Obverse Design

Kelsey Type 3 design: two rectangles are side by side, not quite centered in the chit. The left rectangle is about 31 mm wide, and the right rectangle is about 11 mm wide. The rectangles are about 19 mm high. The left rectangle has a heavy thick border on the top, bottom and left sides. It is actually not a complete rectangle since it is open on the right side. There is a small (1 mm) gap between the left and right rectangles.

In the left rectangle, the top line says "A.A.I.C. NCO Open Mess". The next line says "FORT DAVIS, C.Z.". On the bottom left under these lines in small letters in two lines it says "Void if" and "detached". On the bottom right is the serial number; "8751C" in the example above.

The right rectangle is in reversed colors (the block is in dark ink, and the numbers and letters are the same color as the field of the chit . It has a large "50" filling up most of the rectangle. Underneath the denomination it says "CENTS".

The example above was cancelled (the example below was not cancelled).

Reverse Design Blank.
Color Pink with black ink; serial number in red ink. Material Light-weight cardboard. Size and Shape Rectangular, 51mm wide by approximately 23 mm high. Top edge is perforated, bottom edge is usually perforated but may be straight.
Dates Issued Sometime after 1963 (when zip codes came into use).
Issurer Atlantic Area Installation Command (A.A.I.C.) Non-Commissioned Officer's Open Mess, based at Fort Davis. Fort William D. Davis was on the Atlantic side of Panama.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Very Rare. Manufacturer Kelsey-Tiemeyer Coupon of Cincinatti, Ohio. Source Plumer's Catalog number: AAIC #50-P.
Varieties There are four known 50 Cent varieties in different series, all in Kelsey design type 3. Two are pink and two are red.
Function Mess (cafeteria) chit.
Notes For population count, known specimens are as follows:
  1. Plowman Specimen #8751C cancelled "CEL", pictured above.
  2. Plumer Specimen #2906C, pictured below.

Another Example of a CT-103.50
Picture of a CT-103.50
Scale: 4 pixels equals one millimeter
Note: Color as displayed may not be the exact shade of the original chit.