Name/Title
TokenEntry/Object ID
2004.19.45cDescription
Four aluminum tokens issued by the Grand Union grocery chain. Face reads (on each): "AT / GRAND / UNION / FOOD STAMP / CREDIT TOKEN /...(amount)" One is for 25 cents (sign), two are for 5 cents and one is for 1 cent.The reverse reads:"FOOD STAMP / CREDIT TOKEN / REDEEMABLE ONLY IN / ELIGIBLE FOODS / ... then the amount.
The 25 and 1 are circles, one 5 is a square and the second 5 is octagonal.
.1= 25 cents (circle) .2= 5 cents (square) .3= 5 cents (octagonal) .4= 1 cent (circle)Context
These are tokens that someone paying for their groceries at a Grand Union supermarket with coupons from the Federal Food Stamp program would receive in change rather than actual money. They could spend the tokens at the store on a subsequent shopping trip.
Here is the history of these tokens from https://coinweek.com/education/excerpts-e-sylum-history-food-stamp-tokens-february-1-2015/
"From the 1930s onward, food coupons were available to individuals and families whose income was below a certain level. The system is still around today, but the coupons have been replaced by a SNAP card similar to a credit card. The coupons used during the ‘60s through the ‘90s were the same size as and similar to currency, and were probably printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (they were shredded along with currency and sold in bags to visitors to the Bureau). The coupons were colorful and well-made and attracted the interest of collectors. However, possession (or collecting) of food stamps by those not registered in the program was illegal.
In the 1960s the lowest value “food stamp” was 50 cents. About 1970 that value was eliminated and one dollar was the lowest value coupon. By law, stores weren’t allowed to give real money in change for food coupons, but the government provided no means to solve this problem.
As a result, each store came up with its own method. Many stores, especially smaller ones, simply wrote out the amount of change due on the register receipt, initialed it and gave it to the customer to be used on his next visit. Other stores had paper scrip printed with which to make change. Some stores had metal tokens made to use for change. Some stores had plastic tokens made. The earlier plastic tokens came in sets of four values — 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents. The only tokens I’ve seen in this series were dollar size."Acquisition
Accession
2004.19Source or Donor
Partridge, Sanborn (1915-2013)Acquisition Method
GiftLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
TokenNomenclature Class
Exchange MediaNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Grand Union