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5 Cents - Food Stamp Scrip Red Owl Stores Inc.
| Issuer | Red Owl Stores Inc. |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Light green scrip printed in dark ink on a guilloche-patterned ground with a decorative border of ruled lines and corner ornaments. The Red Owl corporate owl vignette is centred at top, flanked by large denomination numerals '5¢' at left and right. Inscriptions identify the issuer and redemption terms, with form number at foot. |
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| Obverse lettering | RED OWL STORES INC. FOOD STAMP CREDIT FIVE CENTS REDEEMABLE ONLY AT RED OWL FORM 206 |
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Red Owl Stores operated as a major Upper Midwest grocery chain headquartered in Hopkins, Minnesota, and issued fractional scrip of this kind as change-making instruments tied to U.S. federal food stamp redemptions. Federal food stamp regulations for much of the program's early history prohibited giving cash change — even for a few cents — when customers used stamps to purchase eligible goods. Retailers found themselves stuck with awkward fractional balances, and scrip like this was one practical workaround, redeemable at the issuing store only.
The practice was eventually curtailed as federal rules tightened around what retailers could issue in lieu of coin.