What Are Green Stamps?

History

• Sperry &Hutchinson introduced the idea of stamps as rewards currency in 1896. The stamps became known as S&H Green Stamps.

Identification

• Green stamps were sheets of stamps similar to postage stamps. As their name indicates, the stamps were green and featured an S&H logo.

Function

• S&H would sell green stamps to retailers, who would then offer them as rewards to consumers. The more money consumers spent, the more green stamps they received. Consumers would then take their stamps to redemption centers and exchange them for a wide variety of merchandise, like household appliances, toys and sporting equipment.

Fact

• While S&H Green Stamps became the stamp standard, other companies offered their own versions, with competitors including Blue Chip and Plaid, Top Value, and King Korn.

Time Frame

• Green stamps reached their height of popularity during the 1950s and 1960s. The recession of the 1970s brought the craze to an end.

Fun Fact

• According to S&H publicists, the company printed three times as many stamps as the U.S. postal service during the 1960s. At the time, 80 percent of all U.S. households collected green stamps, with the program creating an $825 million market for S&H alone.