When Alaska became a state, there was shortage of coins, particularly in the bush. Most people bought on credit and settled their account each payday. But children were a problem because they wanted low ticket items throughout the week.  Adjusting the parents’ credit for pennies and nickels every time a child came into a store for gum or candy was tedious so stores began printing their own money, called bingles. The bingles were only supposed to be used in the store that printed them but kids – well, are kids – and bingles were used as money everywhere. Until the United States government declared the printing of bingles to be counterfeiting and that finished the practice.