You're the second person who said they were always in two pieces. I know I'm a little crazy but I swear they used to be in one piece. I can still remember as a small boy eating those full sized Mounds and Almond Joy bars. There was a vending machine near my house - the old-fashioned kind where you had to pull the handle all the way out, and one of these 10-cent bars would rattle around inside the machine and thump into the tray below. Once in a while, two bars would fall out at once - it was like hitting the lottery.
Didn't the Mars bar start out as a two-piece bar, then become solid, like the milkyway?
Wow, they had vending machines back then?? ;-)
Not that it's a big deal but I've got to go with the other two, in So Calif. Mounds and Almond Joy were two piece in the 50's, Almond Joys were my favorites.
I think they were always 2 pieces, and I'm old as dirt.
Mounds was first, and was introduced in 1920. (George Shamlian researched and developed the Mounds' formula.) Mounds was created to replace their already-existing Coconut Cream Bar. (The coconut cream bar, peanut brittle, lolly pops, among others were the first Peter Paul candies).
They called it "Mounds" because of its shape. At first, there was only one per package. (And no, Mr. Nougat, they didn't originally call it "Mound" instead of "Mounds" as I'm sure that's your next question!). They changed the format to two pieces in 1929 so the consumer got more product of same quality for the same 5 cent price. There used to be a milk chocolate Mounds, too.
Then, in 1946, they decided to discontinue their "Dream Bar" and thus Almond Joy was developed and replaced it.
Back in the day, there was a candy trade magazine called, "Candy Industry" that reviewed and voted on the best quality candy each year. Mounds and Almond Joy were voted #1 and #2 for some time. Mounds greatest competition turned out to be Almond Joy.
We had machines like that for chocolate and chewing gum and as you say every so many you got one free. The children would stand at the corner and count the numbers so they knew when the next few bar would be.
I wonder if the bars in the vending machine were actually smaller than the 2 you bought in the shop ours in the vending machines were and cheaper than the bar in the shop but oz for oz dearer.