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 "$5.00" 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 and centered it says "1-2-3 CLUB". The next line in the same font says "FORT CLAYTON, 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 "N^O" and the serial number of the book; "2501B" 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 "THE KELSEY COUPON CO., CIN., 44, OHIO" in small print. The "44" is a two digit city code used from 1943 to 1963 when city codes were replaced with zip codes. The left edge normally would have the black material used to bind this book.