Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Coin Chat
>
Cardboard OPA tokens
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="hontonai, post: 610543, member: 4703"]The ration books the government issued during most of the war years came filled with different-colored stamps with different point values good for different things. Each household received an allotment based on the number of people residing there. (I have no idea what the homeless did as I wasn't conscious of their existence back then.)</p><p><br /></p><p>In general meats and fats required red stamps and processed fruits/vegetables called for blue stamps. Each stamp had a multi-point value, and the one-point fiber tokens Eddiespin posted were issued as "change". Stamps were postage-stamp size, and the tokens are the diameter of a dime, but nearly as thick as a nickel. Stamps had expiration dates, but the tokens didn't.</p><p><br /></p><p>Other colored stamps were needed for many items, including clothing and shoes. Separate coupon books were used for gasoline, along with small window stickers indicating the category of gas stamps the vehicle owner was allowed to use.</p><p><br /></p><p>Grocery stores, clothing stores, and other rationed goods sellers would display an item's price in both dollars and (constantly changing) ration point requirements.</p><p><br /></p><p>Merchants had to paste the stamps they collected into books similar (but larger) than the ones later used for S&H Green Stamps (and their competitors). Our neighborhood grocer used to let me help him by licking the stamps and putting them in the books - lots of fun for a pre-teen!.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most people had "A", "B" or "C" gasoline stickers and stamps, with "A" category allowing less than one full tank per month and "C" allowing pretty much unlimited purchases for people with "critical" needs.</p><p><br /></p><p>An interesting point about gas rationing is that in those days since most oil used in the US came from domestic wells, gasoline wasn't really in short enough supply to require rationing; but tires required natural rubber, and the Japanese had conquered most of the world's rubber producing areas. Dangerous ocean shipping was needed from the remaining available sources. The theory was that the need for tire production was reduced by the restrictive effect on driving resulting from the gasoline rationing. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyone really interested can check out this <a href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1674.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1674.html" rel="nofollow">detailed explanation</a> of the rationing system.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="hontonai, post: 610543, member: 4703"]The ration books the government issued during most of the war years came filled with different-colored stamps with different point values good for different things. Each household received an allotment based on the number of people residing there. (I have no idea what the homeless did as I wasn't conscious of their existence back then.) In general meats and fats required red stamps and processed fruits/vegetables called for blue stamps. Each stamp had a multi-point value, and the one-point fiber tokens Eddiespin posted were issued as "change". Stamps were postage-stamp size, and the tokens are the diameter of a dime, but nearly as thick as a nickel. Stamps had expiration dates, but the tokens didn't. Other colored stamps were needed for many items, including clothing and shoes. Separate coupon books were used for gasoline, along with small window stickers indicating the category of gas stamps the vehicle owner was allowed to use. Grocery stores, clothing stores, and other rationed goods sellers would display an item's price in both dollars and (constantly changing) ration point requirements. Merchants had to paste the stamps they collected into books similar (but larger) than the ones later used for S&H Green Stamps (and their competitors). Our neighborhood grocer used to let me help him by licking the stamps and putting them in the books - lots of fun for a pre-teen!. Most people had "A", "B" or "C" gasoline stickers and stamps, with "A" category allowing less than one full tank per month and "C" allowing pretty much unlimited purchases for people with "critical" needs. An interesting point about gas rationing is that in those days since most oil used in the US came from domestic wells, gasoline wasn't really in short enough supply to require rationing; but tires required natural rubber, and the Japanese had conquered most of the world's rubber producing areas. Dangerous ocean shipping was needed from the remaining available sources. The theory was that the need for tire production was reduced by the restrictive effect on driving resulting from the gasoline rationing. Anyone really interested can check out this [URL="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1674.html"]detailed explanation[/URL] of the rationing system.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Coin Chat
>
Cardboard OPA tokens
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...