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Table of Contents
Benjamin Franklin's Image on U.S. Currency--Rick Melamed
Unissued 1899 Treasury Note--Peter Huntoon
New High $2 Series 1928C Mule Discovery--Peter Huntoon
Money Used in Japanese-American Internment Camps--Steve Feller, et. al.
In God We Trust on U. S. Currency--Peter Huntoon
The Kirtland Safety Society--Douglas Nyholm & Dave Hur
New Fractional Discovery--Rick Melamed
official journal of
The Society of Paper Money Collectors
Benjamin Franklin Images
on American Currency
America?s Oldest and Most Accomplished Rare Coin Auctioneer
1550 Scenic Ave., Suite 150, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 ? 949.253.0916
470 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022 ? 212.582.2580 ? NYC@stacksbowers.com
84 State St. (at 22 Merchants Row), Boston, MA 02109 ? 617.843.8343 ? Boston@StacksBowers.com
1735 Market St. (18th & JFK Blvd.), Philadelphia, PA 19103 ? 267.609.1804 ? Philly@StacksBowers.com
Info@StacksBowers.com ? StacksBowers.com
California ? New York ? Boston ? Philadelphia ? New Hampshire ? Oklahoma ? Virginia
Hong Kong ? Paris ? Vancouver
SBG PM AugGlobal2024 HLs V2 240701
LEGENDARY COLLECTIONS | LEGENDARY RESULTS | A LEGENDARY AUCTION FIRM
Contact Our Experts for More Information Today!
West Coast: 800.458.4646 ? East Coast: 800.566.2580
Info@StacksBowers.com
August Global Showcase Auction Highlights from
STACK?S BOWERS GALLERIES
An Event Auctioneer Partner of the ANA World?s Fair of Money?
Auction: August 12-16 & 19-22, 2024 ? Costa Mesa, CA
Expo Lot Viewing: August 4-9, 2024 ? Rosemont, IL
Highlights from The Porter Collection
Peter A. Treglia
Director of Currency
PTreglia@StacksBowers.com
Tel: (949) 748-4828
Michael Moczalla
Currency Specialist
MMoczalla@StacksBowers.com
Tel: (949) 503-6244
Fort Benton, Montana Territory. $5 1875.
Fr. 404. The First NB. Charter #2476.
PMG About Uncirculated 53.
Salem, New Jersey. $100 Original.
Fr. 454a. The Salem National Banking Company.
Charter #1326. PMG Choice Very Fine 35 Net.
Guthrie, Territory of Oklahoma.
$10 1882 Brown Back. Fr. 485.
The Capitol NB. Charter #4705.
PMG Choice Very Fine 35. Serial Number 1.
Fr. 151. 1869 $50 Legal Tender Note.
PMG Choice Very Fine 35.
Fr. 203. 1863 $50 Interest Bearing Note.
PMG Very Fine 25.
Highlights from The Eric Agnew Collection of California National Banknotes
Hanford, California. $50 1882 Date Back.
Fr. 563. First NB. Charter #5863.
PMG Very Fine 25.
Monterey, California. $10 1902 Red Seal.
Fr. 613. First NB. Charter #7058.
PMG Very Fine 30. Serial Number 1.
San Francisco, California. $20 1870. Fr. 1152.
First National Gold Bank. Charter #1741.
PMG Choice Fine 15.
Fr. 776. 1918 $2 Federal Reserve Bank Note. Dallas.
PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ. Serial Number 1.
a_oM_om
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$QGPDQ\PRUH&6$8QLRQDQG2EVROHWH%DQN1RWHV IRU VDOH UDQJLQJ IURPWRILYHILJXUHV
237 Benjamin Franklin's Image on U.S. Currency--Rick Melamed
247 Unissued Series 1899 Treasury Note--Peter Huntoon
253 New High $2 Series 1928C Mule Discovery--Peter Huntoon
293 Money Used in Japanese-American Internment Camps-Part I--Steve Feller, et. al.
269 In God We Trust on U.S. Currency--Peter Huntoon
279 The Kirtland Safety Society--Douglas Nyholm & Dave Hur
289 New Fractional Currency Discovery--Rick Melamed
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
232
Columns
Advertisers
SPMC Hall of Fame
The SPMC Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those individuals who
have made a lasting contribution to the society over the span of many years.?
