Obverse Design

Kelsey Type 2 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 CLAYTON". 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; "6251A" 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 "30" filling up most of the rectangle. Underneath the denomination it says "CENTS".

The examples above and below were cancelled.
Reverse Design Blank.
Color Red 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 Clayton, on the Pacific side of Panama, to the west of the canal.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Very Rare. Manufacturer Kelsey-Tiemeyer Coupon of Cincinatti, Ohio. Source King collection.
Varieties There are a total of three known 30 Cent varieties, one orange in Kelsey design type 1 and two similar red ones in design type 2.
Function Mess (cafeteria) chit.
Notes For population count, known specimens are as follows:
  1. Plowman Specimen #6251A cancelled "ANC", pictured above.
  2. King Specimen #7501B cancelled "LE", pictured below.

Another Example of a CT-82.30
Picture of a CT-82.30
Scale: 4 pixels equals one millimeter
Note: Color as displayed may not be the exact shade of the original chit.