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1 Cent - Better Food Markets Los Angeles, California
| Issuer | Better Food Markets |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Unprinted reverse showing the pink wave-pattern underprint of the security paper throughout, with the repeated text COAST SAFETY visible as part of the paper manufacturer's safety underprint. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Security underprint |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Better Food Markets was a Southern California grocery chain that issued its own paper scrip for use in-store — a practice that persisted among American retailers well into the mid-twentieth century, particularly in California where competitive promotional schemes were aggressively pursued. This piece, catalogued by Schimmel, falls within a collecting field often called "merchant scrip" or "trade tokens on paper," distinct from depression-era municipal emergency currency but occupying the same general tradition of privately circulated small-denomination exchange media.
The pink paper stock was deliberate — color differentiation allowed cashiers to distinguish denominations at a glance without reading the face value. The security underprint is an unusual feature for grocery scrip of this type, suggesting a higher-than-average concern about counterfeiting or internal fraud.