Charles Affleck
Walter Allan
Mark Anderson
Doug Ball
Hank BieciukJoseph BolingF.C.C. Boyd
Michael Crabb
Forrest DanielMartin DelgerWilliam DonlonRoger Durand
C. John Ferreri
Milt Friedberg
Robert Friedberg
Len Glazer
Nathan Gold
Nathan Goldstein
James Haxby
John Herzog
Gene Hessler
John Hickman
William Higgins
Ruth Hill
Peter Huntoon
Brent Hughes
Glenn Jackson
Don Kelly
Lyn Knight
Chet Krause
Allen Mincho
Clifford Mishler
Barbara Mueller
Judith Murphy
Dean Oakes
Chuck O'Donnell
Roy Pennell
Albert Pick
Fred Reed
Matt Rothert
John Rowe III
From Your President
Editor Sez
New Members
Uncoupled
Chump Change
Small Notes
Obsolete Corner
Quartermaster
Cherry Pickers Corner
Robert Vandevender 234
Benny Bolin 235
Frank Clark 236
Joe Boling & Fred Schwan 291
Loren Gatch 296
Jamie Yakes 297
Robert Gill 299
Michael McNeil 301
Robert Calderman 303
Stacks Bowers Galleries IFC
Pierre Fricke 232
FCCB 235
Bob Laub 238
Whatnot 246
Lyn Knight 254
Greysheet 268
Bill Litt 268
Fred Bart 283
World Banknote Auctions 288
Paper Money of U.S. 298
PCGS-C 310
PCDA IBC
Heritage Auctions OBC
Fred Schwan
Neil Shafer
Herb& Martha Schingoethe
Austin Sheheen, Jr.
Hugh Shull
Glenn Smedley
Raphael Thian
Daniel Valentine
Louis Van Belkum
George Wait
D.C. Wismer
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
233
Officers & Appointees
ELECTED OFFICERS
PRESIDENT Robert Vandevender II
rvpaperman@aol.com
VICE-PRES/SEC'Y Robert Calderman
gacoins@earthlink.net
TREASURER Robert Moon
robertmoon@aol.com
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
APPOINTEES
PUBLISHER-EDITOR
Benny Bolin smcbb@sbcglobal.net
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Wendell Wolka purduenut@aol.com
Megan Reginnitter mreginnitter@iowafirm.com
LIBRARIAN
Jeff Brueggeman
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
Frank Clark frank_clark@yahoo.com
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Shawn Hewitt
WISMER BOOk PROJECT COORDINATOR
Pierre Fricke
From Your President
Robert Vandevender II
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Paper Money * July/August 2020
6
jeff@actioncurrency.com
LEGAL COUNSEL
Robert Calderman gacoins@earthlink.com
Matt Drais stockpicker12@aol.com
Mark Drengson markd@step1software.com
Pierre Fricke pierrefricke@buyvingagecurrency.com
Loren Gatch
Shawnn Hewitt
Derek Higgins
lgatch@uco.edu
shawn@north-trek.com
derekhiggins219@gmail.com
Raiden Honaker raidenhonaker8@gmail.com
William Litt billitt@aol.com
Cody Regennitter cody.reginnitter@gmail.com
Andy Timmerman andrew.timmerman@aol.com
Wendell Wolka purduenut@aol.com
For many years, Nancy and I have been fans of Major League Baseball.
While in Florida, we often attended the Miami Marlins games and even had
season tickets one year when they were still the Florida Marlins. Since my
job has relocated us to California for a period of time, we have become fans
of the LA Angels, especially when Shohei Ohtani was playing with them
before his departure for the Dodgers. During our last visit to Angels
Stadium a couple of weeks ago, I overheard someone attempting to buy
refreshments using cash. They were quickly informed that no vendors at
Angels Stadium accept cash anymore and a credit card must be used for any
purchases at the Stadium. More and more, we seem to be moving toward a
cashless society. I suppose there is a lawyer out there somewhere who can
explain to me how they get away with not accepting legal tender as is printed
on our currency. It will be interesting to see how, in the future, it affects the
currency collecting hobby, since a large part of the fun was always searching
for treasures in one?s change from a transaction.
I'm writing this as we prepare to staff our SPMC table once again at the
Long Beach Expo. I am not sure how many of our members will be in
attendance although I did learn that our Vice resident, Robert Calderman,
will also be joining me at the show with a retail table of his own.
Our next big event will be the ANA World?s Fair of Money in Chicago.
The SPMC will have a table at that show, and I expect many of our members
to be there with us. We are also planning to participate in the youth treasure
hunt again at this show to help educate the younger generation about our
hobby.
As some of you may know, according to our bylaws, the current Past
President of the SPMC continues to serve on our Executive Board as a
voting member for the length of time they served as President. I am pleased
to announce that Past President, Shawn Hewitt, has been reappointed and
confirmed as a member of our Board of Governors to fulfill the term of Jerry
Fochtman who passed away back in February. This ensures that Shawn will
remain a voting member of our leadership past next June when his existing
term expires. Shawn continues to be a great asset to our organization, and I
look forward to seeing his continued contribution to the SPMC.
