Early Bloomingdales Charge Plate - vintage metal credit card - Miss Grace Suma - Fashion history - Japanese American - metal id badge

The Charga-Plate, developed in 1928 (invented by the Farrington Manufacturing Co) , was an early predecessor of the credit card and was used in the U.S. from the 1930s to the late 1950s. It was a 2½" × 1¼" rectangle of sheet metal related to Addressograph and military dog tag systems. ... It held a small paper card on its back for a signature. By the early 1900s, and even the late 1800s, some stores might issue charge cards, coins or tokens for customers to use only in that specific business. These were mostly processed manually, and debt was tracked in a paper ledger. Some larger stores did have a sort of press machine that made an imprint of a charge plate or token, but this still did not really qualify as automated processing.  The store notched the metal edge of the plate to indicate validity for a particular month. The rough edges of the notch were known to rip fabric and run nylons! 
The first proprietary store cards in the early 20th century did not represent revolving credit as debts were due at the end of the billing month. In fact, some stores hired companies that collected overdue debts by parking in front of customer’s doors with trucks or wagons that had very striking painting on the side, clearly marking them as debt collectors. Since neighbors could see these trucks, embarrassment seemed to be the primary method of enforcing timely payments.

Sometimes, a  personal well thought out gift shows you took the time to care about that special person in your life. Our items are classic, sometimes unusual and vintage and sometimes a little bizarre.  Whether it is a memory from their past  or something that reminds you of how special they are, purchasing from us is a unique idea that you can’t get from a store every day.

Just say the word and we will wrap it and put a beautiful bow on it for you at no extra charge .

All you have to do it watch them smile and enjoy their special gift

And while you are getting ideas for someone else, take a peek at some of our OTHER items.

We have neat old collectibles and ODDITIES and some are REALLY one of a kind BIZARRE!

PRODUCT DETAILS………………………………….

+ Condition: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Because these are vintage estate pieces and are vintage and possibly pre-worn so they are not considered new from the factory…..  Please see photos for any wear or light surface scratches that come with age.☺………………. Sold as is and priced accordingly..  All cufflinks ( unless otherwise specified)  are considered costume jewelry. We don’t polish these previously owned well loved pieces so we can keep the original patina. We try and photograph all of the pieces next to a ruler so you can see the actual size. All jewelry sold as found.

We use the descriptions of any stones from the manufacturers titles when they were first produced. When we refer to the stones as moonstone or jade or garnet, for example, we are using how the original manufacturer of the pieces used them. We cannot guarantee the authenticity of a stone in a costume piece of jewelry. All pieces have been worn at least one time unless otherwise specified.  Although the pieces we carry are unique and interesting they may have a little wear ( if any) but they sure have a lot of love that came with them when they were first purchased way back when.

Just click on our photos for more close ups to help you see all the cool detail on each piece.

_______________________________________

I will be happy to combine shipping if you purchase from both.

DO WE ENGRAVE?: We Do not offer engraving services of any sorts as we are not equipped to do so I’m sure your local jeweler would be happy to do so,  sorry for any inconvenience thank you. 

__________________________________________

Do you need to convert our US ring sizes to your country>?

This page will be a big help.

http://www.ringsizes.co/resources.html

__________________________________________

IF YOU NEED A LAYAWAY PAYMENT OPTION PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME

___________________________________________

✈✈✈SHIPPING UPDATE*** Shipping rates for domestic and international delivery have skyrocketed! We ship priority mail ( so you will get is as quickly as possible)  from FLORIDA IN THE USA to anywhere in the  U.S. with insurance as a courtesy on orders over $20.00. If you wish to have another method of delivery (i.e. First Class International, overnight etc) PLEASE convo me before placing your order.

…………WE NO LONGER SHIP TO MEXICO OR ITALY…………………………..

_____________________________________________

SAVE MONEY *****

My goal is to save both of us money on shipping. (Delays might occur because of bad weather and during holiday or peak times of shipping. Please plan accordingly with your orders. We cannot guarantee delivery dates, only give you the dates and times the post office gives us.)

FEEL free to email us at anytime ✉

neatstuffantiques@gmail.com

See us on facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/neatstuffantiquesonetsy/

Pinterest : https://www.pinterest.com/neatstuffonetsy/

Our other store  " The Realvintagesparkles " is on

http://www.goantiques.com/members/vintagesparkles

http://therealvintagesparkles.tumblr.com/

https://www.facebook.com/vintagesparkless

https://plus.google.com/u/0/102556096447338755912

https://www.pinterest.com/etsyvsparkles/

Email therealvintagesparkles@gmail.com with any questions

April1 2018