LaVerne: I would wear the token as part of a ring. I would have the token part being the top of the ring or where the stone on a ring would be. Since, i am a different person & dresser, it would match with other similar metal jewelry i have.

Colleen: Memories of how i got back and forth to school, college, and work.  I am holding on to my last token.

Adam: I got a token tattooed on my arm so I guess that counts as my last token, right? I have more pictures to prove it   Tattooed by Ozzie at eddies in Chinatown check out the link: https://instagram.com/p/BeB8ZhIhusH/.

Darrin: I would wear around my neck for all to see and remember the good times with them

Wanda: I would use my last token to have a conversation with my favorite bus driver. He drives the 52 bus, and I always get thoughtful conversation till I get off at 54th and Springfield Avenue. And he's an asset to SEPTA. My favorite bus driver. Mr. Goldberg.

Steven: I would hold it in my wallet for one of those long days when I may really need to hop on the bus and nothing is open for me to get change

Jake: I’m a college student who does a lot of camera work. When setting up a tripod, you need a coin to attach the quick-release plate on to the camera. You best believe I’m using that token for every camera I come across in the rest of my college and professional career.

Joanna: I am going to frame my last token in a coin framer and then put it on my wall near my desk. Every time I load my key card, I get to stare at it and say to myself Farewell and I miss you already.

Gloria: I met my best friend in Philadelphia. We both fell in love with the food, the skyline, and the people. It wasn't long until we discussed getting matching SEPTA token tattoos as a way to commemorate our love for a city that gave us both so much in the short time we've been here. Then, we heard that the token was no more. We began to talk about how special we were to live in a city that had a token last for so long and how we could use them in the best way possible. Each culture has a variation of sending people to the other side with a coin, a fare of some sort, so they can pay their way to whatever afterlife they might believe in. I'm saving my SEPTA token so that no matter what happens, I'll have on precious coin to get me to wherever I need to go, ideally on life's final MFL train. I tried to save up multiple tokens, but over the past months, I've needed to let a friend borrow one or used it when I forgot my card at home. Now, I'm down to one token in my wallet, but I suppose that is I will need on my final one-way journey. "

Angel: To be honest I still do have some tokens but if I come down to my last one I'll just pay with my septa card &/or pay with my money & save my last token for emergencies only

Sonali: What I would do with my very last token is keep it for my children to see how we used to get around on public transportation before the technology. Once I give it to her maybe she can pass it on to her children and grandchildren

Eva Marie: I'm sad to see the tokens go. To me it's a piece of my city's history and little piece of art in my pocket . . . and it's going away forever. My *first* thought was to just save my last token, and I wondered how many others would do the same. All that money unspent?  Would people, could people do that? So I wondered what the token means to people now that it's going away. Is it just car fare to some or do they feel some nostalgia with the loss? Does it mean something just sitting in a junk drawer or stashed in my change purse? What I think would be more meaningful, would be to enlist local artists to create art installations from the retired tokens and exhibit the pieces around the city. But between you and me, there's a lone token in my change purse, destined to be pushed aside each time I need to find a penny.

Connie: With my last SEPTA token, I would keep it in a trinket box and tell my future grandkids, "Back in my day, we used to use tokens on the bus whenever we wanted to get anywhere!"

Cynthia: I would turn my last two SEPTA tokens into some lovely earrings.  Just drill a small hole in them and insert some earring hooks and I can rock with SEPTA tokens forever.  A never-ending memory. 

Javon: I would keep mines it will be real valuable one day plus I would keep it to remind my children instead of using key cards we had token's and hopefully as time goes by I can pass the token down and share some wonderful stories about it that my children can share with their children later on down the line.

Heather: Well my husband and I have two that we will hold on to just in case some years down the road it becomes of value or gets up in a museum or possibly bought by a coin collector.

Jorge: If I had the last token in circulation I would keep it just in case I run in to someone in the street or on my way to work who needs it more than I do. I understand that in this day and age a lot of people do not use tokens and money for what they say they need it for but in reality and in my mind there are people on a daily who either by chance do not have that one token to transfer over on a connecting line or who don't have a means of transportation to get to their child/work/or appointment. I always keep a pack of tokens in my wallet just in case I run in to someone in that predicament. Not because it would probably give me good karma or that it will make me feel better about myself, I do it because you never know when you will be in that same situation. One act of kindness can mean a world of a difference to someone out there struggling.

Ed: If I have any tokens left over, I may put one in a coin display case on my desk as a way to remember all the great trips into the city that I took growing up. It'll be a great thing to show off to my future grandkids as a way to show them how much public transit has grown over the years.