I trust everyone is having a nice Summer and I look forward to seeing
many of you at upcoming shows.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
234
Terms?and?Conditions?
The?Society? of? Paper?Money? Collectors? (SPMC)? P.O.?? Box?7055,?
Gainesville,?GA??? 30504,?publishes??? PAPER??? MONEY?(USPS?? 00?
3162)? every? other? month? beginning? in? January.? Periodical?
postage? is? paid? at? Hanover,? PA.? Postmaster? send? address?
changes? to? Secretary? Robert? Calderman,? Box? 7055,?Gainesville,?
GA? 30504.??Society? of? Paper?Money? Collectors,?Inc.? 2020.? All?
rights? reserved.? Reproduction? of? any? article? in?whole? or? part?
without?written?approval? is?prohibited.? Individual?copies?of? this?
issue?of?PAPER?MONEY?are?available? from?the?secretary? for?$8?
postpaid.?Send?changes?of?address,?inquiries?concerning??? non??? ????
delivery??? and??? requests??? for??? additional?copies?of?this?issue?to?
the?secretary.?
MANUSCRIPTS?
Manuscripts?????not?????under??????consideration??????elsewhere?and?
publications? for? review?should?be?sent? to? the?editor.?Accepted?
manuscripts? will? be? published? as? soon? as? possible,? however?
publication? in? a? specific? issue? cannot? be?guaranteed.?Opinions?
expressed? by? authors? do? not?necessarily? reflect?those? of? the?
SPMC.???Manuscripts?should?be? submitted? in?WORD? format? via?
email?(smcbb@sbcglobal.net)? or? by? sending?memory?stick/disk?
to? the? editor.? Scans? should? be? grayscale? or? color? JPEGs? at?
300?dpi.?Color? illustrations?may?be?changed?to?grayscale?at? the?
discretion? of? the? editor.? Do? not? send? items? of? value.?
Manuscripts?are? submitted?with?copyright?release?of?the?author?
to? the? editor? for? duplication? and? printing?as?needed.?
ADVERTISING?
All?advertising?on?space?available?basis.?Copy/correspondence?
should?be?sent?to?editor.?
All?advertising?is?pay?in?advance.??Ads?are?on?a??good?faith??
basis.? Terms?are??Until?Forbid.??
Ads? are? Run? of? Press? (ROP)? unless? accepted? on? a? premium?
contract?basis.?Limited?premium?space/rates?available.?
To?keep?rates?to?a?minimum,?all?advertising?must?be?prepaid?
according?to?the?schedule?below.??In?exceptional?cases?where?
special? artwork? or? additional? production? is? required,? the?
advertiser? will?be?notified? and? billed?accordingly.? Rates? are?
not?commissionable;?proofs?are?not? supplied.? SPMC? does?not?
endorse?any?company,?dealer,? or? auction? house.? Advertising?
Deadline:?Subject?to?space?availability,?copy?must?be?received?
by? the? editor? no? later? than? the? first? day? of? the? month?
preceding? the? cover?date? of? the? issue? (i.e.? Feb.? 1? for? the?
March/April? issue).?Camera?ready?art?or?electronic?ads? in?pdf?
format?are?required.?
ADVERTISING?RATES?
Editor Sez
Benny Bolin
Required?file??? submission?format??? is??? composite??? PDF?v1.3?
(Acrobat?4.0???compatible).???If???possible,?submitted?files?should?
conform?to?ISO?15930?1:?2001?PDF/X?1a?file?format?standard.?
Non?? standard,? application,? or? native? file? formats? are? not?
acceptable.?Page? size:?must? conform?to?specified?publication?
trim? size.? Page? bleed:? must? extend?minimum? 1/8?? beyond?
trim?for?page?head,?foot,?and?front.? Safety?margin:? type? and?
other? non?bleed? content?must? clear? trim?by?minimum?1/2?.??
Advertising?c o p y ? shall?be?restricted?to?paper?currency,?allied?
numismatic?material,?publications,???and???related???accessories.???
The?SPMC? does? not? guarantee?advertisements,? but? accepts?
copy? in?good?faith,? reserving? the?right? to? reject?objectionable?
or? inappropriate? material? or? edit? ? ? copy.? The? ? ? ? ? SPMC??
assumes????? no????? financial?????? responsibility?for? typographical?
errors? in? ads? but? agrees? to? reprint? that?portion?of?an?ad? in?
which?a?typographical?error?occurs.?
