1 Cent - Diversey Food Fair Chicago, Illinois

Diversey Food Fair was a Chicago-area grocery chain that issued paper scrip cents as a promotional tool — almost certainly tied to trading stamp or coupon-book schemes that proliferated among Midwestern retailers during the 1960s and 1970s. These instruments functioned less as currency than as loyalty mechanisms, redeemable in-store and worthless elsewhere, which is precisely why so few were saved in any quantity.

The date range is wide because grocery scrip of this type was rarely dated at all, leaving attribution to paper stock analysis and promotional context. Identification with specific campaigns is often impossible without accompanying store documentation.