Paper Money - Vol. XXX, No. 6 - Whole No. 156 - November - December 1991

1 VOL. XXX No. 6 WHOLE No. 156 L IBERTY oissowlw. Pic And it's available to you now. et'• MasterCard or VISA customers call toll-free 800-258-0929 6:30 am - 8 pm, Mon.-Fri., 8 am - 2 pm, Sat., CST. Non-orders please use our regular business line, 715-445-2214. Publisher's Money-Back Guarantee If not completely satisfied, return within 14 days for a refund. Available from your favorite hobby shop or direct from the publisher. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, 6th edition, Vol. 1, Specialized Issues by Albert Pick Colin R. Bruce II, Neil Shafer, editors 1008 pages, hardcover, 8 1/2" x 11" $55.00, plus shipping The 6th edition is the most comprehensive special- ized world paper money reference ever assembled. Volume I brings you details of various early provin- cial and state level government notes as well as nu- merous issues sponsored by banks, regional authorities and even military authorities. New to the 6th edition are: 1. Completely new valuations in up to the three most common states of preservation. Also in- cluded for the first time are many valuations for issues that have been previously listed, but un- priced. 2. Exciting new historical facts gleaned from the ar- chives of The American Bank Note Company. Many classic proofs and specimens printed by that company and its acquisitions for banking firms around the world will soon be available for collectors through Christie's auction sales. 3. Pre-World War II listings for the Republic of Vene- zuela. Many early banks and their respective note issues are now confirmed in this greatly ex- panded section, with supportive illustrations. 4. The very unusual Argentine Provincial lottery ticket/currency issues that have run the gamut from exchangeable notes to worthless paper. 5. More than 16,700 total listings, resulting in the largest edition of this reference ever published. 6. More than 365 note-issuing authorities are com- piled in this volume, spanning more than 300 years. 7. More than 7,660 original photos - many upgraded - to help you attribute your notes. Yes! send me Pick's new specialized paper money volume I Please send me copy(ies) of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, 6th ed., Vol. I, Specialized Issues, at $55.00 each plus shipping. $2.50 per book to U.S. addresses; $5.00 per book to foreign addresses. Payable in U.S. funds. Amount for books $ Shipping and Handling $ Total Amount Enclosed $ Name Address City Mail with payment to: Krause Publications, Book Dept. JYF State Zip 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. ( ) Check or money order (to Krause Publications) ( I MasterCard ( ) VISA Credit Card No. Expires: Mo Yr Signature Phone No JYF AN INDEX TO PAPER MONEY VOLUME 30, 1991 Nos. 151-156 No. Page American Bank Note Commemoratives appoints exclusive distributor 152 51 Arnold, David Ray, Jr. How Chittenden calmed a crowd, illus. 152 50 The National Bank of Commerce in New York, a giant remembered, illus 156 182 CHECKS Christmas Club checks, a piece of Riggs history, illus. Michael Zier 156 173 Cochran, Bob "Carpetbagger" a numismatic not a political term 154 123 Josiah Morris, the banker who founded Birmingham, Alabama, illus. 151 5 "Mills Money," illus. 152 52 "On guard," illus 152 57 Starting out on the wrong foot, illus. 153 87 "That devil Forrest" and the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad, illus. 151 13 The First National Bank of Tuskaloosa, Alabama, illus 151 9 Theophilus Lacy and the "Yankees," illus. 154 117 Cohen, Bertram M. Make mine macerated, illus 155 154 CONFEDERATE Civil War paper money tales, Karr, Joseph D. 153 78 Juliet Hopkins "Florence Nightingale of the South," illus. Ron & Elizabeth Howard .. 151 16 Moneta and the Confederate treasury, illus. Brent Hughes 154 110 The use of "old English" style plate letters "I" and "J", illus. Robert J. Lindesmith 153 81 COUNTERFEITING Charles F. Ulrich, "boss cutter," illus. Brent Hughes 153 90 Thomas Ballard, genius counterfeiter, illus. Brent Hughes 155 141 Daniel, Forrest W. Green goods game 153 79 154 122 Minnesota's road-building orders, illus. 154 118 The First National Bank, Lakota, North Dakota, illus. 156 175 Friedberg, Milton R. Paper for second issue fractional currency, illus. 156 179 Herget, Walter Tazwell County National Bank of Delavan, Illinois, illus. 153 88 Hessler, Gene Notes that might have been, illus. 152 48 The woman portrayed on the 1891 $1,000 silver certificate, illus 156 188 Howard, Ron & Elizabeth Juliet Hopkins "Florence Nightingale of the South," illus. 151 16 Hughes, Brent Charles F. Ulrich, "boss cutter," illus. 153 90 No. Page Moneta and the Confederate treasury, illus.. 154 110 Paper money and you 154 121 Thomas Ballard, genius counterfeiter, illus. 155 141 Huntoon, Peter The Paper Column Original series national bank notes with charter numbers, illus. 151 23 Plate dates on converted territorial national bank note plates, illus 152 37 The production of 10-10-10-10 series of 1873 national bank circulating notes, illus. 154 105 The rise and fall of $1 and $2 national bank notes, illus 153 73 Karr, Joseph D. Civil War paper money tales 153 78 Lemiesz, Leonard T. Your broom needs repairing! Climb aboard!!!, illus. 153 83 Lindesmith, Robert J. Adrian Sharp, xylographer, illus. 155 158 The use of "old English" style plate letters "I" and "1", illus. 153 81 Lloyd, Robert Syngraphic vignettes 153 77 154 116 156 186 Mikolajczyk, Andrej Paper money in partitioned Poland, illus. 152 41 NEW LITERATURE Collecting U.S. obsolete currency, Gene Hessler and PCDA 156 178 Gold, greenbacks and the constitution, Richard Timberlake 154 128 Standard catalog of national bank notes, J. Hickman & D. Oakes 153 80 OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP Adrian Sharp, xylographer, illus. Robert J. Lindesmith 155 158 Capitals of Alabama and paper money, illus. Walter Rosene 151 19 Catalog of round cardboard scrip in preparation 155 153 Josiah Morris, the banker who founded Birmingham, Alabama, illus. Bob Cochran 151 5 Kansas update—errata and addenda, Steven Whitfield 154 124 Lawrence Bank of Kansas, territory and state, illus. Steven Whitfield 155 144 "Mills Money," illus. Bob Cochran 152 52 'That devil Forrest" and the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad, illus. Bob Cochran .. . 151 13 Theophilus Lacy and the " -Yankees," illus. Bob Cochran 154 117 Tom Moses and the cardboard scrip of Fort Wallace, Kansas, illus. Steven Whitfield. 153 85 No. Page No. Page PAPER, HISTORY OF SPMC members shine at ANA, TNA CSNS 156 193 Paper for second issue fractional currency, illus. Milton R. Friedberg 156 179 Statement of operations Statement of operations 153 156 93 192 Rosen e, Walter U.S. LARGE-SIZE NOTES Capitals of Alabama and paper money, illus... 151 19 Notes that might have been, illus. GeneSheehan, Thomas W. The 1907 Nome Clearing House issue, illus. .. 156 187 Hessler 152 48 Sheheen, Austin U.S. NATIONAL BANK NOTES Passed & noted 155 156 163 192 Tazwell County National Bank of Delavan, Illinois, illus. Walter Herger 153 88 SOCIETY OF PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS The First National Bank, Lakota, North A special report 151 25 Dakota, illus. Forrest W. Daniel 156 175 Award winners 154 By-laws of the Society of Paper Money 129 The National Bank of Commerce in New York, a giant remembered, illus. David Ray Collectors 154 125 Arnold, Jr. 156 182 Call for nominations 151 25 The Paper Column (see Peter Huntoon) Candidates for SPMC Board 152 59 Whitfield, Steven Contributors to publication fund 154 127 Lawrence Bank of Kansas, territory and state, Donors to the SPMC Tom Bain Raffle in illus 155 144 Memphis 155 164 Tom Moses and the cardboard scrip of Fort Editor's Corner 156 193 Wallace, Kansas, illus. 153 85 In memoriam William R. Higgins 153 93 WORLD PAPER MONEY Bob Medlar 152 58 Paper money in partitioned Poland, illus. Charles J. "Chuck" O'Donnell 155 163 Andrej Mikolajczyk 152 41 Roy Peterson 152 58 Zier, Mike New members 152 60 Christmas Club checks, a piece of Riggs 153 94 history, illus. 156 173 156 93 Mike Zier documents Riggs' history, illus 154 -108 Information for Authors A manuscript (ms) should be relevant to the study of pa- per money and related subjects, i.e., stock certificates, checks and the history of note-issuing banks, etc. The author is responsible for statements in the ms; neverthe- less, the editor has the prerogative to edit any ms so it conforms to the objectives of the Society of Paper Money Collectors (SPMC). The SPMC will consider reprinting an article already published elsewhere, provided the author has permis- sion, and the subject matter is considered to be impor- tant. Original articles are accepted with the assumption they have not been submitted to another publication. PAPER MONEY authors who wish to have their articles reprinted elsewhere are asked to wait a minimum of six months before doing so. (See copyright statement on the first page of this journal.) Manuscripts should be typed and double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11-inch white paper, with 1 1/2-inch margins. The author's name and address should appear at the top left of the first page. The author should retain a copy for cor- respondence, if necessary. Authors are encouraged to send biographies not to ex- ceed 100 words, with emphasis on hobby-related infor- mation. Black and white or color photographs, even good quality photocopies, are acceptable as illustrations. Images of poor quality will not be improved when published. Il- lustrations should be identified on the back with a refer- ence number that corresponds to the same number on the sheet of captions. They should be suitably protected for mailing. Articles will be published as soon as possible. Neverthe- less, immediate publication cannot be guaranteed. Sources should be listed as follows: Haxby, J. (1988). Standard catalog of United States obsolete bank notes. 1 & 3. Iola, WI: Krause Pub. History of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 1862-1962. (1964). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Treasury De- partment. Huntoon, P. (1988). The earliest national bank title changes. PAPER MONEY. 27, 103 - 114. Morris, T.F.; B.R. Mueller. (Ed.). (1968). The life and works of Thomas F. Morris 1852-1989. Published by the author. In place of footnotes put the author's last name and page reference in parentheses, e.g. (Huntoon, 68) at the ap- propriate place. If there is more than one author refer- ence for the same year, add the date, and vol. (in ital.), e.g. (Huntoon, 1988, 27, 105). If an author is not listed, use an identifying word from the title, e.g., (History, 60) or (Bureau, 60). SOCI ET Y OF PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS INC. Official Bimonthly Publication of The Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc. Vol. XXX No. 6 Whole No. 156 NOV/DEC 1991 Inquiries concerning non-delivery of PAPER MONEY should be sent to the secretary; for additional copies and back issues con- tact book coordinator. Addresses are on the next page. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 169 PAPER MONEY is published every other month beginning in January by The Society of Paper Money Collectors. Second class postage paid at Dover, DE 19901. Postmaster send address changes to: Bob Cochran, Secretary, P.O. Box 1085, Florissant, MO 63031. ISSN 0031-1162 © Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc., 1991. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, in whole or in part, without express written permission, is prohibited. Individual copies of PAPER MONEY are available from the Book Sales Coordinator for $2.75 each plus $1 postage. Five or more copies are sent postage free. ADVERTISING RATES SPACE Outside 1 TIME 3 TIMES 6 TIMES Back Cover $152 $420 $825 Inside Front & Back Cover $145 $405 $798 Full Page $140 $395 $775 Half-page $75 $200 $390 Quarter-page $38 $105 $198 Eighth-page $20 $55 $105 To keep rates at a minimum, advertising must be prepaid in advance according to the above sched- ule. In exceptional cases where special artwork or extra typing are required, the advertiser will be no- tified and billed extra for them accordingly. Rates are not commissionable. Proofs are not supplied. Deadline: Copy must be in the editorial office no later than the 1st of the month preceding issue (e.g., Feb. 1 for March/April issue). With advance notice, camera-ready copy will be accepted up to three weeks later. Mechanical Requirements: Full page 42-57 picas; half-page may be either vertical or horizontal in format. Single column width, 20 picas. Halftones acceptable, but not mats or stereos. Page position may be requested but cannot be guaranteed. Advertising copy shall be restricted to paper cur- rency and allied numismatic material and publi- cations and accessories related thereto. SPMC does not guarantee advertisements but accepts copy in good faith, reserving the right to reject objection- able material or edit any copy. SPMC assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but agrees to reprint that portion of an advertisement in which typographical error should occur upon ksite 1/444,prompt notification of such error. GENE HESSLER, Editor P.O. Box 8147 St. Louis, MO 63156 Manuscripts, not under consideration elsewhere, and publications for review should be addressed to the Editor. Opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the SPMC or its staff. PAPER MONEY reserves the right to reject any copy. Manuscripts that are accepted will be published as soon as possible. However, publication in a specific issue cannot be guaranteed. IN THIS ISSUE CHRISTMAS CLUB CHECKS, A PIECE OF RIGGS HISTORY Michael Zier 173 THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK, LAKOTA, NORTH DAKOTA Forrest W. Daniel 175 NEW LITERATURE 178 PAPER FOR SECOND ISSUE FRACTIONAL CURRENCY Milton R. Friedberg 179 NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS 181 THE NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE, IN NEW YORK, A GIANT REMEMBERED David Ray Arnold, Jr. 182 SYNGRAPHIC VIGNETTES Robert Lloyd 186 THE 1907 NOME CLEARING HOUSE ISSUE Thomas W. Sheehan 187 THE WOMAN PORTRAYED ON THE 1891 $1,000 SILVER CERTIFICATE Gene Hessler 188 SOCIETY FEATURES NOTED & PASSED 192 STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS 192 SPMC MEMBERS SHINE AT ANA, CSNS and TNA 193 EDITOR'S CORNER 193 NEW MEMBERS 193 MONEY MART 194 ON THE COVER: See page 188 for the story about this engrav- ing by Charles Burt. All advertising copy and correspondence should be sent to the Editor. ■■• Page 170 Paper Money Whole No. 156 SOCIETY OF PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS BOARD OF GOVERNORS PRESIDENT OFFICERS AUSTIN M. SHEHEEN Jr., P.O. Box 428, Camden, SC 29020 VICE-PRESIDENT JUDITH MURPHY, P.O. Box 24056, Winston Salem, NC 27114 SECRETARY ROBERT COCHRAN, P.O. Box 1085, Florissant, MO 63031 TREASURER DEAN OAKES, Drawer 1456, Iowa City, IA 52240 APPOINTEES EDITOR GENE HESSLER, P.O. Box 8147, St. Louis, MO 63156 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR RON HORSTMAN, P.O. Box 6011, St. Louis, MO 63139 BOOK SALES COORDINATOR RICHARD I BALBATON, P.O. Box 911, N. Attleboro, MA 02761-0911 WISMER BOOK PROJECT Chairman to be appointed LEGAL COUNSEL ROBERT J. GALIETTE, 10 Wilcox Lane, Avon, CT 06001 LIBRARIAN WALTER FORTNER, P.O. Box 152, Terre Haute, IN 47808-0152 For information about borrowing books, write to the Librarian. PAST-PRESIDENT RICHARD J. BALBATON, P.O. Box 911, N. Attleboro, MA 02761-0911 DR. NELSON PAGE ASPEN, 420 Owen Road, West Chester, PA 19380 CHARLES COLVER, 611 N. Banna Avenue, Covina, CA 91724 MICHAEL CRABB, Jr., P.O. Box 17871, Memphis, TN 38187-0871 C. JOHN FERRERI, P.O. Box 33, Storrs, CT 06268 MILTON R. FRIEDBERG, Suite 203, Pinetree Rd., Cleveland, OH 44124 GENE HESSLER, P.O. Box 8147, St. Louis, MO 63156 RON HORSTMAN, P.O. Box 6011, St. Louis, MO 63139 ROBERT R. MOON, P.O. Box 81, Kinderhook, NY 12106 JUDITH MURPHY, P.O. Box 24056, Winston Salem, NC 27114 DEAN OAKES, Drawer 1456, Iowa City, IA 52240 BOB RABY, 2597 Avery Avenue, Memphis, TN 38112 AUSTIN SHEHEEN, Jr., P.O. Box 428, Camden, SC 29020 STEPHEN TAYLOR, 70 West View Avenue, Dover, DE 19901 FRANK TRASK, P.O. Box 99, East Vassalboro, ME 04935 WENDELL W. WOLKA, P.O. Box 262, Pewaukee, WI 53072 The Society of Paper Money Collectors was organized in 1961 and incorporated in 1964 as a non-profit organization under the laws of the District of Columbia. It is affiliated with the American Numismatic Association. The annual meeting is held at the Memphis IPMS in June. MEMBERSHIP—REGULAR and LIFE. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and of good moral character. JUN- IOR. Applicants must be from 12 to 18 years of age and of good moral character. Their application must be signed by a parent or guardian. They will be preceded by the letter "j". This letter will be removed upon notification to the secre- tary that the member has reached 18 years of age. Junior members are not eligible to hold office or vote. Members of the ANA or other recognized numismatic so- defies are eligible for membership. Other applicants should be sponsored by an SMPC member or provide suitable references. DUES—Annual dues are $20. Members in Canada and Mex- ico should add $5 to cover additional postage; members throughout the rest of the world add $10. Life membership, payable in installments within one year, is $300. Members who join the Society prior to Oct. 1st receive the magazines already issued in the year in which they join. Members who join after Oct. 1st will have their dues paid through Decem- ber of the following year. They will also receive, as a bonus, a copy of the magazine issued in November of the year in which they joined. PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE TO MEMBERS ALABAMA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Rosene $12 RHODE ISLAND AND THE PROVIDENCE PLANTA- ARKANSAS OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Rothert $17 TIONS, OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP OF, Durand $20 INDIANA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Wolka $12 TERRITORIALS—A GUIDE TO U.S. TERRITORIAL INDIAN TERRITORY/OKLAHOMA/KANSAS OBSOLETE NATIONAL BANK NOTES (softcover), Huntoon $12 NOTES & SCRIP, Burgett and Whitfield $12 VERMONT OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Coulter $12 IOWA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Oakes $12 MICHIGAN. EARLY MICHIGAN SCRIP, Bowen $40 MAINE OBSOLETE PAPER MONEY & SCRIP, Wait $12 MISSISSIPPI, Leggett $44 MINNESOTA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Rockholt $12 SCOITS STANDARD PAPER MONEY CATALOG. PENNSYLVANIA OBSOLETE NOTES AND SCRIP, Hoober $28 1894. Reprint NATIONAL BANK NOTES. Guide with prices, Kelly $ 7 $34 Non-members add $3 per item ($5 if priced over $12). Postpaid. JOSEPH FALATER d.b.a. CLASSIC COINS Box 95 Allen, MI 49227 • "n ChAni ristie'sbfirrisntgasu $t(c3 mtsio onite of American Ban Ilion Archives ' (7i ir- „.• ktir 444 Paper Money Whole No. 156 Nationals topic of seco_nd.......edif7. 17: ,a72111 Page 171 U.S. PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS! Bank Note Reporter is for you! L U.S. paper money collectors! Get more news of your particular collecting interest, every month, in Bank Note Reporter. Bank Note Reporter is the only independently produced publication that blankets the entire paper money spectrum. You'll get all the news you need. And, you'll find it a convenient way Mail to: Bank Note Reporter Circulation Dept. 700 E. State St. Iola, WI 54990 Enter my Bank Note Reporter subscription as follows: ( ) New ( ) Renewal/Extension (attach your mailing label) ( ) 1/2 year (6 issues) $12.95 Foreign addresses send $20.65. Payable in U.S. funds. ( ) Send me a free sample issue (U.S. addresses only) ( ) Check or money order (to Bank Note Reporter) to keep current on U.S. and world notes, plus all other related fiscal paper. Bank Note Reporter is your one-stop paper money information source. Make sure you're in the know, by entering your subscription now. Take advantage of our special half-year offer. Or request a free sample issue (U.S. addresses only). Name Address City State Zip ( ) MasterCard/VISA Credit Card No Expires: Mo. Yr Signature Note: Charge orders will be billed as Krause Publications. = CP4 j Paper Money Whole No. 156Page 172 ************************ *** -**4 -1**** j,`11141111i,IFIT1114(1118E4RE )), T Irrl IAVE IS I. TICIpAV IRY t328580466- 434;u4a-tric — . ,,i -01NEUEDVMMTS6FAXERICilf -----misvgiviroft, NV-1 -'-• - - 7 I i- 2134 G 7,11 ---74X7 Tillsaint 11/ V.612EF, R.M. Smythe & Co. Auctions reach the most important collectors & dealers in U.S. & International Currency, Coins, Stocks & Bonds, Autographs, Ex- onumia & related material. Call today or send for our free color brochure describing the wide range of specialized and personal services we offer. CALL OR WRITE For Our Latest Price List Of Stocks & Bonds! -44.-********** -44.- ********** - ********* -4-4-4- BUYING ■ Obsolete, Confederate, Colonial and Federal Currency ■ Antique Stock & Bond Certificates ■ Rare Autographs We will purchase your material outright if you desire. Call or write today. TOLL FREE 800-622-1880 NY 212-943-1880 FAX: 212-908-4047 R. M. SMYTH E 26 Broadway Suite 271 New York, NY 10004-1701 1P4Shig) MEMBER SliAMONIN r t . This December 1929 statement stuffer, originally printed in black and white with a red Santa Claus, promoted Riggs Christmas Club for the coming year. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 173 Christmas Club Checks A Piece of Riggs History by MICHAEL ZIER C HRISTMAS Clubs. Once upon a time, banks activelypromoted savings for specific purposes, and wouldeven open an account for that purpose. The most common purpose was the Christmas Club. The idea behind the Christmas Club was for the depositor to open an account and deposit a specific amount each week for 50 weeks (the Club year generally ran from early December to mid-November or from the first of the year to mid- December). At the end of that time, the bank would issue a check for the amount in the account. It was a relatively painless way to accumulate funds for the Christmas season and it also gained a great deal of favor because the checks issued on these accounts generally were r411445. uougs Club iantilton , jags Rank WkSfliNt;1 , ,N. 1,N110:1 This Christmas Club check was issued by Hamilton Bank on December 6, 1920. When the Hamilton Bank became part of Riggs a few years later, the idea of Christmas Savings Clubs also came to Riggs. Join Our 1930 Christmas Club The RIGGS NATIONAL BANK of ASHINGTON, D. C. very decorative and carried a Christmas theme as their major design element. Riggs' first Christmas club check was issued in 1923 by the Seventh and Eye branch, formerly the Hamilton Savings Bank. The Hamilton Savings Bank had issued checks prior to that time and they bore gorgeous designs. The checks of the early '20s featured a pair of bells on the left and, on the right, Santa Claus bearing a mail sack and presenting a bank savings book to a young man. The checks were printed in red and green ink to carry the Christmas theme a bit further. Riggs Bank must have liked the idea, because in 1923 they used a colorful design of holly on all four corners, a candle in the upper right, and a young girl with wrapped gifts in an outdoor country setting on the upper left. Over the next few years the design concept for Christmas Club checks changed somewhat. The next checks we have available are from 1928 and 1929. Although they were printed on green paper and bore Christmas designs, they seem rather plain beside the earlier checks. Around the same time, Lincoln National Bank (which became part of Riggs in 1960) began issuing Christmas Club checks. Riggs continued with its Christmas Club for many years, but there are no samples on hand from 1930 through 1957. In 1958 and 1959, we used a rather attractive check featuring a choir on the left in front of church windows. The "Christmas Club" designation on the check was done on a music staff background, carrying the choir theme still further. The checks Paper Money Whole No. 156Page 174 Riggs' first Christmas Club Check, issued n 1923, looked like this. b 7TH 34 EYE STREET OFFICE 11 Intl, ,, ceeltl ter 10, 1023 a 0 b __cx4crui OPIE DOL A ,S,EXACIL= 4 SS liZL2.14 11.1aSVES. 633. Pr str. xi. w. CITY. Dollars of Gi 9 s-3 N fgni 1 io 'et IIE BIGGS BANK Golowl ,`Z119,71`,'A4,'61689 .:1779XLLOABIA Rfj`14 " •" Ti . L AY to Mt ORM Of ri,enna WvIle 1394 Ontario Place, :1,1, Washington 9, D. C."' • ) 7)crs Dollarsatuas This Christmas Club check design was one of the more popular ones to appear. In fact, this design was so popular it was used for several years in a row. The design at the top was colored in Red and Green ink, while the choir at the left wore red robes and the stained glass window at the rear carried a multitude of colors. from 1960 and 1961 used the same design, but altered the un- derprint color from pink to blue. In 1968, the design saw two boys singing with a chiming bell above them. By the mid-1970s Christmas Clubs were slowly being phased out by many banks, among them Riggs. The last year Riggs is- sued Christmas Club checks was 1978, and that check, in red and green ink, featured a reindeer on a wooded slope. This marked the end of Christmas Club checks at Riggs, but Riggs still carries on the tradition of a different Christmas Card every year. Only a few banks have Christmas Clubs today. Collecting these checks and other Christmas Club memora- bilia can be a challenging pursuit since most Christmas Club material has been destroyed. All the checks and other material mentioned here has at different times been on display during the month of December at the Lincoln branch of the Riggs National Bank, 17th and H Streets, Washington, D.C. This article originally appeared in the December 1990 issue of Riggs News, and is published with permission. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 175 The First National Bank Lakota, North Dakota by FORREST W. DANIEL In the three years and seven months of its existence the First National Bank, Lakota, North Dakota advertised its stock at five percent premium, guaranteed a twelve per- cent annual dividend, released two issues of national currency notes and burned to the ground. It was one of the more conservative banks controlled by E. Ashley Mears. T HE Mears organization consisted of about a dozen state-chartered banks, several unchartered banks and four national banks; there was a sheep company, a title insurance company, the Phoenix Insurance Company, and, from official and unofficial records, the hint of several other enterprises. The principal business was lending money to farmers and homesteaders and selling the mortgages. The small banks generated mortgages that were funneled into the Mortgage Bank and Investment Company at Fargo where they were documented into the form of coupon bonds which were sold to investors in the eastern United States. The Mortgage Bank and Investment Company financed the mort- gages by the sale of certificates of deposit which in turn were guaranteed by other mortgages or stock deposited in a Mears- controlled national bank. Everything was handled within the organization. Other bankers and state banking officials declared that Mears had a method of banking unique unto himself and that E. Ashley Mears, banker Unknown date. (Courtesy of Mrs. A. Lyman Beardsley, Laguna Hills, Calif) it was incomprehensible to them. He was accused by newspapers of usury and sharp practice in his method of selling the mortgages. Mears was charged with land fraud by encouraging false homestead entries onto federal land, but a series of delaying tactics were successful and it appears the case was abandoned. E. Ashley Mears was born in Vermont, studied law and at age twenty-one became a member of the Chicago bar. He made a fortune in scrap iron during the Civil War; he later married the daughter of a prominent Baptist clergyman. Early in the 1870s he was in the wholesale hardware and stove business in Chicago. In the early 1880s he arrived in Ipswich, [South] Dakota, as a town lot salesman. He went into banking in Ipswich. In 1887 he established banks in Edgeley and Minot in northern Dakota; the Bank of Minot became the financial center for his several other banks in the north central area of North Dakota. Mears's financing of homesteaders is credited with the early settlement of the region. His First National Bank, Minot,* was chartered in April 1889. In late October that year Mears moved to Fargo where a fine new building was erected to house his several enterprises. The Bank in Lakota The first inkling Lakota residents had of the new bank came from a New York newspaper. In reprinting the advertisement, the editor of the Nelson County News commented, "you must go away from home to learn the news!' 12 per cent. First National Bank, Lakota, Dakota, stock at $105. It will declare 12 per cent. payable 3 per cent. quarterly. The First Na- tional Bank at county seat, with county deposits, can have hand- some surplus over 12 per cent. We will guarantee to repurchase stock any time during year at $105 and 12 per cent. per annum added. Two directors, one residing in New York and one in Con- necticut, have just returned home after making personal examina- tion. Send for their names and for other references. MORTGAGE BANK & INVESTMENT COMPANY, Fargo, Dakota. The editor added that the county treasurer would be surprised to learn that county deposits were in that bank. That bomb was dropped on July 4, but the bank did not receive its charter (No. 4143) until October 23, 1889. Cashier W.J. Strain, "an exceed- ingly pleasant young man," arrived from Minot and opened the bank for business on Monday, November 9. The first shipment of national currency notes, $6,500, ar- rived early in December. They were dated October 23, 1889, * This was the original First National Bank,not the later bank described in "Minot Bank Issues Souvenir Notes," Paper Money, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1978. Paper Money Whole No. 156Page 176 , L...„ • so 11, Tr•O Amor NAT IONA', CIMRENCf- _- t ii17t ju{3d 1_,_"17:7""el 1.13:4141.7 JAY *VC - 18)W4 SO* with Mfg* rositent —77 TIRO: t./s /„/,/„ **Pis (,,/ .114001~. istimikof `16001T211. TIKA VAILLAR,S. - 1111 Dem ttiTa. Ill geg0=0410E136114etagii3ROINMX4= ''''112f-- NATIONACCXBRENCY.:32444'"D"m'' ...0 'Iiliatiav a_sft'llither"." Ituudo at 11044Pott - Withal( it.0, gailifel. -tohinVost„. THE t /./(1S,,,17. , j ' 4/,/, 1 /It ..;;,,,, 1,10-til .„! ( it/ 1.;---H/11■9 2,47-WAMM,MOMik 0f FZZES:EUX'4 " Psm D OMAHA 19)*(30 ouNtinuo. 4E).S.4 iJ1 9.•,5.91' PatakkWaSZONOOKTAVaegaiiSiC3032 - 11'4°)212r NATIONIVIE 321"*Ix'-TLw'c:"3111-' s ti t kisaufri ,4 stir HAWN, - 1p th, the Tit 40.41011i /./(StS„,/ri -s .NtettMinr4441.01 :113CE" PAliefigN o n o;111(7 4 LECEIRCIAPW:COCOM:3014604 '15:4431r_ 1"is. "4. ..)fr s,c4TTLE7,---, '11161, ‘0,o; t :41". -4&.*04.11X14 D. 41 'woad,ntith the 01 .**). tlitmu trr Itlitehingtint a tA s s // 1714ot" '(/// 3411Mg. ..R041—WW, I II 1 ,, ■1 ( 1131.116 )s,,w) so, Acoso ti` _ _ 1-111 *1 3 TWV4 Specimen sheet of territorial notes for The First National Bank of Lakota, Terr. of Dakota, dated Oct. 23, 1889. (Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.) Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 177 I.. A. 31UA7 11 ,t.v J. 0, 1,, •IEN. BANK OF TOWNER, Want to loan every man M McHenry County any sum 3E'r4C,M. 1 tC) SOC). MONEY LOANED ON FINAL PIIIWES. coLLEcTioNs WILL ral GI YEN FT AIPTENTION. Advertisement of another Mears bank showing the type of business he would accept. It appears in the McHenry County Independent in May 1893. and had the designation "Ten. of Dakota!' Since North Dakota achieved statehood on November 2, the notes were obsolete even before they were released. Another shipment was ex- pected to arrive in a few days. Eventually the 250 sheets printed (10-10-10-20) of territorial notes were disbursed. A new (re- vised) plate with the North Dakota designation and the date Nov. 2, 1889, was approved on May 7, 1891. The result was two issues of national currency notes dated only ten days apart. Only eighty-five sheets were issued from the second plate and only $90 was outstanding at the latest count in 1915. None of the notes are known to exist within the numismatic com- munity. During the time the First National Bank of Lakota was in operation Mears established the National Bank of North Dakota at Fargo, bought and sold controlling interest in the Merchants National Bank, Devils Lake, and sold the First Na- tional Bank, Minot, to H.F. Salyards. Salyards was cashier of the Minot banks and an officer of other banks in the Mears organi- zation. Mears continued with his "unique" banking system to the dismay of other bankers, state and federal banking officials and newspaper editors. Early in 1893 things began to change, not only for Mears but eventually the whole banking system. The second month of the year began with a ten-day cold spell. About 10 p.m. on the second of February a fire was dis- covered in the rear of a butcher shop and, with a twenty-mile- per-hour wind and minus thirty-degree temperature, an entire business block of Lakota was destroyed. The First National Bank, however, was covered by insurance; it was carried by the Phoenix Insurance Company, a Mears enterprise. The bank immediately occupied rooms over a drug store and only one day's business was lost. To furnish the new quarters, furniture from the recently closed Edgeley Bank was scheduled to be shipped to Lakota. Before it could be moved, however, the LaMoure County treasurer placed an attachment on the fixtures for unpaid taxes. The Edgeley Bank was one of the old- est in Mears's organization; it was closed for lack of business. Another bank, operated on more usually accepted banking principles, had opened in Edgeley and gobbled up most of the business. Late in April it was reported that C.W. Brauer of Spring Valley, Minnesota had purchased the First National and would build a new two-story bank building, the first story stone and the second, brick. Brauer had been in charge of the Mears bank in Cando a few years earlier. Brauer did not complete the pur- chase and a month later a local newspaper said the bank had been purchased by Salyards and Gregory of Minot. National bank examiners checked the Lakota and Fargo banks on May 12 and 13. Both were found wanting and closed on May 29. Incompetent banking was the stated cause of failure of both banks. At the time of the failure E. Ashley Mears was in Chicago ad- vertising for sales tax certificates and offering free trips to the World's Columbian Exposition to investors in his securities. He left immediately for Washington to confront newly installed Comptroller of the Currency James H. Eckles. He entered the office with bold confidence that he could re- pair the situation in short order; he left a very subdued man. Several published versions of the encounter were denied by Mr. Mears but in essence the conversation was: "Such men as you will not be permitted to run national banks in this country!' 'There are a lot of national bankers no better than I am,' cried Mears. "That may all be said the comptroller. "We will get them in good time. We simply happened to begin with you. . . There is a hint Mears had a personal enemy in the new ad- ministration. AO XX .2ilt0111r35,4 1:31011 Page 178 Paper Money Whole No. 156 II-14011:‘ NATIONAL CURRENCV.°Ecla3 „tvit,,tai:4:1 j 17.781.1W - Willi tile 4±1.kel. to. traotityr ill lI atibiti otan-) , 111°4T t"7/ NttlitatOitt 1$1/taik 'will It TEN DOLLAft hk*-Amfme 44 1=t1.0-› 4.323014:ezt-r5 f-toADix,=foitetEloc"}. (114 ltsOke* gri.(02091. CIRIEtftvw, alyAtz Itar 6,1,41 Itco al - WOOS vux ,r4) ,sjyr tatzrj) LA4‘. .41 v.* ' Liel)06110 With the 0.1.ittEtr,mert l t Intoltithittot. /,,/, "4”" /, BMW 481P , 4101106)141iim" /,/,-f/Z (./ Bottom two notes from a specimen sheet of state notes for The First National Bank of Lakota, North Dakota, dated NOR 2, 1889, statehood day. (Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.) Mears asked if he could sell the Lakota bank to H.F. Salyards as had been announced earlier. Eckles said he knew Salyards had been cashier of a Mears bank, and although there had been no connection between them for a year, the First National Bank at Lakota would be closed, period. The bank examiner was quoted as saying he expected the bank to repay depositors in full; a 30 percent payment was made early in the receivership but nothing later. Receivership ended May 7, 1904; after nearly ten years the First National Bank, Lakota, North Dakota, was finally closed. The receiver- ship of the National Bank of North Dakota at Fargo, the other Mears national bank closed at the same time, ended after only twenty-seven months with a payout of 103 percent. With the closure of his national banks Mears was beset by litigation relating to the land fraud case and the closing of his state banks and other ventures. It appears he was able to delay the fraud case until it was abandoned. By late 1895 E. Ashley Mears's banking and business operations in North Dakota were liquidated and the family moved to Minnesota. If this subject intrigues you and you wish to know more about Mr. Mears, I recommend "E. Ashley Mears: Boomer Banker in North Dakota" by Forrest Daniel. This 17-page article is in- cluded in North Dakota History, Journal of the Northern Plains, Vol. 57, No. 1. Single copies may be ordered from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, North Dakota Heritage Center, 612 E. Blvd., Bismarck, ND 58505 (ed.). New Literature Collecting U.S. Obsolete Currency by the members of the Profes- sional Currency Dealers Association (PCDA) Committee on Education and Gene Hessler. Published by the PCDA, P.O. Box 589, Milwaukee, WI 53201. Copies are available from any PCDA member for $1, by mail $2. This 34-page booklet is the first in a series to be published by the PCDA providing new and potential collectors with basic in- formation on how to collect the various types of paper money. Printed on high quality paper with colored covers, this pro- fusely illustrated booklet describes the many different ways that obsolete currency can be collected. Also described are re- mainder, proof, altered, raised and spurious notes, as well as college and advertising notes. This booklet will fill the need for information often re- quested and seldom found in the pages of most publications. Ronald L. Horstman Numismatist and Financial Historian CONSIDER donating a subscription of PAPER MONEY to your college alma mater, local historical society or library. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 179 Paper For Second Issue Fractional Currency by MILTON R. FRIEDBERG A Brief Timetable of Paper Making P AI'ER was invented about 2000 years ago in China and moved to Japan ca. 610 by way of Korea. The techniques made their way to Europe with the establishment of a paper mill in Spain about 1150. Watermarks were introduced for the first time in Italy ca. 1280. The first paper mill in the United States was established by Wm. Rittenhouse at Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1690. In 1726, Thomas Willcox started a paper mill on the west bank of Chester Creek in the township of Concord in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. This mill was the first producer of security-type papers used during the Revolutionary War. Cotton and linen fibers were the primary materials used for paper until 1800, when the first non-rag plant was built in Eng- land. Wood pulp (sulfite) is the most common paper ingre- dient today and is the basis of all newsprint. In 1862 Dr. Stuart Gwynne was commissioned by the predecessor of the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving to make distinctive paper exclusively for U.S. currency. He produced a layered paper consisting of two sheets with "spider leg" fibers between. Fractional currency was produced between 1863 and 1869 using commercial bond paper or Dr. Gwynne's "membrane" paper. In 1869, J.M. Willcox & Co., successor to Thomas Willcox of Concord, near Philadelphia, was awarded a contract to produce paper for fractional currency using two colors, but the paper produced and used only had a band of blue fibers. This paper was used for six months. In 1879, Crane and Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts, received a commission to produce paper for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and has been the sole supplier ever since. Paper Making Procedures Paper is basically a layer of linen or linen and cotton fibers that have been wetted thoroughly and then laid on a tightly woven wire screen to drain and mat. If no pressure is applied to the layer, the material is similar to "fur felt" or "blotter paper!' The composition and thickness of the applied fiber layer obviously determines final thickness of the dried material and its absor- bency. Blotter paper, cardboard, wallpaper, newsprint and security paper are made in almost identical procedures, the major differences being the fibers used, thickness of slurry deposited (the mixture of fibers and water) and finish processes applied. In the earlier days of paper making the screen was a fur felt pad. Later a hand-crafted device was made of various types of fibers and strings woven together much like cloth. As the tech- niques improved the screen was made from woven metal wires. If the screen was primarily long wires rather closely-spaced lengthwise and cross wires spaced relatively further apart the paper was called "laid" paper. If the weave was identical in both directions it produced "wove" paper. Those distinctions are still applied. The early paper was always hand-made within an open box- like form that had the screen fastened to its bottom edges. In the early 1800s, the Fourdrinier brothers of England developed a very closely woven, continuous flexible wire screen that al- lowed the slurry of felted fibers to drain as the screen moved along through drying ovens and rollers. The Fourdrinier screen and machines allowed the production of continuous paper, which could be cut into various sized sheets or be gathered in a roll. This invention was the start of making paper that would be readily available at a reasonable cost. A device to advertise the maker of the paper was a design or initials placed on the screen before the slurry was added. When the paper was completed, thinning of the paper over the design produced an identifier called a watermark. These watermarks became quite intricate and assisted in identifying unique and distinctive papers. Unfortunately the watermark produces a weak spot in the paper. The Bureau has used watermarks in rev- enue, bond and philatelic papers. Watermarks were used for the fourth issue of fractional currency, but were quickly discon- tinued when the paper failed in service. Paper Finishing Procedures Paper is usually compressed in the latter stages of drying so as to form a relatively smooth surface. In the hand-made papers the pressure is applied by means of a pressure plate lowered into the box and weighted to press onto the paper. Under normal circumstances the wetted mixture does not fill the box surface completely. The resulting selvedge of uneven contours produces a "deckle edge," which is normally trimmed away in the finishing operation. In addition, the paper thickness is rarely consistent and varies with the uneven application of the wet mix as well as the uneven pressure applied. The paper is quite often sent through "Calendar Rolls," which are quite similar to an old-fashioned washing machine wringer. The Calendar Rolls press the paper and, in effect, "iron" the paper surfaces. If the paper is sent through the rolls before it is completely dry, the rolls can then also be used to set thick- ness of the final product and the surface condition. Similar rolls can be used to impress patterns in the surface and apply sizing or other coatings. Proof papers used for testing engraving dies are usually rela- tively thick, soft papers that have been produced with a very tight top surface and with a minimum of sizing. Sometimes a grade of thin bamboo- or rice-based fiber paper is used on top of a very soft blotter-like paper to proof unhardened dies. The thin paper has a sufficiently hard surface that will accept the ink but needs the cardboard backing to prevent damage of the delicate lines of engraving in the soft steel. The following edited excerpt from the June-July 1981 issue of Paper Americana by W.S. Dean, II is an excellent description of final surface treatment: Sizing is what makes paper printable. Since almost all paper is made by matting fibers together into sheet form, it is necessary to give the paper a hard surface. This is called sizing the paper. The process has been basically the same for hundreds of years. The simple fact is that blotter paper is never sized. That should explain what happens to writing or printing inks on unsized paper. It blots, runs into the paper, but does not hold the shape of the words. .. early European paper makers would pass newly made and dried Page 180 Paper Money Whole No. 156 sheets through a bath of gelatin which was made by boiling old scraps of vellum and leather. This paste stiffened the fibers and gave a glaze to the paper's surface. Modern paper is still sometimes glazed using gelatin, but alum, soap, rosin, and potash are also sub- stituted for the gelatin. Gelatin has proved absolutely harmless to historical paper. Alum, rosin and potash, however, can eventually be very damaging since they promote acid developing from the im- purities and mineral content.... Intaglio Printing Procedures In order to make the problems encountered understandable, it is necessary to discuss the requirements of the printing process. In practice, the currency engravers contribute to a single die for the note desired. That die is used to make a transfer roll which is then repeatedly rolled into a larger sheet of special steel until the required number of duplicate images have been produced. That larger sheet, called a plate, is inked until all the engraved grooves are filled. The excess surface ink is then wiped away and the plate, with a sheet of paper on it, is passed under a roll. The roll exerts pressure so that the paper is pressed into the inked grooves. If the pressure is great enough, and the paper just soft enough, a perfect printed image appears. It was quickly discovered that if the paper was slightly damp, it would pick up the ink more easily. The dampening allowed additional lati- tude in paper hardness and thickness variation and tended to reduce the pressure needed when passing the die through the pressure roller. The reduced pressure caused less damage to plates, rolls and presses. During the Civil War period the sources of security-grade- paper became almost non-existent. The paper makers turned to newsprint and magazine papers to meet the rising demand for news. The higher grade writing papers were likewise in short supply. High grade security paper that required 100% clean white rags was in exceedingly short supply. This is readily illustrated by the National Currency Bureau's (later to become the Bureau of Engraving and Printing) use of captured Con- federate paper with a "CSA" watermark to produce specimens of fractional currency for distribution! The Bureau felt that the bond paper they were forced to use for fractional currency just didn't offer enough protection against counterfeiting. A goal of the department was to produce a distinctive paper that was unique to the currency of the United States government. The Bureau issued an open bid for a supplier to meet these re- quirements. Papers were submitted by outside sources. Experimental notes exist printed on "Olier" and "Hudson" papers. The Bureau decided that these outside submissions were unsatisfactory and entered into a contract with Dr. Gwynne to develop a satis- factory distinctive and unique paper. The Bureau also decided to add anti-counterfeiting devices to the notes of the second issue of fractional currency. A gold- like oval around the face vignette and a double-lined large overprinted numeral of value on the back were added to reduce