1930s Kansas sales token

[JMac48]

 

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[WannaDig3687]

Well, I don’t know much about tokens, but I think it would be neat to find one. Congratulations!

 

[Red-Coat]

These have cropped up before and have an interesting history.

When general sales taxes were introduced in the US from 1930 onwards (starting with Kentucky and Mississippi) there was no easy way for a retailer to levy the tax on small purchases. For example, you might buy something with a retail price of 10 cents on which the sales tax would be a fraction of a cent and had no way to pay it. The retailer would nevertheless still be liable to pay the tax to the government based on the total of his sales. If he sold a lot of small items, he effectively lost money on each of those small sales and it could soon mount up.

These tokens were the solution. They came in various values and yours is valued at “2 mills” (two thousandths of a dollar, or a fifth of a cent). So if, for example, you made a 10 cent purchase liable for sales tax in fractions of a cent, the retailer would ‘overcharge’ you at 11 cents and then refund the ‘overpayment’ in fractional cents with these tokens. He then wasn’t losing out on what he had to pay the government.

Not every state had (or needed) these tokens. About a dozen states issued them from various dates and your Kansas example is from 1937.

 

[JMac48]

Awesome I didn’t think it was very old when I first found it, appreciate it guys.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Timbermaster]

Thanks Red Coat, I never really knew why these tokens were needed. A cool find indeed JMac.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice find, congrats!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Nice one !