World War II OPA Ration Tokens

These vulcanized fiber tokens were issued by the Office of Price Administration (OPA), a United States government agency created during World War II in order to oversee the rationing of scarce goods and keep prices stable to curb inflation.

Ration tokens (and their companions, ration stamps) had no cash value, but were required to purchase certain goods. For everyday items like sugar or beef, a customer would need the right amount of ration stamps in addition to cash in order to make their purchase—the same was true for non-food goods like tires or gasoline. Each household was issued their own book of ration stamps to use, and these tokens were handed out as "small change" to split the value of a single stamp.

While all these tokens shared a similar design, they were issued two colors: red and blue. The different colors were valid for different products, but their functions were essentially the same.

Each token has been thoroughly inspected and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. They measure 16mm in diameter.

Instructions issued by the OPA for purchasing goods with ration stamps.