A Green Shield Stamp catalogue from the 1960s has been uncovered by Archives Wales, ahead of Explore Your Archive Week (Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th November 2020).
Before the Argos catalogue or Tesco Clubcard, shoppers in the 1960s and 70s earned Green Shield Stamps for purchases in a range of smaller shops like local grocers, butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers, chemists, bakers, tobacconists, confectioners, drapers, ironmongers and petrol stations.
Stamps were saved in a booklet and exchanged for items from a catalogue listing anything from a tennis racket to a car.
Helen Palmer, Ceredigion Archives, County Archivist, Information and Records Manager, said:
“As a youngster I was given these stamps by my mother, who got them while shopping, and I got the fun job of licking them and sticking them into the books – it made the tongue taste very odd after a while! Then I would spend hours happily browsing the catalogue which had everything from toys to tea sets to a Ford Escort car. Going through the catalogue recently I spotted several items that I’m sure I’ve still got in my kitchen cupboards – I guess they’re retro now. Why not post pictures of your surviving #GreenShieldStamps bargains from the groovy seventies.”
