Have you heard of "Paper Pennies".

[bsshog40]

Me and my brother-in-law was talking about coins. Go figure. He mentioned his grandma using paper coins during the war. I think WW1. Has anyone ever heard of these??

[123cents]

I have heard of WWII rations tokens. They were made of paper.

[bsshog40]

Are these them? Are they made of cardboard?

[123cents]

Are these them? Are they made of cardboard?

 

That's is them Bobby. They had red ones like you have a picture of and blue ones too. The red were used to purchase meat, fish and dairy products. The blue were used to purchase fruits and vegetables. They were made of a fiber like cardboard.

[bsshog40]

Thanks for the info Carl. I found this pic on ebay. They were saying they were "Food Rations". I had never heard of these so I thought it interesting when he started talking about them. Are these things collectible? I noticed they were pretty cheap on ebay. Wondering if there are certain types that are more collectible than others.

[ant]

just learned something new!!!! thank you very much!! awsome post!

[RUSS BEGA]

kewl post, very int\resting subject that really gets you thinking

[ant]

wondr what a dip would do to those :P

[RUSS BEGA]

[ibyandsellsmith]

wondr what a dip would do to those :P

Couldn't be any worse than your last try.

[bsshog40]

Good one Richard!

[ant]

wondr what a dip would do to those :P

Couldn't be any worse than your last try.

 

now thats good! nice shot!

[James_OldeTowne]

I've had a few from time to time. They aren't literally paper, more like a compressed cardboard, as someone else mentioned.

[rrantique]

I heard they taste like Doritos when used with dip.

[rbrown4]

Hey Bobby,

 

You're really not going to believe this one. I thought the pics you posted looked familiar so I went back to the "infamous desk". Yep there it was a Blue Point. About the size of a dime and the same thickness, pressed cardboard type material, both sides identical. I am assuming the T X is for Texas???

 

(I think I should empty the entire desk out now)

 

Rey

 

 

[TJ'S Coins]

The Japanese issued a fiberboard coin for use in Manchuria near the end of WWII. They look a lot like the paper tokens photographed above.

[bsshog40]

Thanks for the info ya'll. Rey, that's pretty cool. Yea, sounds like you need to check that dresser out huh?

[DWLange]

Most of these posts addressed the red and blue OPA ration point tokens of WWII, but there were paper cent tokens issued privately during both world wars to address regional shortages of cents. These were tolerated by the feds in 1917-18, but all such moves were shut down immediately when they reappeared during 1942-43.

[akrotiri13-migration]

the letters on them actually mean nothing. There was no ryhme or reason the office of price administration chose the letters, noone really knows why.

[thebeav]

the letters on them actually mean nothing. There was no ryhme or reason the office of price administration chose the letters, noone really knows why.

 

Some of the letter combinations are quite valuable. Someone here, or across the street, posted a very informative listing a year or two ago.

 

Paul

[PerryHall]

The only "paper pennies" than I can think of were the small denomination postage stamps used as money during the coin shortage in the early days of the Civil War before the government started issuing fractional currency.

[akrotiri13-migration]

That's true, they have value due to the letters on them and when they were produced.. The red MV for example was made at the end of the war with only 800 know to have made it into circulation and only 200 to 250 know to exist today. The blues have some value just for the fact there was only 900 million of them made versus the 1.1 billion red ones. Depending on what you have.. An MV for example you can get upwards of 250 to 400 dollars for it. There are lots of misstamps and blanks out there too that go for about 10 bucks each.