1 Cent - Gold Star Food & Liquor Chicago, Illinois

A trade token in paper form rather than metal — Gold Star Food & Liquor issued fractional cent notes for in-store change-making, a practice that persisted in certain Chicago neighborhood grocers and liquor retailers well into the mid-twentieth century when small coin shortages or simply the cost of handling pennies made paper scrip a practical alternative. The issuer is a local establishment, not a banking concern, which places this squarely in the category of merchant scrip rather than emergency currency.

Provenance matters here more than condition. Without a date, value hinges almost entirely on whether the issuing store can be traced to a specific address and period of operation.