A coin telephone is a kind of public telephone that requires the insertion of a coin or token into the device to gain access to the phone line. This device is also known as a payphone or a coin-operated phone. Other synonyms for coin telephone include a payphone booth, call box, pay station, or coinbox telephone. A coin telephone was popular in the past before the advent of mobile phones, and it was typically used for making quick calls on the go. With the decline in use of coin telephones, these synonyms are also becoming less common.