I found coupons from 1995!!

[Melissa]

I stopped by a paper trailer today to drop a TON of paper that was long overdue. I stayed for about 15 minutes looking for any coupon inserts as I am desperate in that area.

I couldn't believe I found a bunch of coupons from 1995 and 1996!! It was kinda fun to look through them and I must say coupons have not changed that much! With the ads it was clear how much inflation has taken place. Good thing we are not affected so much by it...

I personally don't think the paper coupon will ever be non existent.

They did have expiration dates. I wonder how long the coupon has been around and what era had coupons with no expiration dates. I have heard of those.

[mushyyy]

I found a coupon for 5c off a betty crocker cake mix when my grandma passed about 20 years ago...out of all things I could not throw this coupon away. I finally used it about 5 years ago for giggles...it had no expiration date. Hmmm wonder if it could have doubled lol.

[petergabrielfan]

(10-05-2010 10:09 PM)Melissa Wrote:  They did have expiration dates. I wonder how long the coupon has been around and what era had coupons with no expiration dates. I have heard of those.

I'm 33 and I can remember clipping coupons for my mom when I was a teenager with no expiration date. The dates now are so short compared to older coupons. Also, when I was a teenager I remember in-package coupons almost never had expiration dates. If you think about it, it makes sense. If I see a peelie in the store that expired in 2005 (and it's 2010) I know the product has been around a long time. With shampoo and stuff, not a big deal, but I've seen some food products with WAY old peelies too.

Ok, I was curious so I decided to snoop around a bit for some info. I compiled this from several sources, some more respected than others.

First known coupon: 1894. Asa Candler and his partners incorporated Coca Cola. Between 1894-1913 they sent pharmacies & soda fountains loads of free syrup in order to cover the cost of the "free Coca Cola" coupons they distributed.

First known grocery coupon: 1895 for Post Grape Nuts. Value? A whoppin' 1 cent.

Coupons didn't become well-used till the 1930s during the onset of the Great Depression with households trying to save money during tough economic times (sound familiar??).

In 2002, consumers redeemed $3.8 BILLION (with a 'b') worth of coupons.

Sorry you asked?? I was trying to find the answer as to when coupons got expiration dates, and I can't find a concrete answer.

[Melissa]

WOW! Thanks for the interesting info! Pretty neat!

[K - Ohio]

LOL...I still have coupons from COLLEGE in my coupon folder that have no expiration dates. I don't even know if the products exist anymore

I keep meaning to check, but I never get around to it....

[stephanie_w03]

So, you should be able to use them, right?