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 "* FORT KOBBE *" where the astericks are little five point stars. 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; "9376J" in the example above.

The right rectangle has a smaller rectangle just inside it. It has a large "5" 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 Probably sometime between 1943 and 1963.
Issurer Fort Kobbe, on the west bank of the canal near the Pacific entrance and next to Howard AFB.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Scarce. Manufacturer Probably the Kelsey Coupon Company of Cincinatti, Ohio. Source Plumer's Catalog number: Kobbe #5-Y.
Varieties There are three known 5 Cent varieties, all using Kelsey Type 1 design but in different colors.
Function Mess (cafeteria) chit.
Notes For population count, known specimens are as follows:
  1. Plumer Specimen #9376J cancelled with one hole, pictured above.
  2. King Specimens #9376J strip of five, each cancelled with one hole and pictured below.

More Examples of CT-131.05
Picture of a CT-131.10
Scale: 4 pixels equals one millimeter
Note: Color as displayed may not be the exact shade of the original chit.