Benny
Space?
Full?color?covers?
1?Time?
$1500?
3?Times?
$2600?
6?Times
$4900
B&W?covers? 500? 1400? 2500
Full?page?color? 500? 1500? 3000
Full?page?B&W? 360? 1000? 1800
Half?page?B&W? 180? 500? 900
Quarter?page?B&W? 90? 250? 450
Eighth?page?B&W? 45? 125? 225
Happy summer to all and to all a cool and fun one. I hope you all
are having a good time that is filled with many new and exciting places,
activities and new purchases. I encourage you all to go to a show or too.
They seem to be back in force and the market is great.
For me--it is a time of waiting and summer farm duties in the midst of
a near diastrous computer failure.
Watching and waiting for the birth of my first grandchild. That is a
occurrence that I hope to be able to report on and show pictures of in
the next issue. Little Olivia Jo is being very mobile and seems to be
developing a sassy, rambunctious attitude in-vitro!
Living on a farm like I have my entire life has its' share of summer
duties when you have a full-time job during August to June. My main
duty is moving the pasture. We have 35 acres and all the rain this year
casued me to get a late start but it hastened the weed growth which
means I have to go slower. Oh well, more time to ponder paper.
I have had computers since the day of the TI-99 4A. I had a big stock
of cassette tapes and player (the main storage device) and could really
make that baby since. Image a RAM of 64K! All to say, they have now
passed me by. I had this issue almost in the books and suddenly, when I
turned it off, it said Microsoft need to update so I gave permission to
update and turn off. Next day pushed the power button--NOTHING! I
tried all the tricks to get it working and nothing worked. I had not
backed up all my info for the past month, so I thougt I was toast.
Imagine my surprise when I took it to Best Buy and they plugged it in
and it was fine. Took it home and NOTHING! Back to BB and it was
still fine. Took it home and plugged it in to my wifes system and woola,
it was fine. All these years of using computers and this was the first
time I found out that a monitor can go bad and disrupt everything.
Whew--it works!
Enough of my rambling and hopefully you will have a great summer.
Till next time! Stay safe and enjoy summer!
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
235
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 ANA. The
Annual Meeting of the SPMC is
held in June at the International
Paper Money Show. Information
about the SPMC, including the
by-laws and activities can be
found at our website--
www.spmc.org. The SPMC does
not does not endorse any dealer,
company or auction house.
MEMBERSHIP?REGULAR and
LIFE. Applicants must be at least 18
years of age and of good moral
character. Members of the ANA or
other recognized numismatic
societies are eligible for membership.
Other applicants should be sponsored
by an SPMC member or provide
suitable references.
MEMBERSHIP?JUNIOR.
Applicants for Junior membership
must be from 12 to 17 years of age
and of good moral character. A parent
or guardian must sign their
application. Junior membership
numbers will be preceded by the letter
?j? which will be removed upon
notification to the secretary that the
member has reached 18 years of age.
Junior members are not eligible to
hold office or vote.
DUES?Annual dues are $39. Dues
for members in Canada and Mexico
are $45. Dues for members in all
other countries are $60. Life
membership?payable in installments
within one year is $800 for U.S.; $900
for Canada and Mexico and $1000
for all other countries. The Society
no longer issues annual membership
cards but paid up members may
request one from the membership
director with an SASE.
Memberships for all members who
joined the Society prior to January
2010 are on a calendar year basis
with renewals due each December.
Memberships for those who joined
since January 2010 are on an annual
basis beginning and ending the
month joined. All renewals are due
before the expiration date, which can
be found on the label of Paper
Money. Renewals may be done via
the Society website www.spmc.org
or by check/money order sent to the
secretary.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!
BY FRANK CLARK
SPMC MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
NEW MEMBERS5/05/2024 NEW MEMBERS 6/05/2024
Dues Remittal Process
Send dues directly to
Robert Moon
SPMC Treasurer
104 Chipping Ct
Greenwood, SC 29649
Refer to your mailing label for when
your dues are due.
You may also pay your dues online at
www.spmc.org.
