1 Cent - Central City Supermarket Richmond, Virginia

From the 1930s onward, food coupons were available to individuals and families whose income was below a certain level. 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. Some stores had plastic tokens made. The earlier plastic tokens came in sets of four values -- 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents. When the 50 cent coupon was discontinued, stores began using five-piece sets that included a 50 cent token. The vast majority of these five-piece sets are in a standard format -- 29mm with a common reverse reading: FOOD STAMP CREDIT / (value) / IN ELIGIBLE FOODS. The colors were also standard: 1c black, 5c green, 10c blue, 25c orange, 50c pink.