Obverse Design

Book cover has a large rectangle with a double line border. The outer line is about three times as thick as the inner line. Within the rectangle in the upper left corner it says "THE COUPONS IN THIS BOOK ARE" on one line and "GOOD FOR THEIR FACE VALUE" on a line under it. In the upper right corner it says "$10.00" in a large font size which is the total face value of all the chits in the book. At the top, in between these two corners, and a little to the right of center in small print it says "PRINTED", "IN" and "U.S.A.". The "PRINTED" is curved up in an arc and the "U.S.A." is curved downward in an arc, forming an oval with "IN" in the center.

Under these three areas in a larger font size it says "NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS' OPEN MESS". The next line in the same font says "FORT AMADOR, CANAL ZONE". In smaller print starting at the left the next line says "Issued to" and has a line where the recipient would write their name. The next line says "Countersigned by" and a line for this signature. Under that the next line says "Date" and has a line for the date which goes about half way across the book. Under the date line in smaller print it says "Not Transferable - Not Good If Detached". In a larger font size in the lower right corner it says "NO" and the serial number of the book; "376A" in the example above. This serial number is repeated on all the chits inside the book.

Outside the rectangle along the left written sideways and going from the bottom to the top of the book it says "Kelsey-Tiemeyer Coupon, Cin. O. 45244" in small print. The left edge has the black material used to bind this book.

Other Details This book had five chits on each page. The chits were in the denominations of 10 cents, 20 cents and 30 cents. The number of pages of each denomination is unknown to me, but one combination which would add up to $10.00 would be three pages of 10 cent chits ($1.50), four pages of 20 cent chits ($4.00) and three pages of 30 cents ($4.50). There are other combinations that would work as well.
Color Green with black ink. Material Light-weight cardboard. Size and Shape Rectangular, approximately 129mm wide by 51 mm high.
Dates Issued Sometime after 1963 (when zip codes came into use).
Issurer Fort Amador, on the Pacific side of Panama, out on a peninsula in the Bay of Panama.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Very Rare. Manufacturer Kelsey-Tiemeyer Coupon of Cincinatti, Ohio. Source Plowman's color photocopy of Fickling's specimen.
Varieties This is the only known book variety.
Function Mess chits.
Notes For population count, known specimens are as follows:
  1. Fickling Specimen #376A, pictured above.