Ration Book Four was used during World War II when foodstuffs, among other items, were in short supply. It consisted of coupons, stamps, and tokens. Each stamp was illustrated with a symbol such as a naval ship, airplane, tank, gun, horn of plenty, or torch of liberty. Also included were red and blue cardboard tokens, each valued at one point, to be used as change for ration coupon purchases. Before tokens were introduced, people had to present the exact number of points for the purchase of merchandise or forfeit the difference. An advantage of tokens was that they never expired, while the stamps did. This book also included “spare” stamps that were occasionally validated for the purchase of five extra pounds of pork.
Government Printing Office. WWII War Ration Book Four. 1943. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l05-157/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.