USA WWII Ration Books

Here is a gallery of scans of War Ration Books. A lot of collectors have probably run into these, and they're interesting items. So I am including a scan of each book.

Now -- the big question I always get: what are these things worth?

Over a hundred million of each ration book were printed. Enough for everyone. As a result, the books generally sell for between $3 and $10 each, with higher prices for earlier books (Book One) with more stamps left inside. Book Two and Book Three are the most common, and fewer of their stamps were actually used, so they're more common with a lot of stamps remaining inside, and they get lower prices.

The individual ration stamps from these books can't be worth more than a few cents each. However, there are some private, military and limited-run ration stamps that are considerably more valuable; I have never seen a complete catalog of these. And, of course, other countries have issued ration stamps during times of crisis. 

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Book #1 The complete front & back of the book are shown here, along with some samples of the stamps that came with the book.  Signed May 6, 1942. GPO document #16-26651-1.  

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Book #2 is interesting in having an adhesive stamp from the Office of Price Administration. The complete front & back of the book are shown here, along with some samples of the stamps that came with the book.  Dated 1942. GPO document #16-30853-1. 

Sample stamps from Book Two:

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By book #3, they've done away with the OPA adhesive stamp. Instead, the "Not valid without stamp" box appears to require a handstamp. The actual ration stamps are quite nice little designs. Dated 1943. GPO document #16-32299-1. 

Here are some of the individual stamps:

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Book #4 is even simpler, but with an odd variety of ration stamps.  Dated 1943. GPO document #16-35570-1. 




This article ran on my stamp website for many years.  I am trying to get some of that content repackaged and back out where people can find it easily.


 


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