War Bond Advertising Posters

War bonds were debt securities by the U. S. Government. A debt security represents a promise to payback the face amount of the debt plus interest once it matures. In other words, when a person purchased a war bond, it represented a loan of a fixed amount of money to the government, to be repaid with interest.

Instead of paying the total cost for a war bond at one time, war savings stamps could also be used. The stamps were available in denominations of 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, and 5 dollars. When enough of them were collected, they could be exchanged for a 25 dollar bond.
During WWII, war bonds were issued by the government to finance military operations and other wartime expenditures. At a time when full employment collided with rationing, war bonds were also seen as a way to remove money from circulation in order to reduce inflation. Representing both a moral and financial stake in the war bonds, despite the war’s hardships.

By means of advertising, an emotional appeal went out to citizens to buy war bonds and stamps. Both the government and the private companies created advertisements like the posters seen here.