the possibility of photographic reproduction. Also, gold-like corner indicators were placed on some of the backs. These corner indicators are believed to have been used to identify different experiments of papers and printing methods, but there has not yet been substantive proof of their purpose. The "gold" was applied by printing a waterglas (sodium silicate) solution on the paper using a rubber plate and then sprinkling a bronze powder on the wet waterglas to produce the "gold" printing. The sheet was normally dampened and dried for each of these steps and was then turned over to repeat the process for the other side of the paper. However, the point is that these papers were dampened and dried many times during the in- taglio printing process. If the fibers used during the paper-making process were all pointing in the same direction on the Fourdrinier screen, then paper shrinking would be constant in the direction of the fibers. However, if the fibers were randomly distributed the shrinkage would be uniform in all directions. Part of Dr. Gwynne's assignment was to correct this shrinkage problem. Several experimental notes survive which show the attempts to cut two different notes apart and then reassemble the halves to measure the shrinkage. These notes are known with both ver- tical and horizontal pairings. An example of the 'Treas. Dpt." imprint. A further oddity in the second issue of fractional currency has been the appearance of a gold-like rectangle approximately 3/8" high by 1" long with the legend "Treas. Dpt" inside the rec- tangle. The device is found normally in the corner of the note either on face or back. The mystery surrounding the appear- ance of this device was clarified in the testimony of William H. Coleman (ass't clerk, paper dep't, 5/1865 to 10/1866), before a congressional committee. The testimony was reproduced in Document No. 23 of the 3rd Session of the 40th Congress: Answer . Our idea was not but that any stamp which was put on to the paper could be counterfeited, but that if it were done we could bring to bear on those who did it the counterfeiting laws for counterfeiting. The law provides for distinctive paper. They had no distinctive paper; it was such bank-note paper as is used by all bank note companies for printing. But by taking it and imprinting it with a treasury stamp and making it treasury paper we did make it really a distinctive paper. Question . What species of a device was this, that you put on the paper in your office, before you delivered it? Answer . It was a simple stamp, consisting of a rectangle with 'Treas. Dpt" inside of it, which was printed on the corner, and intended to accompany it through all its different stages.. .. In going through the bronzing process, the rubber stamped device also became bronzed along with the intended markings. It is obvious that the existing examples of this device were not always trimmed off the selvedge of the paper. In fact, the paper counters were apparently careless and sometimes stamped the device into the printing area. Collector and cataloger Valentine Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 181 Horizontal cut Vertical cut Normal cut refers to a red device (V17f) on some notes, and we can assume that this device was used on completed sheets of notes as a marker of a fixed quantity when counted by the auditors. Printing Procedures Dr. Gwynne ingeniously attempted to solve the known prob- lems. He produced a sandwich of two thin sheets of high quality security paper approximately .010" thick and dis- tributed various fibers (silk or silk and jute) and a binder (glue) of an unknown material between the two layers. The sandwich was then run through either Calendar Rolls or pressure plates while the binder was set to bond the layers. We know that the notes with the corner identification 1.-1-18-63" were printed on a paper that had an unsuccessful binder. Many of the notes in existence show separation of the two layers and any '1-1-18-63" note with a totally inverted back is suspect as a split note that has been reassembled incorrectly. Dr. Gwynne's paper was eventually accepted and succeeded in becoming satisfactorily printed in high volume. Addition- ally, he and Spencer Clark, the Chief Clerk of the Bureau, were able to print the paper without having to dampen it. Many political moves in the Bureau, the Plate Printers Union and the outside bank note companies led to the replacement of the Gwynne membrane paper by the Wilcox paper. Sources Dean, W.S. (June/July 1981). Paper Americana. Friedberg, M.R. (1968). New information on fractional currency. PAPER MONEY 7, 107. McDonough, C. (3 April 1967). The story of Ivy Mill. Linn's Weekly Stamp News. Mercer, J.W. (4 Dec. 1985). News article about presentation at conven- tion. Coin World. PAPER MONEY is now coming to you two weeks earlier than in the past. Therefore, the deadline for all copy has been changed. Please see page 169. Articles for PAPER MONEY are ac- cepted with the assumption they have not been submitted elsewhere. Within 'a reasonable amount of time your ar- ticles, with permission, may be re- printed in another journal, providing proper credit is given. Page 182 Paper Money Whole No. 156 The National Bank of Commerce in New York A Giant Remembered by DAVID RAY ARNOLD, JR. There were giants in the earth in those days. But those days, the Narrative continues, were soon followed by a flood, after which the giants were no longer seen. Those towering hunters of old were not the only giants; history is filled with others, from brontosaurus to battleship. Each had its day, often followed by decline, disaster or disappearance. In company with the latter was a titan of banking once known as the National Bank of Commerce in New York. T HE National Bank of Commerce in New York is a name well-recognized by collectors of national currency because of enormous note issues. Wismer dated the bank's opening as January 1, 1839. However, in diamond ju- bilee publicity on April 3, 1914, the date of organization as a state bank was given as April 3, 1839. Capital stock was $5,000,000. Founders of the bank included two bankers, two capitalists, two lawyers and twelve merchants. The same group became the first board of directors. Operation was to be as a strictly commercial bank, as the name implies. Subsequent boards throughout the bank's entire history comprised a large representation of the commercial interests of the country. That very prudence, incredibly, would draw a peculiar hostility to- ward directors in years to come. The bank's first president was Samuel Ward, father of Julia Ward Howe, famed authoress of Battle Hymn of the Republic. Samuel Ward was a descendant of Governor Ward of Rhode Is- land, a member of the first two Continental Congresses. Mr. Ward's time in the office of president was brief; he died before the end of 1839, to be succeeded by John Austin Stevens. The names of the bank's presidents and the dates of their terms up to the diamond jubilee may be of interest to collectors for correlation with signatures on notes. Note issue in the early years was not a matter of first impor- tance to the bank. Wismer cited a resolution to no longer issue currency after October of 1849, and said that by 1862 circula- tion had been reduced to $1,715. Haxby's comment is in agree- ment: "No notes appear to have been issued after 1849 until the institution became a National Bank" Capital stock was dou- bled in 1856 to $10,000,000. A fraudulent $5 note of an imaginary bank, but bearing The Bank of Commerce name, is pictured herein. Haxby describes but does not illustrate a few other altered and non-genuine notes of this phantom. Except for $50, $100 and $500 designs in proof, it seems that the only collectible obsolete note of the real National Bank of Commerce in New York is the $10, Haxby NY-1535-G4a. Presidents Succeeding Samuel Ward through the Diamond Jubilee Name From To John Austin Stevens 1839-1866 Charles Handy Russell 1866-1867 Robert Lenox Handy 1867-1878 Henry F. Vail 1878-1881 Richard King 1881-1892 W.W. Sherman 1892-1899 Joseph Clifford Hendrix 1899-1902 Valentine P. Snyder 1902-1911 James S. Alexander April 1, 1911 Served during the diamond jubilee, and later as Chairman of the Board. In 1865 the all-important word "national" was added to the bank title. Oddly, information given The New York Times for ob- servance of the bank's 75th anniversary referred to nationaliza- tion in 1864. The discrepancy is not irreconcilable. Organization for the change may have been effectively com- pleted by late 1864, but the Charter Number 733 can only have been granted in 1865—as it was, on January 19. John A. Stevens, who had already served the bank for a quarter of a century, presided over the transition to national status. He resigned in 1866, but remained a director until his death in 1874. Charles Handy Russell, the next president, was one of the original as- sociates, and a member of the first board. Avoidance of a substantial circulation became a concept for- gotten by the bank. National currency notes abounded from the beginning and throughout all of the charter periods, al- though not in every type. In the $5 denomination alone, 364,000 notes were issued in the original series. The lowly $1 and $2 were disdained, but the high values of $500 and $1000 were included. Those lofty denominations were again paraded in the series of 1875. Generous benefits were long the policy of the bank for its personnel. A yearly bonus plan was established in 1851. Em- ployees with five years of service received five percent of their yearly salary, and after ten years of service, ten percent. During the economic disturbances of the Civil War and for many years afterward bonuses ranged from 20 to 50 percent. Beginning in 1866 daily lunches were furnished. A pension system was voted by the directors in 1884 and by 1914 life and disability insur- ance plans had been added. These actions were extraordinary for their time. ///74,-„sr C2 r. ) z c+4.44.4 J 71 )/////// • oE NEw ) r For National Bank of Commerce in New York. 0 7- ' 39 Your favor ■,f We enter for collection: We credit, subject to payment: Out-of-town items are credited s object to actual final lc,ynrent. Respect fully, NEILSON (40)11'. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 183 Obsolete note dated May 4, 1845, purportedly of The Bank of Commerce in New York City. According to Haxby, this note is fraudulent and an alteration of another company's issue. The instrument has a thoroughly authentic appearance, including the John A. Stevens signature as president. A believable registration notice is imprinted on the back. If it was intended that this note be associated by the unwary with the real Bank of Commerce, it was an unwelcome compliment to that estab- lishment. Upon absorption of The National Union Bank in 1900 the capital was again increased to $10,000,000 (it had been reduced to $5,000,000 in 1877). When The Western National Bank of the U.S. was assumed in 1903 the capital was further increased to $25,000,000, making the National Bank of Com- merce in New York one of only two banks in the city with that capitalization. Its surplus and undivided profits shown on the statement of March 4, 1914—the last statement to the Comp- troller of the Currency before the 75th anniversary—were $16,939,541, with total resources of $216,000,000. The banks absorbed in 1900 and 1903 had themselves undergone a number of financial intricacies. They can be traced in Hickman-Oakes and in Kelly. In all the years of its existence the bank never moved more than a few blocks. Its first location was in the Merchants Ex- change Building at 46 Wall Street. In 1842 it shared a building on what was later to become the site of the United States Assay Office. A lot at Nassau and Cedar Street was purchased in 1856 for $230,000, and the bank's own four-story building was erected the following year. The lot adjoining was bought in 1894 for $225,000, providing over 100 feet of frontage onto Nassau. Business was conducted in temporary facilities at Nassau and Liberty Street during the construction of the building into which the organization moved on May 3, 1897. New attention was brought to American monetary policy during the years 1901-1913. Improvement had always been a goal, and plain meddling always a danger, but the panic of 1907 revealed a serious lack of flexibility. When most needed, the expansion of purchasing power and the actual currency to apply it could not easily be brought about. Legislation sponsored by Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Congressman Edward Butterfield Vreeland enlarged the base for creation of bank currency. Elaboration will be reserved for a supplement presenting the Aldrich-Vreeland Act. Sea- soned collectors of national bank notes generally understand the purpose of the act, and they recognize notes issued under its terms. Those newly interested are referred to the note illus- trated. Adequate basic information can be found in the stand- ard references. As we know, there have been as many kinds of American paper money as reasons for them. The dominant class of cur- rency during one period may be different from that in another. From 1881 to 1890 national bank notes led, surpassing even gold coin in 1881. In the 1890s silver certificates were the largest class of paper money. National banknotes were still prominent in the first decade of the twentieth century, leading again in 1901-1903. Beginning in 1904 the popular gold certificates ap- peared in larger amounts. By 1918 the new Federal Reserve notes dominated, and were to become overwhelmingly the nation's chief kind of paper money. National bank notes re- mained a significant supplemental currency until their rapid decline after 1934. After the panic of 1907, unrelenting scrutiny was given to such amorphous symbols as Wall Street, the Money Trusts, In- ternational Financiers—any term with a sinister tone would do. Deposit receipt given by the bank in 1909. Four dollars—so minor a sum today—was in 1909 a typical amount suggested for savings from a well- budgeted monthly income of $80. Could this $4 have been a deposit by some prudent young earner who valued the advice of his elders? Neilson Olcott, whose name is on this receipt form, was a signer of the bank's notes. AttiliAilt.0.04.1.1.111:41t441-41.1214.A.RW tal .r4 01.6111- Ott 011111,Sr111(111, R 3 9 3 0IMO in iv:. • , • s•o, Y. C9 N aSellArt:C3101r4c-7.1k celinNw...emair, • Paper Money Whole No. 156Page 184 National Bank of Commerce note of the Series of 1902. Blue seal, amended security legend, and dated back quickly identify an Aldrich-Vreeland issue. Printing of this plate, in a 5-5-5-5 pattern, was to reach bank serial 1000000. 