Collectibles

My Mum collected Kensitas cigarette coupons. She saved them all year to put towards Christmas presents.
When DH and I were married 40 years ago he had a huge collection of drinking glasses collected from petrol stations - he did LOT of mileage. The last one finally expired last year.
MIL collected Green Shield Stamps but I don't think she ever used them. After she died we found carrier bags full of them all over the house.

I was desperate for a good paintbox during the 40s/ 50s and so persuaded my mother to buy Trex so I could collect the tokens thereon. I weas extremely disappointed when I collected a full set, minus one particular token, almost twice over.
I wrote to Trex to explain and to offer any of my duplicates to complete the set. To my surprise and their credit, within a very short time a high quality water-colour paint box had arrived
I still have it 70 years later
Well done Trex.... an excellent recommendation but I no longer do any baking

We got lots of stuff from Embassy coupons. DH smoked 40 a day at the time. Thankfully he stopped many years ago.

I always did my main shop in Tesco on a Thursday because it was double stamp day for Green Shield stamps. I used the stamps to buy small things such as Pyrex ware and other kitchen bits and pieces when we moved to our own home after living with my mother.
The embassy coupons (we both smoked at that time) bought a step ladder and an ironing board and we saved for ages for a Danish teak nest of tables which I've still got.

Necklaces and jewellery boxes for my bridesmaids !
Towels for my best friend when they got married !
This was 1970 and we were pretty broke ....

My mother got me an ironing board from Kensitas cigarette coupons in 1964 and also an Addis brush and bowl set too. The ironing board is still going strong,although not much used nowadays and I still have a couple of small brushes and a scrubbing brush and also the sweeping brush.In the 60's we did a lot of miles by car and we had millions of greenshield stamps as my husband would only stop at garages that gave stamps ,and we also shopped mainly at Tesco ,who gave stamps too

Green Shield Stamps collecting was very well organised, with shops where we could take our filled books and exchange them for gifts. I was very hard-up then and buying toys was difficult, so I got a blue teddy-bear for my 1 year old Son which he loved and took to bed. Another few books and I got a cutlery set including fish forks and knives. (Who uses those, I don't ever recall using them.)
I was quite sad when petrol stations and shops stopped giving G.S. Stamps.
Margaret

When my children were small, the craze was for Thunderbirds figures. Blue Peter even made a papier macho model of the island! We could not afford to buy the toys or the island so I collected weetabix coupons and got all the figures. My husband made the Blue Peter island ( he improved the design by using chicken wire to frame the mountains as other people found that solid papier mache did not dry and went mouldy!). The figures and island were wrapped up and became my youngest son's main Christmas present, it was played with for many years and I still have some of the the figures.

I think we got a double sided carving/bread knife with some sort of tokens---which I still use daily after at least 40 years.
What I definitely remember is that we were given a set of 4 rather nice chunky glass fruit bowls bought with green shield stamps for a wedding present. Sadly the last one broke about 20 years ago

Easter 1962 I needed a tennis racket for lessons in my grammar school. Parents couldn’t afford one so green shield stamps to the rescue. I was useless at tennis but remember the racket well!!!!

Does anyone remember the fiasco from , I think the Hoover promotion, when supposedly, you could get flights to USA?

My husband was a traveller so we had loads of Green Shield stamps from petrol. Got tea service and dinner service, toaster etc. Maxwell house used to come in glass storage jars and I still have many of them. Soap powder gave Pyrex dishes. Still have those. Collected gollywog stickers from marmalade for a gollywog brooch.

I am ashamed to say we bought our new baby's carry cot and wheels with our Number 6 cigarette coupons. Nobody ever told me to stop smoking-48 years ago. Glad to say we have been non-smokers for a long time now and none of our children have ever smoked.

I got a tea service and matching lunch plates, but I don't remember whether they were from my mother's green shield stamps or cigarette coupons.

My mother got a potato peeling machine that lasted for somewhere around forty years.

Cigarette coupons! I never smoked, though my parents and most aunts and uncles did. They collected the coupons, and you could buy extra ones from certain shops. I bought the coupons and got cot sheets and wool cellular cot blankets. I still have the blankets, 47 years on.

When I got engaged my mum gave us two carrier bags full of Green Shield stamp books. There was enough to buy a full set of bedding and a couple of pans and bits for the kitchen.

Green shield stamps. I got A picnic set with a Thermos flask. I still love a flask if I’m out in the car for the day.

I remember collecting crisp packets in the 1970’s to get a free 7” single,I gotBallroom Blitz by the Sweet and my brother got Angel Fingers by Wizzard . Also remember my dad collecting Smurfs from the National petrol station,think you got a free one when you bought so much petrol?
My husband and I also took advantage of the Persil train tickets and had a day trip from London to Blackpool (the things you do when you’re young ) caught the last train back from Blackpool and had to stand most of the way

I have just remembered that my Mum had a vase full of plastic ...I think tulips?... that came with coupons from soap powder. Have I dreamed this one up? We all hated them but they were in a vase for several years - I really can't remember if they were with coupons or if she had bought them.

I remember getting prawn cocktail dishes from the petrol station. Also an insulated tea pot from green shield stamps. I wish I'd kept the teapot as it kept tea lovely and hot.

Chewbacca - Many years ago a young friend of ours was training to be a doctor. He too examined a lady and found a stamp stuck where a stamp didn't ought to be.... Coinsidence ?

We collected green Shield stamps and Embassy cigarette coupons and had all sorts of goodies from collecting them. The item I remember best was a set of wooden handled cutlery.

My auntie also used to have a lottery with the tea cards. Brooke Bond loose leaf tea came with a numbered card which, if you collected them all, made up a set of picture cards on a variety of topics: birds, sports, cars and so on. You could buy an album to put them in and swap doubles with other collectors.

But the best fun was at Auntie's where, with her eight children,just before a packet of tea was broached, everyone would call out a number from one to fifty. Then the packet was opened and the number of the card read out. The nearest to the number was the winner and everyone else who participted had to give them a penny.

I don't remember a lot of coughing up the cash though!

We had 5 Goldfish and tank that was an offer from Chivers jelly if you collected so many wrappers. They came by post.

Round metal holder for jam jars when you didn't bother with a jam dish. They had pictures of barefoot children on them. My daughter's would remember them. Think they came with Greensheild stamps.

My Mum gave me a nest of tables by using her Kensitas cigarette coupons 43 years ago. Still going strong and used daily.