During WWII, the Office of Price Administration
Had a mission to help curb wartime inflation
With a strategy of selective rationing and price controls
The OPA was able to attain its goal

Ration Books, One through Four
Were issued throughout the duration of the war
These books were issued everywhere
To help ensure everyone got their fair share
Starting with sugar, the list of rationed items grew
By the end, the OPA even rationed shoes

But for many, a glaring problem surfaced which seemed very strange
With Ration Stamps, the grocers were unable to make change
To the rescue, the OPA fixed what was broken
Along with Book Four, they started to issue Tokens!

Non-flammable, non-toxic, resistant to water and perspiration
All of this true of the wood fiber used due to vulcanization
Red one point tokens for fats and meats
Blue one point tokens for processed foods, like canned beets

On each token, a two letter combinations can be seen
Though, to this day, no conclusive definition explains what those letters mean
Of the 30 varieties of the Red and 24 of the Blue
The Red “MV” token is the most valuable…honestly, it is true!

After VJ Day, these tokens were never again deployed
In total, over two billion issues and later, most destroyed

Fortunately, many examples still exist today
A collection of which proudly on display
By a Young Numismatist at this year’s Coin Show held by the GNA