REINSTATEMENTS
None
LIFE MEMBERSHIPS
None
15698 Christoff Polagni, Website
15699 Darlene Wright, Website
15700 Robert Nowak, Website
15701 Uilson Boberto Ponce, Website
15702 Brent Enyart, Facebook
15703 Paul Dixon, Frank Clark
15704 Leonard Schulfer, Bank Note Reporter
15705 Robert Spiller, Website
15706 Kevin McCandless, Robert Calderman
15707 Joshua Grim, Website
15708 Paul Antonucci, Website
15709 Jim Haxby, James Haxby
15710 Gayle White, Derek Higgins
15711 Savannah Kelly, Frank Clark
15712 Peter Brouker, Tom Denly
15713 Les Cannaday, Robert Calderman
REINSTATEMENTS
None
LIFE MEMBERSHIPS
None
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
236
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN?S IMAGE ON
AMERICAN CURRENCY
by Rick Melamed
One of the most notable founding fathers of the United States
was the legendary Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). He was an
accomplished writer, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer,
publisher, and more; he was a leading intellectual of the day. In
France, where he spent 10+ years as an ambassador, Franklin was
feted and adored by French nobility (including King Louis XVI and
his wife Marie Antoinette) as he actively campaigned for financial
and military aid to fight the British during the Revolutionary War.
His efforts led to much needed funding and foreign troops that were
critical to America?s victory in the Revolutionary War.
Franklin?s most noteworthy commercial success was the
printing of the?Pennsylvania Gazette, which he began publishing in 1729. It was acknowledged as one of the
best colonial newspapers. Franklin had a sharp business acumen. He was one of the first American franchisers.
He would supply various printers throughout the colonies, the equipment, and the expertise to create and
publish newspapers and pamphlets. In return, Franklin would get 1/3rd of the profits over a 6-year period. ? In
1732, Franklin first published the Poor Richard?s?Almanack (sic). The?Almanac?contained a
calendar,?weather,?poems,?sayings?and?astronomical and astrological information. It was very popular, selling up
to 10,000 copies every year. He would continue to publish the almanac for 25 consecutive years, speaking to his
practical values of thrift, hard work,?education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to
religious and political authoritarianism.
Franklin was also a noteworthy scientist and inventor. He was well versed in physics where he pioneered
the study of electricity. Some of his inventions included the lightening rod, bifocals, swim fins, flexible urinary
catheter, the Franklin stove and more. He founded many civic organizations including the Library Company,
Philadelphia?s first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin also became the first
postmaster General of the U.S. Franklin?s image is widely found on postage stamps, coins, commemoratives
and currency. In this article we will explore the myriad of images of Franklin on American issued currency.
In total we used 28 different images - attesting to our reverence of Franklin. Where we can, we will showcase
images that can be attributed to specific artists and/or engravers.
This portrait of Ben Franklin was painted by Scottish artist, David Martin
in 1767. Martin painted Benjamin Franklin during one of Franklin?s trips to
Europe. It is a wonderful rendering showing a pensive Franklin, deep in
study. The only unusual thing is his hair; it is sporting a wig, something
Franklin rarely wore. This image has been used scores of times on Obsolete
currency, and only once on Federally issued currency. David Martin (1737 ?
1797) was born in Fife, Scotland. He studied in Italy and England, before
gaining a reputation as a portrait painter. This portrait resides in the White
House, but there are at least 7 other copies including a 2nd one by Martin that is
at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
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Shown above are four examples of Martin?s portrait of Franklin. Top Left: $50 1847 Interest Bearing
Treasury note (the only Treasury issued note using the Martin image). Top Right: $100 The President Directors
& Co. Bank of Augusta, GA. remainder note. Bottom Left: $1 remainder Blackstone Canal Bank of
Providence, RI; Bottom right: $20 Towanda Bank, PA. Note how top right image is repositioned, facing right.
Left: During his time as a diplomat in France
(1776?85), Madame Brillon de Jouy
(accomplished French musician and composer)
commissioned Franklin?s portrait. In a letter,
de Jouy praised Franklin for his sound moral
teaching and lively imagination but found his
?droll roguishness? most endearing. The
artist, Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725 -1802)
was born in Carpentras, near Avignon,
France. He was a well-respected portraitist
who won many prestigious artistic awards.
Duplessis painted this recognizable portrait of
Franklin, found on scores of notes from 19th
century Obsoletes. Painted c.1785, this portrait now
hangs in the Smithsonian National Gallery. Note the collarless jacket and vest. Above Right: This engraving
was created by Charles Burt (1823-1892), a Scottish born American and principal engraver at the U.S. Treasury.
While the Duplessis portrait on the left was painted during Franklin?s lifetime, the Burt engraving, which
borrows heavily from Duplessis, was done well after Franklin?s death. Note how the fur lined coat collar of the
engraving differs from the Duplessis painting, in which Franklin is wearing a collarless jacket and vest.
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Shown below are 2 examples of Obsolete notes with the Duplessis portrait with Franklin wearing a
collarless jacket. Below Left: A $5 remainder note from Franklin Bank in Baltimore. Below Right: A $50
remainder note from The Bank of Chambersburg, PA.
