Bingster Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 I was removing the rear seat ash tray (of my '47 Desoto) that fits into the center of the back of the front seat, and when I pulled out the ash receiver from its frame, I found an OPA C8 gas rationing stamp and three Red Point tokens taped to the back. I have to wonder why they were taped there and who did it? It had to have been done around 1947/1948 when they still had rationing. Who would have done it in the fifties? But for what reason? Taping them behind the receiver was done for concealment. Like hiding illegal drugs there. And both the stamp and the three Red Point OPA tokens were taped with three very thin pieces of a Scotch-type tape. The thin width of each strip is unlike any commercial tape I have ever seen. Why three strips of tape? Why not one wide piece? Did somebody tape them back there for some future guy like me to discover? Each time the ash tray was emptied, a person would have to have seen it. Why didn't they remove them as a curiosity like I have? Maybe it was always vacuumed out. Maybe a worker on the assembly line did it. 2 Quote
casper50 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 Maybe it was an emergency stash. I usually have 10 to 15 dollars hidden in my car somewhere. Quote
thrashingcows Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 Do you have a pics of the items? I'd love to see what they look like. Quote
Dan Hiebert Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 That is a good "car story" of unique things found in our cars (stamp and tokens not unique, but hiding them is?), worthy of some research. Now I'm curious if that may have been a "be prepared" fad from that era. Maybe contraband stamps? Some places were pretty stingy with the ration stamps. "Rainy day" stash? I for one have never heard of that before - hiding stamps and tokens, and would be curious what you or anyone finds out about it. (Of course, I'll be looking for that on occasion when internet surfing now.) Quote
Bingster Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Posted March 10, 2015 I did see the stamps and tokens for sale on eBay. Not worth very much. What's also interesting about this stamp is that it has the car license number written in and the state is Calif., which is the old abbreviation for California. I live and bought the car in Iowa, so is it a California car? I can't make out the license number. I wonder if I could trace it if I could? Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) I think the gas rationing was attached to names of family members........I think there was even a gas ration booklet with my name as an infant listed. Not sure just how it worked, but this ration ticket has my father's name on it..............car was a 36 Plymouth. Another related paper........... Edited March 10, 2015 by BobT-47P15 Quote
busycoupe Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 A couple of sources on the web claim that rationing ended by 1946. That makes your find even more interesting. Is your car a very early 1947, or old someone put he coupon there as a momento? Quote
Bingster Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Posted March 10, 2015 I'm not certain when it was made. I haven't looked at the VIN and all that. Desoto did have a plant in San Leandro, CA, not too far from S.F. I'm not sure they made cars there, maybe just a parts depot. Quote
TodFitch Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 A couple of sources on the web claim that rationing ended by 1946. That makes your find even more interesting. Is your car a very early 1947, or old someone put he coupon there as a momento? Wikipedia says end of May, 1947 which would be over half way through the 1947 model year. Quote
Ricky Luke Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 I'm not certain when it was made. I haven't looked at the VIN and all that. Desoto did have a plant in San Leandro, CA, not too far from S.F. Maybe a worker at the plant put it there. A friend of mine found a 1928 penny in an A model Ford body when he started to restore it. Rick Quote
Bingster Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Posted March 11, 2015 I thought of that. But you'd think somebody on the line wouldn't have that much time to do this tape job, and why this particular car? Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 some poor kid alone in the car while pops sucks one down at the watering hole... Quote
Robin (UK) Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 A quick Google revealed that 'C' stamps allowed the purchase of unlimited gas, so my guess is that it was put there in case of emergency - hidden away from anyone who might want to make use of it 'without authorisation'. http://cartype.com/pages/3635/gas_ration_stickers Quote
Bingster Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Posted March 11, 2015 I think that's the most plausible explanation. Quote
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