Good news, hoarders and collectors: Those S&H Green Stamps you (or your parents or your grandparents) have stored away still have value.
A forerunner to today’s customer-loyalty rewards programs, the popular Sperry & Hutchinson stamps were commonly distributed by U.S. retailers, such as supermarkets and gas stations, into the 1980s and were redeemable for items such as housewares.
Consumers would stick the loose stamps, which ranged in value from 1 to 50 points, into 24-page booklets that were worth 1,200 points when properly filled. The booklets could be redeemed at physical redemption centers or via catalogues (by mail).
The stamps started losing favor during the recession of the 1970s as redemption centers closed and retailers discontinued distributing them. Yet they never lost value.
Those who still have S&H stamps can now redeem them for electronic certificates and “SuperCertificates” (that can be converted to gift cards) for use at hundreds of businesses such as Sephora, REI, Bath & Body Works, Barnes & Noble, T.J. Maxx and Papa John’s Pizza.
To redeem stamps, go to www.greenpoints.com, register and follow the instructions.
