What Are Love Tokens? Meaning, History and 30 Message Ideas
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Love tokens are small keepsakes — traditionally coins, now often wooden discs — that each carry a short message of affection: a reason you love someone, a shared memory or a promise. The person who receives them keeps them and comes back to them, which is why a handful of tokens in your own words means more than a card someone else wrote.
What does “token of love” mean?
A token of love is any small object given as a sign of affection. Its value lies in what it stands for rather than what it cost. A love token makes the idea specific: the object carries the message itself, so it can be held, kept and reread.
A short history of love tokens
Engraving a message onto a coin is an old way of making a love token. Some of the best-documented examples were made by convicts waiting to be transported from England to Australia, who smoothed the face of a coin and engraved it with names, verses and pictures as a farewell to the people they were leaving. The National Museum of Australia holds 314 of these convict love tokens, which it describes as the largest single collection in the world. One, from 1825, is believed to have been engraved by Henry Barton, a 29-year-old shipwright, for a woman named Elizabeth.
Today’s love tokens follow the same idea with a lighter purpose: a small set of engraved pieces, each with one message, given for an anniversary, Valentine’s Day or no particular reason.
Love tokens for him
Love tokens suit men who say they want nothing, because the gift is the words rather than the object. Write about things only he will recognise: the town where you met, the band you saw on your first date, the way he makes the tea. Ten short, specific messages work better than one long one.
What to write on love tokens: 30 ideas
Ten reasons I love you
- You make me laugh every day
- You are my best friend
- You make me a better person
- We are stronger together
- The way you make me smile
- The way you believe in me
- Your heart of gold
- All the fun we have
- Your support when it counts
- Your cuddles
I love you like… (finish the sentence)
- A squirrel loves nuts
- Nachos love melted cheese
- Tea loves a good biscuit
- Toast loves butter
- A cat loves a sunny windowsill
- Chips love vinegar
- A dog loves a walk
- Sunday loves a lie-in
- A pigeon loves a statue
- Wales loves rugby
Memories and promises
- Paris, 2019
- Our first dance
- The night the car broke down
- Sunday morning pancakes
- Our first flat
- I’ll always make the tea
- Every adventure, together
- Still my favourite person
- Here’s to the next ten years
- Always yours
How to write your own
Write the list without editing yourself, then cut each line down to a few words. Our tokens are 30mm across, so three or four words per token reads best. Pick one theme so the set hangs together, and put the message you most want them to read last.
Personalised wooden love tokens
Our personalised love tokens are a bag of ten 30mm wooden tokens, each laser-engraved with a message you write, plus a tag reading Reasons I love you or I love you like… They are made to order in our workshop in North Wales. For other ways to say it, see our romantic gifts and the wooden mixtape with a playlist QR code.
Frequently asked questions
What are love tokens?
Small keepsakes, traditionally coins and now often wooden discs, that each carry a short message of affection such as a reason you love someone, a memory or a promise.
What does a token of love mean?
Any small object given as a sign of affection. Its value comes from what it represents, not what it cost.
How many love tokens should I give?
Ten is a common number because it suits “ten reasons I love you”, and it is how many come in our bag. Fewer, more personal messages beat a long list of general ones.
Are love tokens a good gift for him?
Yes, particularly for someone who is hard to buy for. The messages are the gift, so make them specific to him.
How long should each message be?
A few words. On a 30mm token, three or four words read clearly; save longer thoughts for a card.