tokens for winning?

Yes it was a common practice and it would get you about an hour of free play. I think it was a way of promoting a business back in the day.
Collecting these tokens is gotten very popular and some tokens command very high prices.

Here is a page on some Colorado tokens.
http://treasuredpasts.hubpages.com/hub/Trade-Tokens--The-Unknown-Collectible

alphadog said:

My 80 yr old father tells me that back when he was a kid pool was a dime a
game. 5cents for each player.
Winner got a 5cent token good at the poolhall,and the grocery store.
Was this common or a local practice?

Click to expand...

yeah it was pretty common all over the U.S., with local variations based on the local laws and whatnot.

not unlike today, tokens were simply a way to make you come back to use them at the same place(s). (couldnt be spent anywhere else) and in some places, they were actually used to skirt the law. (considered "trade" instead of currency) you might trade a token for a beer, which was not the same as selling or buying alcohol. lol

for the most part, they were promotional gimics, or just sold for cash at a higher return rate, to give you the impression that you were getting more for your money.

one game = 5cents or one token
buy 25 tokens = 1dollar <---better deal
(but you can only use them here)

there were, and still are, bazillions of tokens still around