Katherine: I’d put it on display with my last New York City token, an ever-growing collection of outdated technology.

Joseph: The best use for my very last token would have to be a trip on the Phillies' Express train to Citizens Bank Park!  Between Citizens Bank Park and Veterans Stadium I have used hundreds of tokens for this great purpose experiencing many awesome memories of ballgames over the years!  In September 2017 I used a token on the LAST express train home that night after a Phil’s/A's game which included rain delays and extra innings - ending after midnight!

Brian: I think with my last token, it would be fun to glue it to the floor right next to the turnstiles, I mean cement it in place so it would not come loose.  Then I'd situate myself nearby and watch, maybe video -- not just in amusement at the people struggling to pick it up, but to know that like me, they are a lot of other folks sorry to see the tokens go.  We have an attachment.  And maybe SEPTA might realize just how much some of us will miss them.

Lee: I would keep it until my children get older and tell them how SEPTA came a long way from technology. The token will be worth millions in the future.

Elise: I remember getting a pack of tokens in 6th grade from the School District of Philadelphia and feeling like I had gained independence to ride a bus to school with friends.  My own children grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and rode a yellow school bus.  Recently, I came across a SEPTA Token in my house and my children had no idea what it was.  They thought it was a coin from another country as we have part of our great grandfather's coin collection in a frame. I would definitely save this token to share with my grandchildren one day!!!

Khaliah: With my very last token I would go to the broad street line and ride back and forth and recount all the times I'd zone out and find adventure. I'd capture the moments when I wasn’t tall enough to pass through the turn style and I'll have nostalgia and want to crawl under but I know I can't fit so I would smile and hear my mother say "hurry up and go under. With my last token I would relive the best part of my childhood.

Gloria: I have exactly two tokens left as of 5/7/18. I will probably use one and put the other in a plastic case like it was a priceless coin. lol. It is in mint condition, and who knows, maybe one day it will tell a great story of the SEPTA token to a new generation. Because I believe every coin has a story. 😉 And thank you for the free rides when the coin machine was not working.

Allisha: I would either try to give it away or I would cash it in and give it to a homeless for them to get something to drink or eat.

Caylan: I bought a five pack of tokens and I’m not going to open it. I’m going to keep it for many years hoping that it will be worth something in the future, because I’m sure in like the year 2050, an unopened bag of SEPTA tokens would be an extremely rare find.

Mare: I would mount it on a snowflake form that I'd beaded with copper and silver beads and hang it on my Christmas Tree, of course!

Gerree: I would keep my token because I know in the future they will be one of those things people will forget about. It would be cool to have something that's no longer around; and having a piece of history I can call mine sounds great in hindsight.

Edisnajda: I would save it in my special collection of different countries I have been in the past and save this token along with my other tokens in my special coin purse, and I’d never lose it, thanks!!

Keena: I would just use it on the trolley one last time.

Angela: If I had the last token on earth it would be important to keep it for the sake of the children. The next generation of kids would not have the knowledge of how we had a coin that was dedicated to our transportation only. Besides I wish I had all the first transpasses because they were well designed and original and it was a great piece of history. I have been riding SEPTA for many moons.

Mabel: Just like my Chuck-E-Cheese gaming token from almost 2 decades ago, I will keep my last SEPTA token as a "token" reminder of my fond childhood past.

Nancy: Add to my key ring.

Albert: I would make a necklace or a bracket for my wife. Because she use to buy them for me.

Linda: I have been a SEPTA rider since 1983 on the Media Trolley (101) and have had several tokens from different decades.  I currently have a 2 pack and I am going to put them in a "For Emergency Only" box and save it.  I watch several antique shows and go to many swap meets and I guarantee you in 20 years I'll have a token that's worth more than $2.00 and I'll be able to tell my grandchildren about it when they go with me on the trolley and El to Philly!

Cheron: What I would do with my very last token is frame like it's a rare coin and place it on my dresser as a collector’s item cause one day it could be worth some money.

Stacy: I purchased tokens and never went on the trolley. So I think we will take the trolley this weekend.

Lavester: I would drill a hole in each of them and make an earring and pendant set .

Kim: I used my first token in 1976-1977 to go to High School, and now my grandson uses them he is a Freshman in High School 2017-2018. I will keep my last token and put it away for my grandson so he can show his family, and grandchildren that he used these back in his day just like I used them back in my day."

