1 Cent - Larry's Certified Finer Foods Chicago, Illinois

Larry's Certified Finer Foods issued this 1 cent paper scrip as a retail trade token — part of a broader American tradition of proprietary store currency used to manage small-change transactions, encourage repeat custom, and reduce dependence on low-denomination federal coinage. Hammermill, better known as a paper manufacturer than a printer, likely supplied the substrate and handled production through their commercial division, which served regional and small-run clients through much of the mid-twentieth century.

No federal law prohibited private scrip of this type, provided it did not imitate U.S. coinage — a distinction retailers navigated carefully.