'The" has been dropped from the bank title as the simplest change possible following reorganization on October 5, 1903. Signatures are heavily printed by letterpress; the masterpiece of illegibility at the right is the name of the bank's president, V.P. Snyder. A wizard of such mysteries was the imperious J. Pierpont Morgan. His signature appears on notes in the brownback se- ries of 1882. He did not sign as president of the bank, however. An unobtrusive 'V' is written below his name. It is an overstate- ment to call The National Bank of Commerce in New York "J.P. Morgan's bank," although his powerful influence is undisputed. Morgan was not free from imperfection, but he had some very human qualities. He could be generous in good causes, he was sincerely devout, and he did have a certain sense of humor. Unsure of Theodore Roosevelt's friendship or enmity, he nevertheless made substantial contributions on his behalf. Roosevelt had publicly praised Morgan, but he also con- demned wielders of great financial power. Told that the old Rough Rider was going to Africa to hunt big game, Morgan remarked, "I hope that the first lion he sees does his duty" Almost bankrupt of gold in 1895, the United States was holding less than $10 million. Morgan organized a private bond sale that forestalled default. In the 1907 crisis he kept the Stock Exchange open, and maintained the solvency of New York City. When his motives were later impugned and he was asked why he was unwilling that others take the role he as- sumed, he replied calmly, "They could not do it" There is little doubt of that. J. Pierpont Morgan died on March 31, 1913. Power of startling magnitude was attained through affilia- tion of financial institutions with banks, transportation systems, public utilities and other corporations. Fifty-seven directorships were held by The National Bank of Commerce in New York in 22 other banks and trust companies. Twelve of those directorships were in the Guaranty Trust Company, with which the bank later merged. The Guaranty Trust Company had 63 directorships in 19 banks and trust companies. Through a voting trust the Morgan organization controlled the Guar- anty Trust Company. It is apparent that the sinews—some said tentacles—of the corporate bodies were so intertwined that their course was never fully determined. The National Bank of Commerce in New York, early 1900s: the main office of the bank from May 3, 1897. Even the giant's home has vanished, for this building no longer exists. tij.L.LLtrita4' • IN NEW YOUk. NAT tON t flat It ENT) , rine Z- EV NEW 1(11e III - •■ • ,, • ... ir,r,,,,,, u, ,maw .1 t•-. ocr.z),,:omaarirwoumpngds;,,...... ,up. ,',Netoorao;tam«,DF.;iurjc ineur:Awocca ,, a.7,121i1- -1,,.t00:, AY9,44633111.3 cztiR,1,5101.10C*:631112170,64).A _ Nor, )N,,,, ,, ENT,. _ "irgrIONddr, IN NEWYOUh •Five prilDallars ,ncra) • 1 6, , GlioNliEL11100 , (311,1 ,- N OXt . rrititi.;:vci. -w-aacaJF'''D-crs'x' mr.t. emnariu. IN NI:W1O11k Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 185 r . National Bank of Commerce in New York issued about two and one-half times as many third charter notes than were emitted for the first two charter periods. Third charter issues all appeared after the assumption of The Western National Bank of the U.S. in New York on October 5, 1903, at which time the The Last Merger VERGED BANK OPENS TODAY Guaranty Trust Now Contains Old National Bank of Commerce The merger of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York and the National Bank of Commerce into a new institu- tion with the name of the former and capital, surplus and undivided profits of $184,000,000 will be completed this morning when the combined institu- tion begins business at 140 Broadway. Extensive alterations in the capital structure of the institutions and in the group of buildings which now constitutes the main office of the new bank were necessitated by the merger. The main office now occupies six of the seven large buildings in the block bounded by Broadway, Liberty, Nassau and Cedar Streets. It also oc- cupies all but the upper floors of the building of the New York Clearing House Association in Cedar Street. Announcement of plans for the merger were made formally on Feb. 25. May 7, 1929 Operations under the new organization began on May 7, 1929. The New York Times anticipated the event by one day; this item appeared in the May 6 edition. The bank had continued for 90 years, 64 of them under a national charter. In March of 1914, immediately prior to the 75th anniversary, capital, surplus and undivided profits totaled $41,939,541 and total resources were $216,000,000. At the time of the merger in 1929 the total resources absorbed by the Guaranty Trust Company from National Bank of Commerce in New York were nearly $800,000,000. That was an immense sum, even for the giddy days before the stock market crash. A series of 1875 sheet in high denomination, engraved by the National Bank Note Company. The 500-500-500-500 scheme was used only for the Na- tional Bank of Commerce in New York. The scene on the right commemorates the arrival of the Sirius in New York harborbn April 22, 1838. Until that date steamship lines between Great Britain and North America made little impres- sion, but the Sirius had made the voyage in 17 days—entirely under steam. The ship was named after the Dog Star, the brightest in the heavens. This cer- tified proof by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was illustrated in Peter Huntoon's "United States $500 and $1,000 National Bank Notes," Paper Money, July/August, 1988. formal, capitalized "The" was eliminated from the title of National Bank of Commerce in New York. Total issue of the bank was a staggering $155,875,000, all in large-size notes. Hickman-Oakes cites $338,085 to be outstanding at the close. As large as that figure seems, it is roughly only two-tenths of one percent of the total issue. In its ninetieth year National Bank of Commerce in New York was voluntarily liquidated as a national bank on April 5, 1929. It was quickly re-formed as a state bank preparatory to merger with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. On April 9 the institution's name was again Bank of Commerce, a fleeting return to its own past. During the process of liquida- tion eighteen massive safes were scrapped for want of a buyer. Probably all collectors wonder whether every ingenious secret compartment was discharged of contents before scrapping. Finds have been made in less likely places. In further implementation of merger plans, capital was again increased, on April 20. Four days later a $1,000,000 gold ship- ment arrived from Argentina. Another $1,000,000 in gold was to come from Buenos Aires on May 9, and that would be fol- lowed by $1,850,000 more on June 26. Commercial activity on (Continued on page 186) Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 186 Syngthphic Vigitette5 by ROBERT H. LLOYD "1923" Short Series T HE decade of the 'twenties saw the start and early de- mise of the last new designs for our large-size cur- rency—the series of 1923. Four of these designs were heralds of new note styles that some thought were long overdue. The concept of unified designs fostered the idea that each denomination of the different types of currency should have the same features, same portrait, etc. to aid in quick recog- nition. The various classes of notes would be distinguished by seal color. The backs would be uniform for each value. Apparently many people felt that there were too many de- signs for the same denomination. We had been living with this since the Civil War. It grew worse with the changes in the na- tional bank issues that placed two distinct designs and series in daily use for years. Then you add the new Federal Reserve Notes in 1914, the Federal Reserve Bank Notes in 1915 and 1918 and you had quite a variety. So, until the end of the decade we had four types of $5s and $10s, and three types of $20s, $50s and $100s. It is a fact that many people desire easy recognition. That is the reason many countries use differing colors on the face of their notes. People do not like to scan their notes. These are the folks who dislike the $2 bills, remarking that they get mixed up with $ls, or that they look like $1s. They look as much like $1s as $20s do $10s. The trouble is, small cash registers have only four spaces intended for $ls, 5s, 10s and 20s; so the $2s have to be placed under the tray. Promoters argued that uniform designs would save printing costs (it would) and decrease counterfeiting. Just how the last concept would be accomplished is a bit doubtful. If anything, it might aid fraud; the felon could make the slightest changes in seal color, etc. and, using the same back plate, be in business again. When they finally did appear the new 1923s were a bit of a disappointment. The $ls were of good artistry, having much in common with the Federal Reserve bills, with 'THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" across the top of the note. But, in my opinion, the Washington portrait was inferior to that of 1869 (1874, 1878, 1880 & 1917). The "port hole" $5 was pleasing, even if the frame seemed a little heavy. The $10 U.S. note was really odd having a small portrait and a heavy wide frame. Both the backs other than the $1 were pleasing, but the back of the $1 lacked character. The use of new colored counters was welcome. The newspapers of the day had little to say about the designs. There was already talk about reducing the size of our notes to those in use in the Philippines. So it is understandable why there was no $2. It would have helped, however. And a new $5 U.S. note with the port hole and red seal would also have been acceptable. However, the old 1907 Series $5s continued in use until 1929. In those days, tellers usually kept a pack of crisp notes in plain sight, especially at holiday time. I recall the day I first saw the 1923 $ls with the red seal. I promptly paid for one, for a "birthday" gift. It was number A29 563 599B, and I held it for years. The teller peeled the note from the back of the pack, thus keeping the last serial number indicative of the remaining notes, the serial 600 having been already given out. This is a set that you can complete, but it will be costly if you desire perfection. The $10 is rare in choice condition, and the $5 almost so. Used, clean notes are often available. Except for the $1 silver certificate, the last three never got out of the first serial block, and the $5 and $10 were token printings only. Hardly used, the plates of these went to scrap. Block number collecting had not really started at this time. But collecting 1923 blocks will be easier than 1899 black eagles. For the first time, collectors became aware of "change-over" pairs. GIANT - (Continued from page 185) Sunday was not usual, but on the day preceding the opening employees worked in order to learn the running of the com- bined institutions. The next morning, May 7, the new organiza- tion began business. The venerable National Bank of Commerce in New York is gone, its passing a matter of metamorphosis rather than of mortality. A giant that once engulfed lesser creatures of its breed was itself at last taken into the arms of an even mightier cousin. Bibliography Documentary History of Banking and Currency in the United States. (1969). Ed. Krooss. Includes the final report from the Pujo Committee, February 28, 1913. The committee was unable to determine all the resources and profits of J.P. Morgan & Company, nor the full character of the firm's affiliations. Morgan had said that he would go to jail rather than discuss his personal affairs. Haxby, James A. (1988). Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes 1782-1866. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause. Hessler, Gene. (1974). The Comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Paper Money. Chicago: Henry Regnery [also in subsequent editions]. Hessler used a note of The National Bank of Commerce in New York to il- lustrate a first issue of the 1882 series. The specimen bears a logo- type of Morgan's signature. Hickman, John, and Dean Oakes. (1990). Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. Second edition. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause. Huntoon, Peter. (1985). National Bank Notes with Treasury Serial 1 and 1000000. XXIV, 167-172, Paper Money, July/August, 1985. . (1988). The United States $500 and $1,000 National Bank Notes. XXVII, 103-121, Paper Money, July/August, 1988. Jackson, Stanley. (1983). I.P. Morgan. New York: Stein and Day. Moulton, Harold G. (1938). Financial Organization and the Economic System. New York: McGraw-Hill. The New York Times. Various contemporary items, 1914-1929. Polk's Bankers Encyclopedia, September, 1928. Wismer, D.C. (1985). Obsolete Bank Notes of New York. A reprint of the 1931 publication "New York Descriptive List of Obsolete Paper Money" Long Island City, New York: Durst. The author warmly acknowledges courtesies of The New York Public Library. *fg 042 4,9 DOLLAR 1908,M any of 166 undOPSign mysecot of OW b 1..46p.* fwprove4nolotr LI. .604 Clmrtsts 11.6aot - lei MNIIPINSU u. II.. _4 - 1 Cr.. b.. Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 187 The 1907 Nome Clearing House Issue by THOMAS W. SHEEHAN 1907 Panic T HE Panic of 1907, brought on in a period of economic prosperity, was triggered by the rumor, in September, that several security dealers would no longer be able to obtain bank credit (McFarland 34). Several New York banks had over-extended themselves in providing credit during the boom and were forced to shut their doors. The bank failures produced an almost instant distrust of the local financial insti- tutions and a drain on their deposits was created by the depo- sitors who wanted to get their money out before any more failures occurred. In order to protect themselves, the banks in New York placed an embargo on currency shipments to their correspondents. The correspondents, in turn, limited their shipments and the virtual disappearance of currency was the result. Clearing house associations had been in existence in major American cities for many years prior to this panic. Their pur- pose was to facilitate the exchange of checks, drafts, and notes among their members, for their welfare and that of the com- munity (Munn 1921). Many of the clearing houses had been using certificates in large denominations to settle their daily balances rather than using currency which would be more cumbersome, cause security problems, and take it out of public circulation. With the currency shortage it became necessary to issue clearing house loan certificates in smaller denominations to take the place of the currency that was being hoarded. On October 26th the New York Clearing House was the first to make the decision to issue certificates for general circulation (Andrew 501). This action was soon followed by almost half the cities with a population over 25,000 (Commercial, Vol. 85, No. 2210, pg. 1118). While the main impact of the panic occurred during the last week of October and the first week of November 1907, its effects lasted the rest of the year. New clearing house associa- tions were established while unsound banks continued to close. For example, during the first two weeks of December, clearing house associations were formed in Altoona, Pennsyl- vania and Paducah, Kentucky, while the two private banks of E.B. Lee at Jasper and Weston, Michigan and the private bank of D.A. Beck, Stotesbury, Missouri were closed (Commercial, Vol. 85, No. 2216, pg. 1493). Nome Clearing House On December 19th, 1907, (Daily Alaskan, 12-19-07, pg. 1) the banks of Nome (Miners and Merchants Bank, Alaska Banking and Trust Co., Nome Bank and Trust Co.) decided to issue clearing house certificates because of the currency shortage. Public confidence in the banks of Fairbanks ha. d been proved a week earlier. The individual banks in Fairbanks issued checks to circulate in the place of currency (Fairbanks, 12-12-07, pg. 1). A clearing house may have also been established in Fairbanks. On December 19th the Fairbanks Daily Times carried an adver- tisement for the Tanana Commercial Company stating that the company would be willing to accept up to $100,000 in bank certificates for their goods (Fairbanks, 12-19-07, pg. 2). It was not uncommon, during the panic, for both bank checks and clearing house certificates to circulate simultaneously for a short time. The same day that the banks in Nome declared their intention to issue certificates an editorial appeared stating .. the certificates will represent the strength of the individual banks in the public mind" (Daily Alaskan, 12-19-07, pg. 2). Ap- parently the banks in Nome preferred forming a clearing house to issuing checks individually. The Nome public accepted the certificates because they believed the banks would stand be- hind them. Clearing house issues were normally backed by securities in excess of 125% of the total amount issued. For example, the minutes of the Seattle Clearing House for November 6, 1907 re- veal that the Northwest Trust and Safe Deposit Co. was issued $45,000 in clearing house loan certificates against collateral of $96,000 or 213%. The same day, the Title Trust Co. of Seattle was refused certificates because its collateral largely consisted (Continued on page 191) Page 188 Paper Money Whole No. 156 "According to U.S. Treasury gossip, the female portrait [of Columbia]" on the new $1,000 silver certificate "was taken from a photograph of Josie Mansfield" (The New York Times, 29 July 1894). THE WOMAN PORTRAYED ON THE 1891 $1,000 SILVER CERTIFICATE by GENE HESSLER It is alleged that Josie Mansfield was a cunning, crafty, shrewd, manipulating vixen. However, to do justice to her brief career as the Cleopatra of 23rd Street, others must be mentioned, one at length. J AMES Fisk, Jr. arrived in New York in 1864 just before the end of the Civil War. It was his intent to "make a killing" in the stock market. His first two attempts failed miser- ably he didn't know "the rules," or the players. "The stock market was a place of barrel-house, bare-knuckled combat, Albany was a legislative Sodom and New York City was Tweedsville" (Swan- burg 85). But like a famous general during a later war, Fisk prob- ably said, "I shall return:' On his return to New York, Fisk befriended Daniel Drew, a director of the Erie Railway Co. and a master at fleecing his stock- holders and anyone else who was considered a prime target. A true Jekyll and Hyde, this bible-quoting swindler founded the Drew Theological Seminary. Through scheming, Fisk and Jay Gould—another bird who feathered a comfortable nest—were appointed to the board of directors of the Erie Railway; soon thereafter, Boss Tweed also became a member of the board. From this moment on it was downhill for the Erie and its stockholders while the fortunes of these directors multiplied. But this was not enough. Through another scheme Fisk and Gould took control of the Erie Railway and became comptroller and president, respectively. They bribed judges and legislators to legalize what they had done illegally. Although akin in their greed and their desire for power, they differed in their social lives. Gould avoided personal publicity—Fisk reveled in it. The two schemers purchased the Pike Opera House at 23rd Street and 8th Avenue for $820,000 and spent $250,000 decorating office space in the building that would be rented to the Erie Company for $75,000 annually. Fisk, an entrepreneur, produced operas and other entertainment at the opera house and in two other theaters he purchased. It has been said that at least $23,000,000 in watered shares of the Erie Railway Co. came from a printing press operated by Fisk and Gould in the basement of the Pike Opera House. 