COUPON. A certificate entitling its owner to some payment, share or other benefit; more specifically, one of a series of interest certificates or dividend warrants attached to a bond running for a number of years. The word coupon (a piece cut off) possesses an etymological meaning so comprehensive that, while on the Stock Exchange it is only used to denote such an interest certifi cate or a certificate of stock of a joint-stock company, it may be as suitably, and elsewhere is perhaps more frequently, applied to tickets sold by tourist agencies and others.
The coupons by means of which the interest on a bond or debenture is collected are generally printed at the side or foot of that document, to be cut off and presented for payment at the bank or agency named on them as they become due. The last portion, called a "talon," is a form of certificate, and entitles the holder, when all the coupons have been presented, to obtain a fresh coupon sheet. They pass by delivery, and are as a rule exempt from stamp duty. Coupons for the payment of dividends are also attached to the share warrants to bearer issued by some joint-stock companies. The coupons on the bonds of most of the principal foreign loans are payable in London in sterling as well as abroad. The word is originally French, meaning "a piece cut off" (from couper, to cut) A coupon is also that part of an advertisement which contains spaces for the name and address of the prospective purchaser, who fills in these details, clips the advertisement from the page, and sends it by mail to the advertiser, thus obviating the necessity of writing a letter. Coupons have been used in American advertising since about 1895. The addition of well prepared coupons has been known to triple the response to an advertisement.