Well I never knew that

[Jenasaurus]

I was just thinking about my younger years and remember my parents had a book of green shield stamps, i wondered if I had imagined these stamps so googled and it says it was like a loyalty scheme where you could spend stamps on products but it changed when Tesco withdrew and then it became Argos and money only, no stamps. I had no idea that Argos originated from Green Shield Stamps.

I am in my fifties so dont expect many of you to remember them

I hope that didn't sound snarky, actually. 🤔

I'm of a similar vintage to you @Jenasaurus so I remember Green Shield Stamps. In fact, I have a full book of them somewhere. I can't imagine why I've kept them.

[quote ImInStealthMode]@petridishmystery Hello friend across the water!! We're so jealous of your lack of restrictions, but we're getting closer.... x [/quote]
Hopefully you do, I want to come over and get a McDonalds!

I remember my Mum's Co-op number too. It was my job to keep a tally of all the Co-op receipts to make sure she got the correct amount of dividend. IIRC it was something like six pence in the pound, but it varied a little each year.
The blue Co-op stamps were revolutionary when they were introduced!

I remember my mum collecting green shield stamps exactly as pictured. I can see them now. It would have been around 1979. I had no idea about the Argos link though

I remember Green Shield stamps too. I grew up in Ireland - we had Green Shield stamps but not the Co-Op. My granny used to collect them and get things for us with her stamps. My first ever watch was on Green Shield stamps. I used to stick the stamps in the books for her.

She also used to go to bingo and win things - there is still a heavy blanket at my parents house that she won and gave to me as I slept in the coldest room in the house.

I had no idea that Argos originated from GS stamps though.

We used the Co-op for my Dad's funeral in the 70s and earned green shield stamps which took me hours to stick in the book. I can still remember the taste.

We used them to get a new carpet

I still have a set of cutlery my parents bought with Green Shield Stamps.

There was a larger size of stamp if you earned a whole page-worth at once, which saved on the licking.

I remember collecting Co-OP stamps but not what we did with them. I'm 43.

I also remember Esso Tiger Tokens. I had a tiger tshirt with those which I loved & we also had the glasses. FIL used to drive as part of his job so got loads of Tiger tokens so he & MIL got a whole set of glasses which they still use to this day.

@confusedofengland - I remember the Esso tiger too! For different reasons. I was out in the car with my parents and we stopped for petrol. Dad went into pay and I was sitting in the back of the car and suddenly the bloody guy in the Tiger costume appeared out of nowhere and banged on the car window,. It terrified me and I was apparently hysterical. My Dad was furious and still gets angry if it’s mentioned today. And I’m 56 now!

I remember them. My nana saved them up and there was a shop on our local precinct where you could choose what you wanted.

@iminstealthmode hello fellow bean! I liked the Co op stamps. Save them for Christmas. Hopefully they bring them back soon

@Sideorderofchips 👋🏻👋🏻

I've got a kitchen drawer full of almost full cards! Bring back double-divvy!

That reminds me of my mum collecting cigarette cards - Embassy I think? - which I think worked the same way as the green shield stamps. I remember piling up and counting the cards. Funny how a long-forgotten memory suddenly pings back.

I remember them and the excitement when a book was full.

I think dad got them buying petrol. She bought a coffee set (very 60's) and some clear glass mugs we thought very cool.

The shop was turned into Argos as the excitement was lost.

I remember going to the garage for petrol with my Grandpa and he got Green shield stamps. How did you spend them?

I'm 52, my Aunty used to collect the GS stamps, I remember being allowed to put them in the books for her. I remember a LOT of 'we could get that with the GS stamps conversations. - shed spend them 100 times over before she actually had enough to buy anything at all. 🤣

We had morrisons stamps, when you filled the book you received an additional £5.

Anyone remember when Icelands used to do stamps as well? I still have the plate set!
Remember as a child driving past petrol stations because it wasn't an Esso 😂
Cone to think of it still have a few things from Esso and the green stamps and a couple of long forgotten stamps.

Even tobacco companies had stamps and a catalogue.

DH's gran gave him her GS (or maybe they were Co-op stamps 🤔) and I remember us redeeming them for a wicker laundry basket - that was when we got together 27yrs ago! 😆

I've a ghastly feeling we still have some of the drinking glasses that we got for the books that we filled and subsequently exchanged for them! Making sure you got as many stamps as possible whenever you filled up the car was essential: Dad would only go to the petrol stations that were doing quad stamps or better. If we managed to find somewhere that was doing 5x or 6x stamps we reckoned it had been a good day out. (If all this sounds rather pathetic, bear in mind that I was only about seven years old at the time.)

I clearly remember DM's Co op divi number ( I'm 57).
I think I must have just heard her say it so many times when I went shopping with her as a little girl: it must be etched into my subconscious!

DH had an uncle who was a Shell salesman. He, and DHs family, had a lot of 'petrol glasses' and some cutlery.