'Wide-tales flew of Fisk inviting a score or more of half-naked dancers into his office, ordering champagne and pickled oysters from Delmonico's, and indulging in orgies of the kind that brought Rome to ruin" (Swanberg 6). Daniel Drew had openly criticized Fisk's ways. Fisk replied: "As to the World, the Flesh and the Devil, I'm on good terms with all three. If God Almighty is going to damn us men because we love the women, then let him [sic]" (Swanberg 113). A biographer blames Fisk's licentiousness on the influence of Victoria Woodhull, who shook New York with her free-love declaration. W.W. Fowler, a broker, described Fisk, who had run away from Brattleboro, VT with a circus at the age of 15, as". .. bustling, and rollicking James Fisk, Jr. . . . came bounding into the Wall Street circus like a star acrobat, fresh exuberant, glittering with spangles, and turning double-summersets, apparently as much for his own amusement as for that of a large circle of spectators. He is first, last and always a man of theatrical effects, of grand transforma- tions, and blue fire" (Swanberg 26). This is only a hint of what James Fisk, Jr. was like. However, for the primary protagonist and Early in 1870, with no military training or experience, James Fisk, Jr, became the commanding officer of the Ninth Regiment of the New York National Guard. Fish's experience consisted of trading with the enemy to purchase cotton for uniforms and blankets; from these he made a fortune selling under contract to the Union army. Fisk resided in Boston during the Civil War and made illegal trips to the South to purchase contraband cotton. (New York Public Library photo) Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 189 antagonist in the life of Josie Mansfield, probable model for the 1891 $1,000 silver certificate, this description should suffice. "Perhaps a colder disgrace to her sex has never helped to ruin man since the world began" stated one historian in describing Helen Josephine Mansfield, born about 1842 in Boston. Fol- lowing a convent education in Lowell, MA she moved with her parents to Stockton, CA. At a very early age she discovered that the boys liked something about her. On at least one occasion her stepfather held a loaded pistol to the head of a surprised man who was much older than Josie; the paramour fled with much of his attire in his hands. She married an actor, Frank Lawlor, and they moved to Philadelphia and later to New York. After two years of marriage her husband "found that she was going astray" (Swanberg 37). After being divorced, Miss Mansfield, who reverted to using her maiden name, became a friend of the notorious former ac- tress Anne Wood, who was at that time the madame at an ex- clusive bordello on 34th Street in New York City. Josie visited Wood's establishment, but only as a friend of the hostess. It was here she met James Fisk. Taken by her innocent appearance, flamboyant Fisk took the bait, and from that time in November of 1867 until just before his death, he would be the sole sup- port of his chief mistress. Some believed that Fisk's interest in Josie was a brotherly one, but the coquettish siren altered any such beliefs in a very brief time. Josie was set up regally at 359 W. 23rd Street, a four-story brownstone building. Fisk resided, on occasion, at 313 W. 23rd Liberty, engraved by Charles Burt in 1877. Street, his legal address. With the Erie offices nearby, Fisk lived between business and pleasure. He took great pleasure in flaunting his mistress on his arm or in one of his carriages. They covered the city, except for the few places where, for busi- ness reasons, it would have been unacceptable. In 1854 Fisk had married Lucy Moore who remained in Boston during their marriage; Fisk visited her on holidays and occasionally on weekends. Mrs. Fisk must have known of her husband's infidelity, but apparently closed her eyes to it. Some said she was cold and lacked interest in marital conjugation, an affliction that apparently did not befall Miss Mansfield. Although Fisk flaunted other females on his arm, it was Dolly, a pet name for Josie, who received the furs, diamonds, Paris fashions and—money "Her coral red lips enhanced the pearl and pink oval face. She had 'a full and dashing figure, yet not gross, with deep, large, almond-shaped eyes, luxuriant purple black hair, worn in massive coils: . she had a nose that bewitched, 'neither retrousse and yet not straight: She had a demure look. To heighten this effect she wore a plain cross of gold"(Lynch 299). Josie had a happy, infectious laugh. Swan- berg described her voice as being soft and sweet "but her smile that of a woman who grants it only after measuring its width and depth, and calculating its results to a nicety before bestowing it" (9). "In the field of love, as a poet might say, she could fight her own battles. In the arts of strategy, attack, re- treat, delay, and manoeuvre she was a female Napoleon" (Fuller 154). When Fisk entertained, buying off politicians and judges such as Judge George Barnard, it was usually done over dinner at Josie's place. The New York Herald remarked that "it was sur- prising to see the facility with which judges can be found who will do the things wanted at the proper moment:' One section of the easily bought New York Assembly was known as the Black Horse Cavalry. For these bribery dinners, Queen Josie acted as hostess; she had a maid, butler and cook. In her leisure time, which was frequent, she lounged around looking beautiful, waiting for Fisk to call to place her on public display. The early 1870s was the time woman suffragists were testing the waters of the opposition. Josie Mansfield had no need to demonstrate, march or vocally oppose anything; her resources were sufficient to obtain whatever she wanted. During September 1869 Fisk had little time for Josie—he had gold on his mind. At the time, the U.S. Treasury was selling about $2 million in gold to keep the metal in circulation. Fisk and Gould enlisted the help of Abel R. Corbin, brother-in-law of President U.S. Grant, If Corbin could convince Grant and Secretary of the Treasury Boutwell to stop the sale of gold, Fisk, Liberty was probably reengraved by G.EC. Smillie in 1894. The portrait of William L. Marcy was engraved by Charles Schlecht. Page 190 Paper Money Whole No. 156 Gould and Corbin would then benefit by selling gold contracts they would purchase before the price increased. Corbin used the ruse that higher gold prices would help farmers heavily in debt. Corbin also claimed that trade would be reversed, food exports would increase and the railroads would be kept busy. It has been said that Grant asked Boutwell to halt gold sales. Opinions differ as to what followed. Nevertheless, Fisk and Gould had their signals crossed. Gold rose from $100 to $163.50 before the gold market collapsed on Black Friday, 28 October, 1929. Preceding the Black Friday debacle, Fisk had acquired con- trol of the Tenth National Bank of New York, which gave him an almost endless source of credit to buy gold on margin. With New York judges in his back pocket, Fisk was able to repudiate his gold contracts. A few months before Black Friday Fisk met Edward Stokes and saw an opportunity, by forming a partnership with Stokes, to make some money in oil. Stokes, a handsome dandy, was in- troduced to Josie, and thereafter was invited to many of Fisk's social gatherings. By the following year everyone but Fisk knew that his good-looking partner was more than just an acquain- tance of mistress Josie. By fall of 1870 Josie's possessions were valued at about $75,000, a comfortable sum for the period, but Miss Mansfield continued I Josie "Dolly" Mansfield, who might be immortalized on the 1891 $1,000 silver certificate. (New York Public Library photo) to request and accept money from Fisk. Much of this money was given to Stokes, who was a foolish gambler. Fisk now knew, and Josie knew that he knew, of her new lover, so she decided to turn her back on the goose who laid the golden egg and take a flyer on "love At the same time, Stokes was demonstrating more than casual interest in Marie Aimee, an opera singer. Fisk, with or without the translator hired when prima donna Celine Montaland was engaged at his opera house, was devoting more and more atten- tion to Mademoiselle Montaland. This was no affaire de trois but an affaire complique, truly opera bouffe material, worthy of a production at Fisk's opera house. Josie and Stokes attempted to wring money from Fisk by threatening to publish letters from Fisk. Most of these letters were harmless but embarrassing. However, some could have had facts about corrupt business deals. Most of this was kept out of the newspapers, but when the bomb was about to explode, a reporter from the Herald went to Josie's home for an interview. Upon en- tering and waiting to be received he recorded his impression of the hallway. "All the accessories that wealth and refinement could suggest were heaped in this palatial apartment with a reckless profusion worthy of a squandering Goth or predatory Hun" (Swanberg 213). In contrast, notwithstanding, the dining room where he was received was the epitome of taste, with paintings, frescoed walls and adornments of every type. A libel suit was brought against Fisk by Josie and "when court adjourned her veracity looked as shopworn as her chastity, and Ned Stokes looked grim. . (Swanberg 258). "Josie's glamouress [sic] exterior concealed the instincts of a hog at a trough" (Swan- berg 260). There was also a court ruling against Stokes, who had at- tempted to seek additional money from the dissolution of the partnership with Fisk. Stokes heard at Delmonico's that a grand jury had indicted him along with Josie on a blackmail charge. In a rage, somehow knowing of Fisk's plans for 6 January 1872, Stokes went to the Grand Central Hotel and waited. As Fisk climbed the stairs, Stokes shot him twice. New York was minus a scoundrel, but a memorable one. Henry Ward Beecher labeled Fisk as a "shameless, vicious criminal, abominable in his lusts:' Three years were required to find Stokes guilty. He served four of six years in prison. Before vanishing from New York, the un- Josie Mansfield, a model of innocence. (New York Public Library photo) popular Josie Mansfield testified for Stokes and was labeled by the press as being everything from "a modern Desdemona" to a "harlot:" In 1891, three years before the bank note that bears her resem- blance was released, Josie Mansfield married Robert L. Reade, a wealthy alcoholic expatriate lawyer from New York. Although Josie had been living in Paris, the wedding took place in London. This marriage, too, ended in divorce and she returned to Boston in 1897. Penniless and in poor health, she rotated her residence between a sister in Philadelphia and a brother in Watertown, SD. Sometime after 1909 she regained her health and, approaching 70 years of age, she found sufficient funds to take her back to Paris, where she lived and socialized with the American Colony. One unidentified friend attended her burial in Montparnasse Cemetery; she had died on 27 October 1931. So, was Josie Mansfield, the mistress of James Fisk, the model for the beautifully designed and engraved 1891 $1,000 silver cer- tificate? In 1877, five years after the death of James Fisk, Jr., Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 191 I! Ili i. .# Edward S. Stokes, the man who shot James Fisk, Jr. (New York Public Library photo) Charles Burt, according to the records at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), completed an engraving of Liberty. This image was not used until 1895, when it appeared on the $1,000 bond (HX170D) authorized by the Acts of 14 July 1870 and 14 January 1875. What appears to be the same figure, with the Liberty Cap removed and some facial features reengraved, was used on the note with which Josie Mansfield has been associated—the 1891 $1,000 silver certificate (H1411). G.F.C. Smillie was the only por- trait engraver the BEP lists as working on the plate for this note. Smillie joined the BEP on 8 March 1894; this alteration could have been his first assignment, although he did not always record alterations in his diary. An unidentified daguerreotype or photograph of Josie Mans- field, as part of a group of unclaimed portraits from a studio, could have found its way into the hands of Charles Burt. Or, did Burt plan a joke on Uncle Sam? Artists and engravers are always looking for subjects. This is just one possible scenario that could account for the likeness of Miss Mansfield being immortalized on the $1,000 note. The scandalous background of the possible model should not alter one's opinion concerning the beautiful engraving of Liberty on this piece of paper money. To present a similar analogy, consider the hymn 0 Sacred Head So Wounded, usually sung during the Lenten season in many Christian churches. This solemn melody, harmonized in the 18th century by Johann Sebastian Bach in a slow quadruple meter was originally a lively sextuple meter tavern song from the middle ages, with lyrics that might shock a few people, even today. Not- withstanding the origin, the hymn, with words—moving and descriptive—remains one of Bach's choicest harmonizations. SOURCES Fuller, R.H. (1928). Jubilee Jim, the life of Colonel James Fisk, Jr New York: Macmillan. Hessler, G. (1989). An illustrated history of U.S. loans, 1775-1898. Port Clinton, OH: BNR Press. (1983). The comprehensive catalog of U.S. paper money. Port Clinton, OH: BNR Press. Josephson, M. (1962). The robber barons. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. Lynch, D.T. (1927). Boss Tweed. New York: Boni and Liveright. Morris, L. (1951). Incredible New York. New York: Random House. Swanberg, W.A. (1959). Jim Fisk: the career of an improbable rascal. