CONDOM TOKEN ISSUED
The Associated Press released a story Thursday, May 5, 2003, that condoms are being distributed in areas of high HIV occurrence, notably New York City, in exchange for one cent or one token. The story did not say where they hand out the tokens but 100,000 Lifestyle brand condoms are being exchanged for the cent or token in Manhattan bars and restaurants.
Ansell Healthcare Products donated the products for this campaign, called “I Know.” The condoms have stickers on the wrappers which show the location of a nearby free HIV testing center. The release states: The condoms can be bought with a penny or with a special copper coin circulated during the past few weeks by volunteers with the “I Know” campaign.
The campaign includes a web site promoting the token. See www.iknow.tv The token’s primary design element is what numismatists would recognize as very similar to the “All Seeing Eye” within a triangle, much like the Great Seal of the United States seen on the back of the U.S. $1 bill. Apart from the triangle, the eye motif is also recognizable as a key design element in the Nova Constellatio colonial series. The token’s obverse legend is “This coin is the key.”
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