Sharon: I have a packet of tokens that I have held onto for probably 15 years or even more.  I may have gotten it when I was in college, more than 20 years ago.  I can't remember.  I have kept it because it is a 2-pack of tokens that has 3 tokens in it.  I have never opened it because I thought it was unique.  When I went to get rid of my remaining tokens and add them to my Key Card, I told my daughters that it was time to open the "3-pack".  They both freaked out and told me that I should never open the "3-pack" because it was so special.  So, I will be keeping my last 3 tokens in my jewelry box in my bedroom, in their un-opened 2-pack bag.

Brian: Nothing special.

Tellis: I would put it in a picture frame next to my PTC token and a paper pass that would be a history lesson about Philly. For all my grandkids and great grandchildren

Joe: When I began to place my last SEPTA token with my others (a DV Bridge token, a school token from my high school days, a regular token from the 60's and tokens from St. Petersburg, Russia) the token said to me, "What are you doing?"  This was unexpected. "This is the best you can do with me?" I thought for a moment....."I really need to lay off that medical marijuana" and closed the drawer.

Angela: When I heard that tokens would not be accepted any more, I made sure not to use my last one. I am saving it with my Philadelphia Zoo elephant key. I love Philly so much and even though many things are changing and moving forward - I will always have my special memories.

Stanley: I would take a long ride on the system, from Fern Rock to Pattison, and then from 69th Street to Frankford, using the free interchange at City Hall. 

Raina: Honestly, I plan on keeping my last token. I have a 3 year old and I think it would be pretty cool to show him when he's older the things I had when he was a baby. It's going to be a small collector’s item from SEPTA.

Samir: I would save my last token because it might be valuable in the future.

Brooke: In order to honor and memorialize the SEPTA token, I would turn it into a Christmas ornament to hang on the tree. That way, the token would be on display for recognition while also serving as a stroll down memory lane.

Catherine: I would give my last token to someone in need!

Dawn: I would save it with the PTC token I have saved from the times before the SEPTA token to remember the simpler times when everything wasn't run by computers.

Rose: I would give my last token to someone who is in need getting a job interview, hospital, or home. There are times when emergencies occur or situation arises.

Cathy: I had already decided that I couldn't use that last token.  It's the end of an era.  SEPTA has changed so much since I moved to Philly back in 1973.  Happily, all the vehicles have been updated and are so much nicer than they were.  And the electronic signage is a dream come true.  Of course, it all has to be paid for...so fares have gone up, too.   But, I'm a firm believer in mass transit, so I'm willing to ante up.  What I decided to do with that last token was to include it in a collage of transit related memorabilia.  This little guy is going to be spared from becoming a hot mess, and turned into art!  Maybe I can awe my grandchildren by telling them we used to drop metal tokens in a farebox to get across town.  They'll never believe it.

Pierce: I would put a small hole in it so I could put a chain through it and wear it.

Matt: I would place my token on a window on the EL at Frankford Trans Center. I would let it experience what I have: a ride throughout all the diverse and wonderful neighborhoods of our great city heading to West Philly. Of course it would have to eventually switch to the BSL at City Hall to experience North and South Philly too.

Judith: I plan to use my last two tokens to attend the Walnut Street Theater performance of Mama Mia! on May 19th.  I always take public transit to the shows since driving is too stressful in Center City.  One token to get there, the last one to come home.  

Reeba: I'd keep my last few tokens to give to my grandchildren, along with the rest of my coin collection. My dad and I are avid coin collectors and share a mutual love for all things SEPTA. When I was in college at Drexel, my dad would always take SEPTA on his monthly visits to his doctors at UPenn. On his way back he'd always take the El and stop by campus to see me for lunch or a quick snack before heading home on the R5. We travel all around the world, and growing up I would find random coins my dad would hide from his travels to countries like Denmark and India. We started saving coins in a special wallet, then moved on to coin collecting albums. Our last few tokens have already been stored in our album, as we've both adopted the SEPTA Key and continue to travel through the great city of Philadelphia. I'm excited to continue this tradition and pass it on to my family.

Nam: As a long running tradition that SEPTA has been using, my last token will be kept as a memory to pass on the next generations.

Corin: I would give my token to someone who is less fortunate begging for money to take the bus or train. The homeless or those financially less fortunate my not be able to afford the $4.95 for a Keycard or be able to put the minimum ride amount on the card, therefore they may not be able to take that one ride that they need. So I would give it to someone to help them get to their destination.

Anthony: I'm going to put it into a jar with a note and my email address. Then toss it into the Delaware River... The note will say at the top of the page. "A TOKEN IN TIME." The note will ask the finder to email me with the general location they found the jar and token.  Add their own email. They are to drop the jar back in the river...    see how far a token can travel without a bus"

Catherine: With my very last token, I would drill a tiny hole into it and put a string through it so I could wear it as a necklace. That way all the memories I have from the time I've spent exploring Philadelphia via SEPTA would always be close to my heart.