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. CLEARING HOLISE—(Continued from page 187) of realty mortgages which were not as liquid as commercial paper. In Fairbanks, the president of the Fairbanks Banking Company, E.T. Barnett, pledged personal assets which, along with the bank's securities backed his bank's certificates 200% (Fairbanks 12-18-07, pg. 1). The size of the Nome issue is unknown but one can specu- late using population figures, the records of other associations and the two known certificates. Brunswick, Georgia, with a population of 10,182, issued $109,000 in certificates, and Hastings, Nebraska, with a population of 9,338, issued $7,713 (Andrew 505). In 1910 Nome's population was 2,600. Un- doubtedly, Nome had a much larger population in 1907 since, because of the 1899 gold rush, it had a population of 12,488 in 1900. The denominations and serial numbers of the two known notes also provide information. The serial number of the $2 note is 8723 (Gould 157) and the serial number of the $5 note is 8310 (private collection). An upper limit of an issue not over $150,000 is indicated when the population figures and the number of banks in the clearing house are considered. As- suming the first serial number of each denomination is 1, the total value indicated by the two known certificates would be $58,996. The normal ratio between the currency denomina- tions ($1, $2, $5, $10 and $20) would push the total issue for Nome to over $250,000. Since the serial number of the $5 note is lower than the $2 note one can only assume that an arbitrary numbering system was used, because this too would put the size of an issue over what the population figures call for. The es- timate of an issue of not over $150,000 is more reasonable. An interesting feature of the Nome Clearing House Certi- ficates is the central design. The $2 shows an Eskimo and the $5 pictures a reindeer. For the most part, the issues of the lower states incorporated only geometric designs such as those on the Seattle, Wichita, and Kansas City, Missouri issues (author's collection). A lion's head is represented on the Portland, Oregon issue. The Spokane, Washington issue shows a portrait of George Washington, which would attribute it to the State of Washington, but not with the same degree of imagery as the Nome issue. The Eskimo, wearing a fur-lined parka and the reindeer definitely ascribes the notes to Alaska and nowhere else. The Nome Clearing House Association was created in a time of crisis and disbanded when the need no longer existed. The Skagit County, Washington Clearing House is another, like Nome, that left only its certificates for posterity. In less than twenty-five years the Nome Clearing House, as well as its neces- sary contribution during the 1907 panic, was forgotten. A.H. Harris, in an article titled Pioneer Banking in Alaska, states that 'There is not and has not been a clearing house in the Territory, and there is no reserve bank!' The only evidence remaining to disprove this statement: two certificates and a few newspaper articles. Sources Andrew, A.P. (August 1908). Substitutes for cash in the panic of 1907. Quarterly Journal of Economics, p. 501 . Daily Alaskan, Skagway, Alaska. Fairbanks Daily Times. Garcia, R.L. (1949). Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance, 5th ed. Cam- bridge, MA: The Bankers Publishing Co. (See p. 121 for G.G. Munn's definition of clearing house.) McFarland, Cara Lee. (1940). The United States National Bank of Port- land, Oregon. Portland, OR: Binfords & Mon, p. 34. The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Page 192 Noted Passed Austin M.Sheheen By the time you read this message the St. Louis Paper Money Show will already be over. However, I write it the week before I leave. For those paper money collectors and dealers who don't get to Memphis in June and to St. Louis in the fall, you are missing out on a real treat. Over the years many outstanding events have taken place in the lives of the "rag pickers" fraternity. None are more impor- tant to where the hobby is today than the First International Paper Money Show held in Memphis on June 4 and 5, 1977. At the time I was publishing the Bank Note Reporter (wish I still were). I began to plug the show in the March, 1977 issue and did so each month until the May issue. In that issue I wrote an editorial on the front page and entitled it "ALL ROADS LEAD TO MEMPHIS" I have never seen such excitement as the first Memphis show generated. Mike Crabb was the first and only chairman that the Memphis Show has ever had. The Memphis Show has done more in the past 15 years for collectors and dealers than all of history before it. Now we have St. Louis to give us a chance to gather again be- fore the end of the year. Although not yet as popular as Memphis it is ever growing and becoming a must for collectors. If you are a collector or dealer of paper money, then you surely will never reach total maturity unless you attend these shows at some times in your life. Here the collecting fraternity becomes real. You meet the names and deal with the people that you only read or correspond with. Here under one roof is more paper money to sell, trade, or buy than anywhere else in the world. Your hobby becomes active, educational, exciting and real. Both shows are now established and will continue for many years to come. Start now to plan for one or both each year. I have never missed either of them and hope I never do. When I reached Memphis that first year, I was approached by William Benson, then President of the International Banknote Society. He allowed as how he was reading the BNR and the editorial headlines struck a nerve. He had not planned to come to Memphis. He did. Perhaps we should write another editorial and indicate that all roads lead to Memphis and St. Louis for paper money collectors and dealers. We just did! Paper Money Whole No. 156 SOCIETY OF PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS, INC. Statement of Operations for Year Ended—June 30, 1991 INCOME 1991 Dues — Life $ 2,470.00 1990 200.00 1991 26,380.00 1992 200.00 New 2,424.00 Advertising 10,129.39 Book Sales 3,632.00 Magazine Sales 140.00 Postage 16.50 Convention Banquet 1,957.00 Publication Fund 1,472.95 Interest 930.46 Deposit C.D s 3,000.00 Interest on C.D s 1,763.35 Total Income $54,715.65 EXPENSES Printing $24,536.06 Editorial and Production Fees 6,969.12 Postage 1,474.25 Book Expenses 80.00 Corporate & Legal Fees 560.00 Convention Expenses Officers Expenses 1,214.14 Awards 233.80 Certificate of Deposit (up to 1 yr.) 35,000.00 Insurance 68.00 Advertising 51.21 Advertising Refund 75.00 Dues 17.50 Misc.—Membership Expenses 79.92 Check Charge 8.91 Total Expenses $70,367.91 Previous Cash on Hand $25,388.70 Income 54,715.65 Expenses (70,367.91) Current Cash on Hand $ 9,736.44 LIFE MEMBERSHIP FUND: Includes interest through 6/30/91 $32,776.21 Additional Assets: Two $3,500 notes receivable in May of 92 & 93. PUBLICATION FUND — (Wismer Fund) Derived from book sales & donations (publication fund). Total year end June, 90 Book Sales from 1990/91 Donations from 1990/91 Book Expenses — 1990/91 2 notes out—receivable in 92 & Total Year End June 1991 General Funds in C.D.s Cash on Hand Less Wismer Fund 93 $15,275.06 3,632.00 1,472.95 80.00 7,000.00 $27,300.01 $50,169.53 9,736.44 (27,300.01) Kw, Paper Money Whole No. 156 Less LM Funds for 1990/91 ( 2,470.00) Less Accounts payable as of 6/30/91 ( 2,886.20) Actual General Funds Available $27,249.76 Memphis Checking Account Balance 5.00 General Fund C.D.s w/int. $49,991.37 SPMC MEMBERS SHINE AT ANA, TNA CSNS SHOWS The SPMC was well-represented by many of our Texas mem- bers at the ANA spring show held in Dallas. Raymond E. Whyborn and Frank E. Clark III manned the Texas Numis- matic Association table, and among the many visitors who stopped by for a chat were John J. Pittman and Nancy Wilson. During the show, SPMC members Clark and Larry Smulc- zenski participated in an educational forum. At the Texas Numismatic Association show in Houston, SPMC members were placed in leadership positions—Ray- mond E. Whyborn was elected President, Larry Smulczenski Treasurer, and Frank Clark one of the District Governors. ANA President (and SPMC member) Kenneth E. Hallen- beck addressed the annual TNA Governors' and Club Representatives meeting during the show. Hallenbeck reviewed his recent trip to China for the members present. Frank E. Clark HI garnered several significant awards during the show. He was named the Outstanding Governor for 1990, and received the prestigious Lewis Reagan Memorial Award for contributing the most to Texas numismatics during the past year. Additionally, he was awarded first place and the Robert E. Medlar Best in Currency Award for his exhibit. The following SPMC members received awards for their paper money exhibits at the Central States Numismatic Society 52nd anniversary Convention in St. Louis. 1st, Gene Hessler; 2nd, Karen Jach; 3rd, Don Hunsicker. The Best of Show Award went to Gene Hessler. At the 100th anniversary convention of the ANA in Chicago, where there were over 200 exhibits, the following awards were presented for paper money exhibits. U.S. Paper Money. 1st, James Jach, "Pioneer Family Notes"; 2nd, James Simek, "Ha- waii Overprint Currency of World War II"; 3rd, Karen A. Jach, "U.S. Military Payment Certificates of the Vietnam War" U.S. Obsolete Paper Money. 1st, Lawrence Korchnak, "El- wood City Depression Scrip: A Rare Pennsylvania Issue"; 2nd, Radford Stearns, "The State of Georgia 1861-1865"; 3rd, Ruth Ann Phillips, The Greatest Show on Earth!' World Paper Money. 1st, Gene Hessler, "Max Svabinsky Czech Bank Note Designer"; 2nd, Fred Schwan, "A Unique Collecting Challenge"; 3rd, Flemming Hansen, "Bon Towarowy—U.S. Denominated Polish Paper Money:' Local interest. Third place went to Tim Kyzivat for "Chicago National Bank Notes:' The Howland Wood Memorial Award for Best-in-Show Ex- hibit went to Gene Hessler for the exhibit previously men- tioned. The Numismatic Literary Guild also made their annual awards in Chicago, which included the recognition of the fol- lowing people. Best specialized paper money books: United States, the Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes, 2nd edition by Dean Oakes and John Hickman; world, the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, vol. 1, 6th edition by Albert Pick and Neil Shafer, Colin Bruce, II, editor. Best paper money articles: commercial publication, 'They Papered the World" by Gene Hessler, COINage Magazine; numismatic Newspaper, "Artist Revives Art of Drawing Bank Notes" by Robert R. Van Ryzin, Bank Note Reporter. Page 193 3 Editor's Corner 0 v) 8 1-L-1 This has been a memorable year for me as a paper money ex- hibitor with two best-in-show awards: the Central States Numismatic Society and the American Numismatic Associa- tion (ANA) annual conventions. Since I have this editorial forum I would like to thank all those who took the time to send their congratulations. To receive the two awards was ex- citing and rewarding. However, there is something of greater importance for all of us to recognize. For the first time the Howland Wood Memorial Best-in- Show Award, presented at the annual ANA convention, went to an exhibit of foreign paper money, exclusively. In 1967 and 1973, this award went to exhibitors of Latin American Numis- matics; these could have been exhibits of coins and currency, as the category allows. From the 21 competing individual exhibit categories, here is a list of paper money exhibitors, and their categories, who have received the Howland Wood Award since this honor was inau- gurated in 1949: 1953 William Philpott, Jr. (United States) 1956 R.F. Schermerhorn (United States) 1957 Amon Carter, Jr. (United States & Canada) 1964 Fred Marckhoff (United States) 1965 Robert E. Medlar (Republic of Texas) 1976 Radford Stearns (Colonial Georgia) 1977 Maurice M. Burgett (United States Obsolete) 1978 Stephen R. Taylor (United States) 1984 Nancy Wilson (United States Fractional Currency) 1991 Gene Hessler (Czechoslovakia) It appears that every 4-5 years a paper money exhibitor receives the highest exhibiting award in the United States. In a hobby that is dominated by collectors of coins, this is an im- pressive record. We can all share in the pride that is brought to our hobby by this select list of collectors—a list that will grow. At the Chicago convention for the first time I had the distinct pleasure of meeting long-time SPMC and ANA member, Robert Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd contributes the occasional PAPER MONEY column "Syngraphic Vignettes!' As a 65-year member of the ANA, the longest in attendance, Mr. Lloyd assisted in cut- ting the three, anniversary cakes. NEW MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR NEW Ronald HorstmanP.O. Box 6011St. Louis, MO 63139 MEMBERS 8089 Gene E. Hurt, 4624 Orchid Lane, Odessa, TX 79761; C&D, TX BN. 8090 Lewis M. DeFilippo, P.O. Box 145, Quaker St., NY 12141; C, notes. 8091 loe R. Myhand, P.O. Box 305, Paia Maui, HI 96779; C&D, World bank notes. Page 194 Paper Money Whole No. 156 8092 Richard L. Weber, 468 E. Metz Rd., Columbiana, OH 44408; C, Obsolete, CSA notes. 8093 Rick Alexander, 4235 Arista Dr., San Diego, CA 92103; C, Frac. cur. & Mexico. 8094 Doniver A. Lund, 705 Valley View Rd., St. Peter, MN 56082; C. 8095 David Cieniewicz, P.O. Box 2698, Redwood City, CA 94064; C&D, U.S. type notes. 8096 Joe Hulsey, 3254 Creek Dr., Marietta, GA 30062; C, lg. & sm. size notes. 8097 Judith Corsino, 1507 Natalie Joy Ln., McLean, VA 22101; C. 8098 Ken Foust, 8705 S. 70 E. Ave., Tulsa, OK 74133; C, Fractional, Confederate. 8099 Jose Acosta, 36 Post St., Yonkers, NY 10705; C, CSA & obsolete $3. 8100 Rolf E. Hansen, 46 Taylor Ter., New Milford, CT 06776; C. 8101 Colman R. Lalka, 2581 Dock Rd., Madison, OH 44057; C. 8102 Scott Benevento, 2759 Comer St., Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; C, U.S. lg. size notes. 8103 Robert I. Curtis, 1091 Trailwood Dr., Watkinsville, GA 30677; C, C.S.A. & Southern States. 8104 Kent Leon Schaeffer, 2464-F Cochran St., Kailau, HI 96734; C, Large size—pre-1950 German & pre-1950 Canadian notes. 8105 Anja R. Holtz, Mittelstrasse 2, 5400 Koblenz, West Germany; C. 8106 Mark Roberts, 10143 Ramblewood Dr., Coral Springs, FL 33071; C&D, U.S. lg. size notes. 8107 John A. Schaeffer Jr., RR 2, Box 414, Hegins, PA 17938-9311; C. 8108 William B. Warden Jr., P.O. Box 356, New Hope, PA 18938; C&D, NJ & PA obsolete notes. 8109 Alan T. Meiselman, R.D. 2 BW, 80 Jennifer Lane, Effort, PA 18330; C, U.S. type & frac. currency. 8110 J. Kingsley Fife, 2901 Wilshire Suite 335, Santa Monica, CA 90403; C. 8111 Franklin Archer, Rt. 1 Box 90, Gallatin, MO 64640; C, U.S. currency. 8112 Chris Clayton, 293 Hill Ave. #11, Salt Lake City, UT 84107; C, U.S. lg. size notes. 8113 James J. Bartlett, 6 Murry Ln., Neptune, NJ 07753-2530; U.S., C.S.A. & colonial. 8114 Herbert E Wise, 24 Wolf Cliff Rd., White, GA 30184; C, Type notes. 8115 James E. Despain, 1212 West Wexford, Peoria, IL 61615; C, $2 and legal tender notes. 4479 D.R. Sullivan, P.O. Box 44, Forsyth, IL 62535; C, reinstate- ment, Nat. BN. 5115 David E. Schenkman, P.O. Box 366, Bryantown, MD 20617; Reinstatement. LM104 Richard A. Moeller, Conversion from 4295. LM105 Glenn McDonald, Conversion from 7731. LM106 Nathan Lee Aired, Conversion from 7196. LM107 Harlon S. Semple Jr., Conversion from 5720. LM108 Haywood Watts, Conversion from 5196. PAPER MONEY UNITED STATES Large Size Currency • Small Size Currency Fractional Currency • Souvenir Cards Write For List Theodore Kemm 915 West End Avenue q New York, NY 10025 mar Paper Money will accept classified advertising from members only on a basis of 15¢ per word, with a minimum charge of $3.75. The primary purpose of the ads is to assist members in exchanging, buying, selling, or locating specialized mate- rial and disposing of duplicates. Copy must be non-commercial in nature. Copy must be legibly printed or typed, accompanied by prepayment made payable to the Society of Paper Money Collectors, and reach the Editor, Gene Hessler, P.O. Box 8147, St. Louis, MO 63156 by the tenth of the month preceding the month of issue (i.e. Dec. 10 for Jan./Feb. issue). Word count: Name and address will count as five words. All other words and abbreviations, figure combinations and initials count as separate. No check copies. 