- Jul 15, 2014
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Now for you really old guys. S & H Green Stamps. There were also Top Value Stamps and others. This stamp collecting craze peaked out in the Sixties. When you mom shopped at a grocery store she would be given a quantity of stamps based on the amount of her purchase. The stamps would be placed in a stamp book. You were given a gift catalog and you could look in the catalog to see how many books of stamps you needed to collect to redeem for each gift item. Once you had enough books the big day came and your family took them to the gift center and redeemed them for a gaudy table lamp or cheap table radio etc. The intent was to make you feel like you were getting something for free and would encourage future shopping at the stores which distributed the stamps.
In the end the stamp craze went the way of Lesley Gore when the Beatles became popular.
Kale.
Alex.
My grandmama had a drawer in the kitchen that she kept all her green stamps. I remember the big day as @Okeechobee Joe said and the old green stamp store had a neat toy display as you walked in. That Lionel train set was just what I needed. Unfortunately, the wagon load of stamp books we brought in to redeem went toward a card table and four chairs. We still have them and every time I see them I’m reminded of yet another crushed childhood expectation. As Ralphie from A Christmas Story might have said, it was Adults 1, Kids 0. That was the prevailing score back in Palookaville.I remember these as a little kid. My mom’s junk drawer in the kitchen was full of the booklets and stamps. Not sure that she ever “cashed” them in or whatever you did with them.