Edgewood meritorious tokens, also known as "coins" or just "tokens", are the currency used to purchase items and consumables from the school's vending machines. Enemies will sometimes drop a coin when killed, and certain room designs include coins placed on the floor. Some perks increase the chance of enemies dropping coins, and others give you a large lump sum of coins, though this usually at some cost to Cordy's stats.
Cordy's character sheet displays how many coins she is currently carrying at the top left.