10% discount for four or more inser- tions of the same copy. Sample ad and word count. WANTED: CONFEDERATE FACSIMILES by Upham for cash or trade for FRN block letters, $1 SC, U.S. obsolete. John W. Member, 000 Last St., New York, N.Y. 10015. (22 words: $2: SC: U.S.: FRN counted as one word each) OHIO NATIONALS WANTED. Send list of any you have. Also want Lowell, Tyler, Ryan, Jordan, O'Neill. Lowell Yoder, 419-865-5115, P.O.B. 444, Holland, OH 43528. (163) QUALITY STOCKS, BONDS. 15 different samples with list $5; 100 different $31; 5 lots $130. List SASE. Always buying. Clinton Hollins, Box 112P, Springfield, VA 22150. (159) ST. LOUIS, MO NATIONALS, OBSOLETES AND BANK CHECKS WANTED. Ronald Horstman, Box 6011, St. Louis, MO 63139. WANTED: MASSACHUSETTS SERIES 1929 NATIONAL BANK NOTES from the following banks: Abington, 1386; Haverhill, 14266; Milton, 684; Spencer, 2288; Springfield, 2435; Webster, 2312; Whitman, 4660; Woburn, 14033. Frank Bennett, P.O. Box 8722, Port St. Lucie, FL 34985. (407) 340-0871 evenings. (156) FOR SALE: Vicksburg, Mississippi obsolete proof notes from the American Bank Note Co. Archives. Write for list. Also buying Missis- sippi obsoletes. J.D. Gilbreath, 944 Wyndsor Dr., Hixson, TN 37343. (156) PRIVATE COLLECTOR wants MAINE NATIONALS. Attempting most definitive collection of state ever assembled: want rare banks, high denominations, red seals, 1st charters, value backs, etc. Andrew Nelson, P.O. Box 453, Portland, ME 04112. (158) ILLINOIS OCCUPATIONAL NATIONALS WANTED from the fol- lowing towns; large-size only: Virginia, Braidwood, Springfield, Lake, Chicago and Westervelt. I attend all major St. Louis Shows. Bob Schmidt, HCR 64, Box 12, French Village, MO 63036. (157) WANTED: NEW JERSEY OBSOLETE BANK NOTES AND OCEAN GROVE NATIONAL BANK. Any Ocean Grove, Jersey shore, memora- bilia, postcards, souvenirs, maps, histories, etc. N.B. Buckman, P.O. Box 608, Ocean Grove, NJ 07756 (800-524-0632). (159) FIRST CHARTER NATIONALS WANTED, all denominations from $1 thru $100, also want Michigan nationals thru $100 denomination and large and small-size U.S. type notes, serial number "1' 11111111 thru 99999999 and 100000000. Buying and paying collector prices. Jack H. Fisher, 3123, Bronson Blvd., Suite A, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. (163) WANTED: Pittsburg, PA (spelled "g" not "gh") National Currency. Also we want to buy a U.S. bank directory prior 1940. Joe Apelman, P.O. Box 283, Covington, LA 70434. PHILIPPINE EMERGENCY CURRENCY of World War II: Apayao, Bohol, Cagayan, Cebu, Mindanao, Misamis, Negros, 49 notes. Wanted, Thailand 1000 ticals. Joe R. Myhand, P.O. Box 305, Paia, Maui, HI 96779. (157) Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 195 I ' 1 1 ...i;„ I. WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING ■ FRACTIONAL CURRENCY ■ ENCASED POSTAGE ■ LARGE SIZE CURRENCY ■ COLONIAL CURRENCY WRITE, CALL OR SHIP: e-)1T)il VUTRIRIEHZ Inc. LEN and JEAN GLAZER (718) 268.3221 POST OFFICE BOX 111 FOREST HILLS, N.Y. 11375 - _ 1.1 ," •( X 11-.1 . 1 1 1 t\PF.li )1().• 1- -‘ ( OM( TOW, rl M€12:: Charter Member Page 196 Paper Money Whole No. 156 REALIZE THE BEST PRICES FOR YOUR PAPER MONEY $5 HAWAII Emergency Note with inverted seal and serial numbers. Series of 1934-A. 1-2302. Choice New. Realized $4,290 in one of our recent sales. Go with the world's most successful auction company— Auctions by Bowers and Merena, Inc! When you consign your collection or individual important items, you go with a firm with an unequaled record of success! Over the years we have handled some of the most important paper money collections ever to be sold. Along the way our auctions have garnered numerous price records for our consignors. Indeed, certain of the price records established at our Matt Rothert Collection Sale years ago still stand today! Thinking of selling your collection or desirable individual notes? Right now we are accepting consignments for our next several New York City and Los Angeles sales. Your collect call to Dr. Richard Bagg, our Director of Auctions, at (603) 569-5095 will bring you complete information concerning how you can realize the very best price for your currency, in a transaction which you, like thousands of others, will find to be profitable and enjoyable. PM 11/12-91 What we have done for others, we can do for you. Tele- phone Dr. Richard Bagg collect today, or use the coupon provided. Either way, it may be the most profitable move you have ever made! Dear Rick Bagg: Please tell me howl can include my paper money in a upcoming auc- tion. I understand that all information will he kept confidential. Name Address City State Zip citt! NIAIL TO: Auctions by Bowers and Merena, Inc. Attn: Publications Dept Box 1224 Wolfeboro, NH 03894 Check here: I am thinking about selling. Please contact me. Brief description of holdings: Daytime phone n m her: EARLY AMERICAN NUMISMATICS We maintain the LARGEST *619-273-3566 COLONIAL & CONTINENTAL CURRENCY ACTIVE INVENTORY IN THE WORLD! SEND US YOUR WANT LISTS. FREE PRICE LISTS AVAILABLE. SPECIALIZING IN: SERVICES: q Colonial Coins q Portfolio q q Colonial Currency Rare & Choice Type q Development Major Show EARLY AMERICAN NUMISMATICS Coins Coverage c/o Dana Linett q Pre-1800 Fiscal Paper q Auction q Encased Postage Stamps Attendance 111 P.O. Box 2442 q LaJolla, CA 92038 q 619-273-3566 Members: Life ANA, CSNA-EAC, SPMC, FUN, ANACS WE NEED TO BUY If you are selling a single note or an entire col- lection, you will be pleased with our fair offer — NO GAMES PLAYED HERE! (Selling too! Write for free catalog.) Subject to our inventory requirements we need the following: ALL WORLD BANK NOTES Also U.S. Large Size Notes U.S. Encased Postage All Military Currency Souvenir Cards U.S. Fractional Currency National Bank Notes Colonial Currency U.S. Small Size Currency Ship With Confidence or Write We pay more for scarce or rare notes. TOM KNEBL, INC. (702) 265-6614 Box 3689 Carson City, NV 89702 "` • Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 197 BUYING and SELLING PAPER MONEY U.S., All types Thousands of Nationals, Large and Small, Silver Certificates, U.S. Notes, Gold Cer- tificates, Treasury Notes, Federal Reserve Notes, Fractional, Continental, Colonial, Obsoletes, Depression Scrip, Checks, Stocks, etc. Foreign Notes from over 250 Countries Paper Money Books and Supplies Send us your Want List ... or . Ship your material for a fair offer LOWELL C. HORWEDEL P.O. BOX 2395 WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47906 SPMC #2907 ANA LM #1503 MYLAR D CURRENCY HOLDERS This month I am pleased to report that all sizes are in stock in large quantities so orders received today go out today. The past four years of selling these holders has been great and many collections I buy now are finely preserved in these. For those who have not converted, an article published this past fall in Currency Dealer Newsletter tells it better than I can. Should you want a copy send a stamped self-addressed #10 business envelope for a free copy. Prices did go up due to a major rise in the cost of the raw material from the suppliers and the fact that the plant work- ers want things like pay raises etc. but don't let a few cents cost you hundreds of dollars. You do know—penny wise and pound foolish. SIZE INCHES 50 100 500 1000 Fractional 4 34 x 2 3/4 $14.00$25.25 $115.00 $197.50 Colonial 5 1/2 X3%6 15.00 27.50 125.00 230.00 Small Currency 6% x 2% 15.25 29.00 128.50 240.00 Large Currency 7Y„ x 3 1/2 18.00 33.00 151.50 279.50 Check Size 9% x 4 1/4 22.50 41.50 189.50 349.00 Baseball Card Std 2 34 x 3 34 13.00 23.50 107.50 198.00 Baseball Bowman 2 7/s x 4 14.00 25.50 117.00 215.00 Obsolete currency sheet holders 8 34 x 14, $1.10 each, mini- mum 5 Pcs. SHIPPING IN THE U.S. IS INCLUDED FREE OF CHARGE Please note: all notice to MYLAR R mean uncoated archival quality MYLAR R type D by Dupont Co. or equivalent mater- ial by ICI Corp. Melinex type 516. DENLY'S OF BOSTON P.O. Box 1010 / Boston, MA 02205 Phone: (617) 482-8477 HARRY IS BUYING NATIONALS — LARGE AND SMALL UNCUT SHEETS TYPE NOTES UNUSUAL SERIAL NUMBERS OBSOLETES ERRORS HARRY E. JONES PO Box 30369 Cleveland, Ohio 44130 216.884-0701 I COLLECT MINNESOTA OBSOLETE CURRENCY and SCRIP Please offer what you have for sale. Charles C. Parrish P.O. Box 481 Rosemount, Minnesota 55068 (612) 423-1039 SPMC 7456 — PCDA — LM ANA Since 1976 BUYING AND SELLING Errors, Fancy Numbers, Number 1, Solid Numbers, Ladders, Florida Nationals Send for free price list or for our Want Lists ROBERT and DIANA SPMC, IBNS PMCM AZPIAZU CCCC, CONELAN SA P.O. Box 1565 St. Augustine, FL 32085-1565 (904) 797-8622 Page 198 Paper Money Whole No. 156 Million Dollar Buying Spree Currency: Nationals MPC Lg. & Sm. Type Fractional Obsolete Foreign Stocks • Bonds • Checks • Coins Stamps • Gold • Silver Platinum • Antique Watches Political Items • Postcards Baseball Cards • Masonic Items Hummels • Doultons Nearly Everything Collectible 399 S. State Street - Westerville, OH 43081 1-614-882-3937 1-800-848-3966 outside Ohio Czn Life Member LTA-4-A algal EST 1960 "1.914491.M2444/04" COIN SHOP INC SEND FOR OUR COMPLETE PRICE LIST FREE What Language? What Tribe? What does it mean? You Can Find The Answer In: gnierestingoom, =1-10-Notes About Indians Many banks had Indian titles. Why did the bank choose these names? What do they mean? What language are they? What tribe used these words? Almost 600 obsolete bank notes and scrip notes are recorded in this book with complete explana- tions; and numerous illustrations. THIS BOOK IS LIMITED TO JUST 300 NUMBERED COPIES $22.95 pp Order from your favorite dealer or P.O. Box 186 ROGER H. DURAND Rehoboth, MA 02769 CANADIAN BOUGHT AND SOLD • CHARTERED BANKNOTES. • DOMINION OF CANADA. • BANK OF CANADA. • CHEQUES, SCRIP, BONDS & BOOKS. FREE PRICE LIST CHARLES D. MOORE P.O. BOX 1296P LEWISTON, NY 14092-1296 (416) 468-2312 LIFE MEMBER A.N.A. #1995 C.N.A. #143 C.P.M.S. #11 Nobody pays more than Huntoon for ARIZONA & WYOMING state and territorial Nationals wimp STATES OFAHERICAti V205926E Peter Huntoon P.O. Box 3681 Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 742-2217 Paper Money Whole No. 156 Page 199 •UN/114 AIL.0 INC. P.O. BOX 84 • NANUET, N.Y 10954 BUYING / SELLING. OBSOLETE CURRENCY, NATIONALS• UNCUT SHEETS, PROOFS, S RIP BARRY WEXLER, Pres. Member: SPMC, PCDA, ANA, FUN, GENA, ASCC (914)352-9077 BUYING AND SELLING CSA and Obsolete Notes CSA Bonds, Stocks & Financial Items Extensive Catalog for $2.00, Refundable With Order ANA-LM SCNA PCDA HUGH SHULL P.O. Box 712 / Leesville, SC 29070 / (803) 532-6747 SPMC-LM BRNA FUN Paper Money Whole No. 156Page 200 1 STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION Re weed 39 3, C Paper Money lS. PUBLICATION NO 2 Data of Fill, September 23,110 0 3 1 6 2 a. Bi-Monthly 6 20.00 a. Dover Litho Printing Company, 1211 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901 1211 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901 Dover Litho Printing Company, 1211 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, DE 19901 ea Gene Hessler, P.O. Box 8147, Sr. Louis, MO 63156 ...g.gFaimFOranyandglmolemMadingAddreol Dover Litho Printing Company, 1211 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901 , b Full Nei, The Society of Paper Money Collectors 1211 N. Dupont Higway Dover Delaware 19901 of nom ∎ zromre olive Seonny Poineas Ogonng or Holding 1 Palnenl el Mole or ',Pal APP.,. , Bond, Meng,. or Olhar Full Name Carnol•le Mailing /WON. 2J 1 , 1 121 El '',°..:f, ",,"V.2.''" 1=1',4°..2,:.t =7, ''4.7V,; °.=;;;:`,'"" ""°-"" ' 4 T. ,. 44 C 44.. 4, '4-4 + 444' 2144 2217 1. Sales 1779 1764 1779 1764 o. m .,,i 4 4 1783 1770 i7(31 361 447 2144 2217 ''. I certify that the statements made by me above ere correct end complete \,',.,t'''"" ' "7 u ""tr7.1" "7" /7 • r r—f—. --' ./Zejr "7:7-'7 II, ) ■-abb SELLING my private collection of WORLD BANK NOTES Send SASE for complete listing Bob Dougherty PO. Box 5073 San Marcos, CA, 92069 (619) 931-1673 50 Different R.R. Checks for $75. circa. 1900-1915 Larry Marsh S. East Monroe Avenue Apt. 104 Alexandria, VA 22301 PS Fern 3626. Cu, 1987 FRANCE WANTED! Please help me build my collection. I need the following notes and will pay top collector prices to acquire them. May I hear from you soon? • Important Type Notes from about 1750 to date. • Specimen Notes AU or better. • World War I and II Locals — these can be Chambers of Commerce, Merchants, Factories, Mines, etc. • Encased Postage Stamps — even some very common pieces are required. • Postcards that show French Banknotes. I am a very serious collector of these items and have been known to pay some sky-high prices for needed items. Priced offers are preferred as I can't tell you what you should get for your material! Finders fee paid for successful referrals! If possible please provide me with a photo-copy of item(s). R. J. BALBATON P.O. BOX 911 NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS 02761.0911 Tel. 1-508-699-2266 Days HICKMAN AUCTIONS INC. Drawer 66009 West Des Moines Iowa 50265 515-225-7070 FAX 515-223-0226 O UR Cherry Hill Auction scheduled for September 27th in connection with the GENA Convention is shaping up to be a rewarding event for us all. Dr. Aspen's extensive silver certificate collection will be the highlight of the sale with a great selection of pairs, blocks and serial numbers all in the best condition he was able to obtain. Two 12 sub- ject uncut sheets, a 1935 and 1935-A, will be sold. A 1928-E Star note in Fine plus, one of only six known, should prove to be the most sought after lot. Numerous Federal Re- serve notes including label sets will be included. A very rare Military Payment Certi- ficate, the $5.00 Series 471 in Very Fine condition as well as a Gem CU $10.00 Series 651 will be in the sale along with a couple of dramatic error notes. Numerous advertising notes and stock certificates from the Philadelphia area as well as satirical and propaganda notes will also be available. An interesting $10,000.00 New York Gold Bond, sold to fund Military bonuses for World War one service and issued to the Van- derbilt family is included in the sale. Several interesting Confederate items including a ten dollar note captured at Appomatox and a piece of the flag from the Capitol in Richmond. We have confined the location material for this sale to the nine state area around Philadelphia. Over two hundred lots of Pennsylvania material will be sold. The numis- matic legacy that comes down to us from Philadelphia constitutes an embarrassment of riches greater than that of any other American city. Not only did the City of brotherly love have our first and most important mint, but also the first and second Bank of the United States, the Bank of North America, the number one First National Bank, the vast amount of material generated from the Centennial Exposition in 1876, and all the medals and vignettes associated with Benjamin Franklin, Independence Hall and other individuals and events too numerous to mention. In our Cherry Hill catalog will be found what must surely be the largest group of transit stock certificates from a single comunity ever offered for sale. Over seventy five different documents of Philadelphia transit compa- nies are featured. Vignettes of horse cars, trolleys and steam engines abound in this group. These certificates should appeal to collectors of transit token and rail road buffs as well as those interested in the vignettes and local history. Don't miss this one. We are open to a Spring 1992 Auction and we are presently considering several possibilities. If the time to sell is in your plans, and you have a collection suitable for an auction or one an auction can be built around, we are qualified and prepared to hold the sale at the most advantageous location your material war- rants. Nationals and obsolete notes in particular benefit from being sold in the area where they originated. Pt# PanorIcanflumimollc member of