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1 Cent - A.J. Bayless Phoenix, Arizona
| Issuer | A.J. Bayless Markets |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Currency | Dollar (1785-date) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark ink on crimson-red paper stock, the obverse carries the bold letterpress legend FOOD STAMP / CREDIT SLIP in the centre field, flanked at each corner by rounded rectangular cartouches bearing the denomination numeral 1c. Below the central text, the A.J. Bayless logotype in a shield-shaped vignette carries the slogan "Your Home Town Grocer", with a redemption clause in smaller type above it. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1c 1c FOOD STAMP CREDIT SLIP Redeemable Only in eligible foods at: A.J. Bayless "Your Home Town Grocer" 1c 1c |
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| Comments |
A.J. Bayless Markets operated a chain of grocery stores across the Phoenix area from the 1920s through the 1980s. This one-cent note is merchant scrip — private fractional currency issued to solve the perpetual small-change problem retailers faced, particularly acute in the postwar decades when coin shortages periodically disrupted everyday commerce. Grocery chains were among the most frequent issuers of such scrip, redeeming it in-store against future purchases rather than paying out coin.
The practice was entirely legal under U.S. law, provided the scrip was not designed to imitate federal currency.