1 Cent Iowa; Cigarette Tax

Iowa introduced a cigarette tax stamp in 1933 as part of its Depression-era revenue measures, and these small denomination fiscals circulated in enormous quantities — affixed to individual cigarette packs at point of sale rather than traded as currency. The 1-cent value reflects the per-cigarette-pack tax rate in effect at the time, before subsequent legislative adjustments pushed rates higher through the late 1930s.