More Stuff From The Box

O yez, o yez! All rise for more STUFF FROM THE BOX! The honorable Judge Pepperidge is presiding. We're still enjoying (?) items from the tiny Westinghouse Automobile Lamp Kit box that you saw fairly recently. 

Our first item is this cool lucky coin from Aku Aku - a Polynesian restaurant in the venerable Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. Aku Aku debuted in 1960, and was there all the way until 1980, so it had a good long run. This coin has an Easter Island moai on the obverse, and as the reverse tells us, rubbing his nose brings good luck. Always a desirable attribute in Sparkleberg. I have several of these, the others being silver in color.

Here's a beautiful vintage photo (scrounged from the interwebs) of the large moai in front of the Stardust Casino - he's wearing a Santa Hat, just like the moai on Easter Island originally wore (needs verification). 

It's nice to meet the actual artist who carved that fairly authentic-looking moai - she isn't named, but clearly has much talent, as all of you can see.

I've mentioned my fondness for little employee pins before; it's actually been a while since I've bought any, but there was a time when I snatched up quite a few. They tend to be not much bigger than .5" or .75", and are sometimes made of 14 karat gold (I forgot to look to see if this was marked "14k"). This one belonged to a Phillips 66 Company employee (a multinational company headquartered in Houston Texas), given on the occasion of this person's 10th year with organization.

This next item is a vintage ID badge from the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. Undated, but possibly from around WWII? The thing that gets me about this one is that photo. I'm sure the man was a fine, salt-of-the-earth fellow, but that picture is creepy. He looks like a ghost! Or maybe a zombie. Or a zombie ghost. "He's coming to get you, Barbara!". 

This next tiny brass-and-enamel pins (about .5" in length) was a mystery to me, but it only cost $20,000, so I bought it just for fun. There are several radio stations that used the WEEI call letters (including one in Rhode Island), but the lightbulb shape was a helpful clue: The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston built and signed on this station as the first incarnation of WEEI, from which the call sign was derived. It was established... as a public relations vehicle... highlighting the usage of the latest and most advanced radio equipment. I am unsure of the "BEBBC" letters on this pin, perhaps one of you can figure that out. There's a lot more history than I can relate here, so click on THIS LINK if you are interested.

And lastly, here's a very nice little brass (or bronze) coin featuring the profile of Benjamin Franklin. It's a souvenir from the Benjamin Franklin Memorial (aka the "Franklin Institute") located in Philadelphia, which is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States. While I have no date on this item, I would not be surprised if it was produced in the 1930s.

Stay tuned for more STUFF FROM THE BOX!