The first appearance of the
Charles Burt engraving of Franklin on a
Treasury issued note (with the fur
collar) appears on the Franklin 1874
$50 Legal Tender Note (top left).
Franklin is found on the 1879 $10
Refunding Certificate (bottom left).
Franklin also appears on the 1893
American Bank Note Columbian
Exhibition ticket (top right). It is
interesting to see Franklin facing to
the left; usually Burt images have
Franklin facing right.
Shown below are Charles Burt engraved portraits on 4 different small sized $100 notes: 1928 green
seal Federal Reserve Note; 1929 brown seal Federal Reserve Bank Note; 1928 gold seal Gold Certificate;
and 1966 red seal U.S. Note.
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Banknote designer Brian Thompson of the
BEP created this portrait of Ben Franklin for the
modern $100 note. Thompson, who also designed
the modern $20 note, took 17 years to create the
design. Borrowing from the Duplessis portrait,
Thompson elevates this portrait, as Franklin?s
piercing gaze makes him come alive.
Below: Franklin and Electricity, found on the 1882 $10 National
Bank Note, was engraved by Alfred Jones and James Simillie for the
American Bank Note Co. Jones (1819-1900) was a noted British
artist who illustrated many notable books, was published in art
magazines, and was associated with the Carlton Studio, one of the largest commercial art studios in
London at the turn of the 20th century. James David Smillie (1833 ?1909) was a noted American artist,
cofounder of the American Watercolor Society and New York Etching Club. The image of Franklin
holding a kite string with a key during a lightning storm is representative of one of Franklin?s great
achievements, discovering electricity.
Left: This engraving of Franklin flying a
kite with a young boy is considerably
different than the rendition used in the
production of the 1882 National Bank
Note. This rare, likely unique, 1863
proof of Franklin and Electricity was
never used in production While not
definitive, we assume Alfred Jones and
James Simillie were the engravers.
Interesting to point out that the bronzing
and 3 pie shape cancellations are similar
to what was used in Fractional Currency
Experimentals.
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To the left is a dour
engraving of a young, trim
and upright Franklin
working at a desk setting
type at his chosen
profession as a printer.
Top Left: 1860?s $5
remainder note from the
Franklin Bank of
Greenville, Illinois. Bottom
Left: Franklin is found on
an 1860?s $20 remainder
note from The Bank of
North Carolina in Raleigh.
Both are engraved by an unknown artist for
the American Bank Note Company.
Above Left: An enchanting image of a young boy resting against a sitting Ben Franklin who is
genuflecting to the bust of George Washington. The painting is entitled Franklin, Child & Washington by
noted American artist, Francis W. Edmonds (1806-63). It was engraved by Alfred Jones (1819-1906). Top
Right: 1860?s $2 remainder from the Bank of Amsterdam, NY. Bottom Right: 1860 $10 remainder note
from the Citizens? Bank of Louisiana at Shreveport.
This $10 Franklin
Silk Company note
depicts a well-dressed
Franklin with a far-off
gaze holding a pen and
writing tablet while
sitting at a desk. Bolts
of lightning are seen to
his right.
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Philadelphia printers, C. Toppan & Co., created this engraving of a Franklin bust on a $5 Franklin
Bank of Baltimore remainder note. The marble bust was created by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1821), a
French neoclassical sculptor. Born at the Place of Versailles, Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and
statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures. The archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York offers a very good character description of Ben Franklin: ?Houdon captures those aspects of
Franklin's somewhat sly persona, which so fascinated French society during his nine years in Paris
(1776?85) representing the newly independent United States. His natural unpowdered hair, simple Quaker
suits, and benign wit all stood in sharp contrast to the norms of diplomatic circles in which Franklin
moved. Franklin's celebrity attracted fashionable hostesses and crowds in the street alike and his image
was widely disseminated by the leading artists of the time.?
Above is a pair of portraits on $20 Franklin Bank notes (Jersey City note from 1827 and Boston
note from 1836) with Franklin holding his spectacles. The artist and printer are unknown. One portrait
Franklin is holding his spectacles in his left hand and the other portrait they are in his right hand.
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Above is an undated merchant note from Franklin Mining Company in Michigan. Engraved and
printed by the American Banknote Co. This is a wonderful deptiction of Franklin at his desk.
