5 Dollars - Joe's B & B Chetek, Wisconsin

A piece of bar scrip from Chetek, a small city in Barron County in northwest Wisconsin. Bar scrip — privately issued paper redeemable for drinks or food at the issuing establishment — has a long, mostly undocumented history in rural American tavern culture. Joe's B & B Bar & Grill's version is unusually small even by scrip standards, barely larger than a postage stamp, which likely reflects a deliberate choice to prevent casual counterfeiting or accidental confusion with federal currency.

2021 issue, suggesting possible pandemic-era motivation — some bars used scrip during that period to manage gift purchases or pre-sell credit when in-person service was restricted.