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1 Cent Michigan State House Branch Prison
| Issuer | Marquette Branch Prison |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Obverse description | Blue letterpress text on cream paper stock. The left portion carries the issuing authority and coupon type in bold sans-serif lettering, with a warning notice at lower left reading "NOT GOOD IF DETACHED." A red serial number appears centrally; the denomination "1 CENT IN MDSE" is set within a ruled rectangular panel at right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | INMATE STORE MARQUETTE BRANCH PRISON CASH COUPON NOT GOOD IF DETACHED 1 CENT IN MDSE |
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| Comments |
Prison scrip occupies a peculiar corner of American notaphily, and Michigan's Marquette Branch Prison issues are among the more documented examples. These small-denomination notes functioned as internal currency within the prison economy, allowing inmates to make purchases at the commissary — a system used by several American state penitentiaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to reduce the handling of real money inside the facility.
Marquette was a maximum-security institution, and the scrip system was explicitly designed to limit contraband and control inmate purchasing power. The 1-cent denomination is the smallest in the series, which tells you something about how tightly the economy was calibrated.