Obverse Design

Kelsey Type 1 design: two rectangles are side by side, not quite centered in the chit. The left rectangle is about 30 mm wide, and the right rectangle is about 10 mm wide. The rectangles are about 19 mm high. In the left rectangle, the top line says "N.C.O. OPEN MESS". The next line is "FT. WM. D. DAVIS". The next line says "CANAL ZONE". On the bottom left under these lines in small italic letters in three lines it says "NOT GOOD", "IF", "DETACHED". On the bottom right is the serial number; "4376F" in the example above.

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

The examples above and below were cancelled.

Reverse Design Blank.
Color Pale yellow 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 Fort William D. Davis, on the Atlantic side of Panama.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Rare. Manufacturer Kelsey-Tiemeyer Coupon of Cincinatti, Ohio. Source Plumer's Catalog number: Davis #50-Y.
Varieties This is the only known 50 Cent variety.
Function Mess (cafeteria) chit.
Notes For population count, known specimens are as follows:
  1. Plowman Specimen #4376F cancelled "D", pictured above (and below with attached stub).
  2. King Specimens #3726F strip of two attached, cancelled "CANC", pictured below.

More Examples of CT-116.50
Picture of a CT-116.50 Picture of a CT-116.50
Scale: 4 pixels equals one millimeter
Note: Color as displayed may not be the exact shade of the original chit.