Ashley: I would save my very last token as a memorabilia and show it to my daughter when she gets older to tell her how life was like back in the day. Times have changed so much so having a little piece of history would be great. Who knows, maybe it will be valuable as well.

Lana: I would put it in my coin bank and leave it there. Down the road when I empty my bank to cash it in I would see it and remember the good ole token days!

Joeann: I would use it to teach my son how to ride SEPTA alone for the first time

Kiran: I don’t know but ever since I was young I’ve always been a huge fan of transportation and for some reason idolized SEPTA as being one of the best if not the best out of the transportation systems out there. Over the years I’ve been collecting everything SEPTA from shoelaces to books and bags you name it I’ve tried to get it and it would make my world to have one of the last SEPTA tokens around to proudly frame and hang up on my wall

Suzanne: The very first SEPTA token I ever used was to the the 57 bus to South Street when I was a teenager. I have used hundreds of SEPTA tokens since that day. Although I now have the Key Card I still have a few SEPTA tokens left in my possession. I take the Broad Street line to Center City five days a week but with my very last token I will use it to take a nostalgic trip on the 57 bus to South Street.

Naomi: I would catch the El down to 1234 Market St. SEPTA Headquarters and thank them for the wonderful coins that have gotten me to and fro for as long as I can remember. We'll miss you tokens!!! 😘😘 R.I.P. SEPTA Tokens

Lasina: What would I do with my very last token? I would hold onto it to show my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I would want to actually have physical proof of what I am describing to them when I tell them about the tokens. I even have one old style transpass as well. Put away to show them.

Marilyn: I would cut it in half to make a pair of earrings. If it could be mold which I think can be molded a the image should look like the bus...

Erika: Growing up my dad taught me to always have a token on my persons at all times so I would always have a way home because of this a token has always given me a sense of comfort. Because of this I would turn my last SEPTA token into a bracelet or keychain so I know I’ll always have a way home and more importantly I’ll always have a piece of Philly history on me.

Sunil: I would use it to model the icon for my cryptocurrency, PATCOin.

Michelle: I would create a photo collage and have it framed as part of something showing SEPTA’s past, present and future that would include images and items. It's definitely something that is worth showing younger generations to come, and would be a great conversation piece hanging on your living room wall.

Seth: I would make it into a necklace for my 3 year old daughter. So she never takes technology for granted.

Emily: I would turn them (I need two!) into cufflinks for my husband, who has commuted from West Philly to Doylestown for 10 years on SEPTA. He would proudly wear them everywhere. Can the prize include two tokens? :)

Edward: With my last and final SEPTA token, I would never ever use it to get on any SEPTA vehicle because it is now a thing of the past and once you use it you can never ever get it back. I have one more SEPTA token left and it’s in my room in my secret coin box and I’m going to always cherish and keep it forever. I will never sell it or anything because it’s a SEPTA memory! When I die, I’m going to give it to my children and tell them this is how we used to ride SEPTA back in the day; with tokens... hopefully they don’t use or sell it because kids these days don’t really know the value of things... I will also tell them that we use something called the SEPTA key which is almost like a credit card.

Stuart: The SEPTA Token: A fond farewell. I will miss youse. You are simple and bee-yood-ee-ful (beautiful). You have Fluffia addy-tood (Philadelphia attitude). To remember you fondly and to memorialize you I would hang you from the ceiling above and slightly in front of my mantel on a rotating device and illuminate you with various spotlights so you would sparkle as you turn, while the Rocky theme plays. Yo, goodbye.

Jess: My son is 6 months old and will never know the fun of dropping a token to ride the El. If I kept one I’d probably make it into a keepsake for him - maybe a keychain - so I could tell him about the “good old days” and give him a piece of iconic Philly. 

Kelvin: I'm planning on saving it and passing it on to my children in about 20 years. I believe it will be a great experience sharing my memories.

Jade: I had one token in my wallet before I got a key card months ago, just recently I was looking through my wallet of change and pulled out my only token. I could have added it to my key card but I decided not to. I might going to keep it, it’s symbolic and represents years of memories for me

Meredith: With our last SEPTA token, my boyfriend and I have decided to save up for a tattoo that is a memorial to the beloved SEPTA token that has impacted our lives so much. As we realize we may not see many tokens ever again, we would like to immortalize the joy that tokens bring to Philadelphia. We each plan on getting a tattoo of the token on our shoulders, with a banner that says “Buy the token, take the ride."

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