Obverse Design
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Type 1 design: two rectangles are side by side, not quite centered in the chit. The left
rectangle is about 30 mm wide, and the right rectangle is about 10 mm wide.
The rectangles are about 19 mm high. In the left rectangle, the top line
says "COCO SOLO". The next line says "ENLISTED MEN'S CLUB" and under that
legend is a line. On the bottom left under the line in small italic
letters in three lines it says "NOT GOOD", "IF", "DETACHED".
On the bottom right is the serial number; "5626" in the example above.
The right rectangle has a smaller rectangle just inside it. It has a large
"20" filling up most of the rectangle. Underneath the denomination it says
"CENTS" in a block with reversed colors (the block is dark ink, and the letters
are the same color as the field of the chit).
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Reverse Design
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Blank.
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Color
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Yellow (goldenrod or light orange) with black ink; serial number in red ink.
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Material
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Light-weight cardboard.
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Size and Shape
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Rectangular, 51mm wide by approximately 23 mm high. Top edge is perforated,
bottom edge is usually perforated but may be straight.
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Dates Issued
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Sometime between 1943 and 1963 (when two digit city codes were in use instead of
zip codes). Included in Hill's catalog in 1969.
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Issurer
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Coco Solo, on the Atlantic side of Panama, and to the east of the canal, near Colon.
At one time Coco Solo was a submarine base.
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Mintage
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Unknown.
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Rarity
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Scarce.
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Manufacturer
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The Kelsey Coupon Company of Cincinatti, Ohio.
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Source
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Plumer's Catalog number: Coco Solo #20-O, Hill's Catalog.
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Varieties
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This is the only known 20 Cent variety.
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Function
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Club chit.
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Notes
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For population count, known specimens are as follows:
- Specimen cited by Hill (not pictured, number unknown).
- Plowman Specimen #5626, pictured above.
- Plumer Specimen #1751 (single chit).
- Plumer Specimen #2126.
- Plumer Specimen #6876 cancelled with a single hole.
- Specimen #4751 reported by Plumer.
- King Specimens #6876 strip of three attached chits, each cancelled
with a single hole, pictured below.
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Notes
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Due to the fact that all the chits known end in "26", "51" or "76",
they may have been quality check chits that were not cancelled. The only known
cancelled chit
was "6876" which was also the highest number found. It is cancelled with one hole.
So perhaps the practice of cancelling quality control chits was started after
#5626 was printed but before #6876 was printed.
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