A number of hydroxy and methoxy coumarin acetic acids have been prepared by the method of Dey and Row with a view to convert them into the corresponding coumaryl styrenes. Except the simplest of them,i.e., 7-hydroxy coumarin-4-acetic acid, the others do not undergo the condensation with aromatic aldehydes, but suffer only decarboxylation. A study of the γ-acetates obtained by the high temperature acetylation of simpler chalkones and flavanones indicates that they are not coumaryl styrene derivatives, though their compositions agree with such.