Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Cent - Allens Market Chicago, Illinois
| Issuer | Allens Market |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Vouchers |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1c 1c FOOD STAMP CREDIT SLIP Redeemable Only in Eligible Foods at ALLENS MARKET 703 EAST 43RD STREET Chicago, Illinois ONE CENT Not Redeemable in U.S. Currency ONE CENT CREDIT SLIP 1c 1c |
| Reverse description | Plain yellow paper with an all-over geometric basket-weave underprint pattern. No printed text or vignettes; a faint ornamental device is discernible near centre. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Allens Market was one of hundreds of American retail grocers and general stores that issued their own fractional paper scrip during the early 1930s, when the hoarding of coins following the banking panics created a genuine shortage of small change in everyday commerce. These merchant-issued cents were a practical workaround — accepted in-store, occasionally circulating among neighboring businesses, and utterly without legal backing. The federal government tolerated them briefly before clamping down as recovery programs stabilized the coin supply.
Allens Market's Chicago issue is otherwise undocumented in major scrip references, which is itself typical of hyper-local store currency that was printed in small runs and rarely survived redemption.