From Wikipedia:
"The Charga-Plate, developed in 1928, was an early predecessor to the credit card and used in the U.S. from the 1930s to the late 1950s. It was a 2.5 inch - 1.25 inch rectangle of sheet metal related to military dog tag systems. It was embossed with the customer's name, city, and state. It held a small paper card on its back for a signature. In recording a purchase, the plate was laid into a recess in the imprinter, with a paper "charge slip" positioned on top of it. The record of the transaction included an impression of the embossed information, made by the imprinter pressing an inked ribbon against the charge slip. Charga-Plates were issued by large-scale merchants to their regular customers, much like department store credit cards of today. In some cases, the plates were kept in the issuing store rather than held by customers. When an authorized user made a purchase, a clerk retrieved the plate from the store's files and then processed the purchase."
This particular plate was issued to a lady named Sophie Wiig who lived in Walnut Creek California. I purchased it at an estate sale.
Although small, when mailed I will wrap it from protection and by doing so it will exceed the postal limit of 1/4 inch thickness and can not be mailed in a standard envelope. It will have to mail out as a First Class Mail parcel. Buyer to pay $4.99 delivery charges.
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING CHARGES: Twice yearly, and again in November for the holiday season (so three times per year) the postal service increases shipping charges. This is what they call their "Delivering For America" plan in which they hope to become profitable. It's a 10 year plan that started in 2021, so we've got years to go with multiple price increases on shipping charges each year. I try to absorb the new charges and haven't increased my shipping charges in three years. This year unfortunately, I have to if I want to stay in business. I'll try to keep it reasonable and even absorb some of the increases when possible.
I do combine shipping on multiple items purchased as long as all items will safely fit into a single box or envelope. However, my web host is not set up to calculate multiple item shipping costs. At checkout, you will be charged full shipping price on each item purchased and I will refund the appropriate amount of overpayment. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can send me an email with your zip code and stating which items you'll be purchasing and I'll calculate the correct combined shipping charges and send you a custom invoice.
INTERNATIONAL PURCHASED: Sorry, I do not ship to locations outside of the United States.
All items in my listings come from either estate or garage sales. I do not know if they come from homes where smoking or pets were present. Unless otherwise stated, all items are sold in the same condition as when I obtained them.