FRANKLIN PROFILES
Top Left: 1914 red seal Federal Reserve note engraved by Marcus Baldwin (1853-1925) during his
tenure as a BEP engraver. Baldwin also had stints at the American and National Banknote Cos. Top
Right: A pair of Franklin profiles face each other on this 50? remainder note from the Franklin Institute of
Philadelphia (same image used on U.S. stamps). Bottom Left: Franklin and Washington facing each other
on a $100 Union Bank remainder note from Philadelphia.
Bottom Right: Rudimentary profile of Franklin on an 1819 $100 Obsolete from the Franklin Bank of
Baltimore, MD.
A 1? and 30? encased postage depicts
a right and left facing Franklin. Since
encased postage was used as circulating
money just before being replaced by
Fractional currency in 1862, they merit
inclusion in this article.
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Crude Franklin profile from an
early Post note with no amount filled
in. From the Franklin Bank of New
York City. The bank was in existence
from 1818-1830.
Undated $10 proof from
Franklin Bank of Baltimore. It?s
quite an interesting Franklin profile
wearing a cap.
$5 note from the State Bank
of Trenton, NJ dated May 10,
1822
MISCELLANEOUS FRANKLIN IMAGES
The following Franklin engraved images are of a lesser quality. They are found on merchant notes
and College currency where artistic expertise was not so precise.
Top Left: 1883 50? merchant note from the Walker Iron and Coal Company from Rising Fawn, GA.
Top Right: 187x $500 college currency note from the Indianapolis Business College.
Bottom Left: (ca. 1868-70) Van Allen's Quarter-Dime Soap $1 "Family Lease" Advertising Note.
The reverse has a recipe to make 60 lbs. of soap. Bottom Right: Undated 50? merchant note to Franklin
Coffee House in New York City.
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Above is another rather rudimentary image of Franklin on a $1,000 college currency note from
Baylies Mercantile College of Keokuk, Iowa.
Franklin?s contribution to Continental Currency is also notable.
It is estimated that he printed over 2,500,000 notes for the
Colonies. His innovations included the development of the
multicolored pattern on currency. He is supposedly behind the use
of embedding mica and nature prints on Continental notes as well.
Shown to the right is an example of a Franklin printed note.
There are likely other Ben Franklin images that have been
missed ? but the above is comprehensive. Thanks to Wendell Wolka
and Dustin Johnston of Heritage for their input. Also, to
Stack?s/Bowers and Heritage for most of the images contained in this article. Thanks to Katrina London,
Manager of Collections and Curatorial Projects at Kykuit ? Home of John D. Rockefeller. Finally, thanks
to my son, Dr. David Melamed, for his excellent editing of this article.
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whatnot.com
Unissued Series of 1899
Treasury Notes
Objectives
This article has two objectives: to explain how the unissued Series of 1899 Treasury notes came
about and to pinpoint when the Treasury Department began to move toward ado[ting common designs for
the different classes of U.S. currency. The first attempt to standardize designs involved the unissued Series
of 1899 Treasury notes.
This situation merges the collecting of some large size notes with four fascinating souvenir cards
that round out the story. Too many large-size type collectors turn up their noses at souvenir cards, a tendency
that I feel robs them of probing some interesting history.
Surprise Discovery of Plate Proofs for $1 Backs
This tale began to unfold for me years ago as we were sorting the BEP proofs that were turned over
to the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution. One day I came upon eight 4-subject
$1 proofs for the backs of the Series of 1899 that looked odd. Sure enough, they bore the header Treasury
note instead of silver certificate. That was totally unexpected and clearly an unissued design.
The Paper
Column
Peter Huntoon
Figure 1. Unissued Series of 1899 $1 Treasury note, a Series of 1899 silver certificate look-a-like, that was
developed to replace the existing Series of 1891 Treasury notes in order that all the current $1s would have
uniformity so they could be handled easily.
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The plate proofs carried certification dates from August 5 through September 23, 1899. We never
found 1899 Treasury note backs for other denominations or any faces at all. All of this was strange.
Souvenir Cards
I vaguely recalled something about this unissued series going by so in due course I looked in
Hessler?s 1979 Essay-Proof-Specimen book and found that he illustrated proofs for both faces and backs
of $1 and $2 1899 Treasury notes, but without any information about them (Hessler, 1979, p. 134-135).
Another recollection was that some BEP souvenir cards illustrating unissued Treasury notes also
had gone by so I probably had them. With a little digging I found a great series of four cards from 2002
labeled ?United States currency redeemable in coin? (BEP, 2002a,b,c,d). They were Series of 1899 and
their images are illustrated here.
The information that accompanied the souvenir cards explained why we didn?t find production
plate proofs for any other than the $1 backs. The master die for the $1 back was the only one of the four
that had been hardened so it was the only one from which they could make a roll to transfer the image to
plates.
