Coupon Books

Coupon Books, Cardboard Tokens and Paper Tickets are closely related to the metal tokens upon which this web site concentrates. Therefore Coupon Books are worthy of mention here. These items were primarily used in the industrial areas such as Sawmills, Sugar Plantations, and Cotton Plantations or by delivery services such as ice and dairy products, again to provide discounts. Even the military used Coupon Books in their NCO Clubs and Officers Club.

The Coupon Books had certain advantages over their metal counterparts in that the initial costs were less and counterfeiting proved more difficult. Additionally, some printers produced “generic” coupon books that a merchant could customize with a rubber stamp or simply by writing his name on the cover. The drawback was the lack of durability, only rarely were detached coupons reused.

W.H. Tupper Elton, LA
The Coupons in this book are good for $5.00

The coupon book system was an excellent mechanism through which to provide credit. Each book contained a numbered receipt corresponding to the book number. If a customer or an employee wished a credit of ten dollars he was issued a ten dollar coupon book (or punch card) and signed the attached receipt (or the card itself). As he purchased merchandise, the cashier would detach the appropriate amount of coupons.

Ovide B. LaCour, Inc. LaCour, LA
50 cent couponbook

Sometimes coupon books were printed locally. These are often rather plain. More ornate books were manufactured out-of-state by large printers, including:

Allison Coupon Company; Indianapolis, Indiana
Weldon, Williams, and Lick Company; Fort Smith, Arkansas
Globe Ticket Company; Atlanta, Georgia
Southern Coupon Company; Birmingham, Alabama
The Cargill Company; Houston, Texas
Southwest Ticket & Coupon Company; Dallas, Texas
Rand McNally & Company; Chicago, Illinois