In the south central part of the state, tokens were used as a means of credit or barter.
The small town
General Store
or Grocery Store owners would contract with local farmers to supply produce, eggs, meat, etc. which the merchant would purchase with cash but pay a premium if the farmer would accept tokens.
Another common practice was for the merchant to advance the farmer tokens on promise of the coming harvest. This method also had the advantage of simplifying bookkeeping since rather than having to itemize each purchase, the cashier would simply give out set amounts (e.g. $10) in tokens and accept them as cash when the customer needed provisions.
Some stores here in Louisiana continued using tokens in this manner into the 1960s.
C.F. Knoll General Store
Bunkie, LA
Other businesses such as
Drug Stores, tailors, auto dealers, and furniture stores issued tokens as premiums much like coupons today. These typically were good for a drink at the soda fountain, $2.00 on a suit, or $1.00 off a purchase of $20 or more although several other scenarios were utilized by enterprising merchants. To entice customers to visit the store, these were distributed in many ways such as handing them out with other purchases, on the street, at fairs, or at ball games. Harry Hyman, a New Orleans tailor, would throw his tokens into Mardi Gras crowds in the 1920s, perhaps inspiring the now-popular doubloons. Many New Orleans area businesses continue this tradition.