The information accompanying the cards revealed the following about the four master dies.
$1 back begun January 1899/
$1 face began March 1899, work ceased on it during September.
$2 back begun September 1899, finished November, never hardened.
$2 face begun September 1899, finished October, never hardened.
The process that was used in 1899 to create the four Treasury note dies was that they started with
transfer rolls made from the hardened master dies for the Series of 1899 silver certificates. The images from
each were laid into its own new master. A team of engravers then altered the images on the new masters to
Figure 2. The only current $1 and $2 notes in 1899 were silver certificates and Treasury notes. Consequently,
in order to move toward uniformity, they were a logical place to start.
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the desired Treasury note forms before the new dies were hardened.
None of the eight $1 back plates that were made were sent to press. However, the existence of the
proofs lifted from them reveals that the master was hardened, a role was made from it; and the eight
production plates were laid-in from the roll.
So how could the BEP employees in 1990 make printing plates to print the souvenir cards if three
of the four masters hadn?t been hardened? Fabrication of a roll requires that the source die be hard.
What they did was use modern electrolytic plate-making technology to create 1-subject printing
plates from each of the masters. Specifically, they fabricated a flat electrolytic alto from each of the masters
by electroplating nickel onto their surfaces. Then they separated the altos from the masters, which carried
a mirror image of the engravings that would serve as molds. They then electroplated nickel onto the altos,
separated the resulting flat forms from them and presto they had perfect replicas of the masters. The replicas
served as the printing plates for the souvenir cards. Notice that this process works regardless of whether the
master dies were hardened or not. You can see that the Bureau employees go to considerable effort to create
the souvenir cards.
Origin and Dilemma of Treasury Notes
Now we get to the heart of the matter. What are these Series of 1899 Treasury notes about and why
weren?t any issued?
U.S. Treasury notes probably are the most interesting and enigmatic of the paper money issues of
the United States. Let?s take a brief look.
Collectors of large size notes know the Treasury notes as the Series of 1890 and 1891. Those notes
were fathered by one of the most contentious political issues of the last half of the 19th century, the debate
over whether unlimited quantities of silver should be monetized.
The debate pitted populists in both parties against the hard money factions in their midst. The
populist movement was particularly strong in the west and south where adherents favored the unlimited
monetization of silver in order to inflate the money supply. By making money plentiful, they believed it
would break what they perceived as a stranglehold that Eastern bankers had on the nation?s gold coin supply.
The perception was that by controlling the gold supply, the bankers maintained high interest rates that stifled
economic growth in the rural areas of the country, Of course, the hard money faction preferred to tie the
money supply to what they perceived was a limited quantity of gold.
The populists gravitated to the Democratic party and the hard money faction to the Republican
party. The populist movement had gained sufficient strength by 1890 that they won passage of the Sherman
Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890. The act was an ill-conceived compromise piece of legislation that
required the Treasury to purchase up to 4.5 million ounces of silver per month and coin it. The act was
passed without the support of then Republican President Benjamin Harrison.
Figure 3. Details illustrating the differences between the Treasury note and silver certificate backs.
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It resulted in an uncontrolled drain on the
Treasury?s stock of gold. Here is what happened.
The act contained a serious flaw that was
included to demonstrate the commitment of the
United States to a bimetallic monetary standard that at
the time was a 16:1 gold/silver ratio based on $20.67
per ounce gold and $1.2929 per ounce silver. It
stipulated that the Treasury pay for the silver with
Treasury notes, but allowed those notes to be
redeemed in gold or silver coin.
Furthermore, to maintain the now inflated
money supply, the act required that when redeemed
for coin, the Treasury notes had to be reissued in order
that their outstanding circulation equaled the cost of
the silver bullion and silver dollars held by the
Treasury that they had purchased.
Unfortunately, the price of silver steadily
dropped as a result of huge production of silver from
the Comstock Lode in Nevada and mines elsewhere in
the west.
The dilemma the Treasury faced was that
speculators were engaged in a merry-go-round of
buying silver on the metals market where the price of
silver was decreasing, selling it to the Treasury,
receiving Treasury notes, redeeming the notes for gold
coin, selling the gold coin for ever increasing
quantities of silver in the market, pocketing the
difference and repeating the cycle. Most of the gold
was exported whereas net silver imports increased
during 1890 through 1893 (Carlisle, 1894).
In due course, the Treasury had to dip into its $100,000,000 gold reserve fund established by the
Act of July 12, 1882 to feed this frenzy. The Treasury had to sell gold bonds, mostly overseas, to restock
the fund, only to repeat that cycle as well. This quickly ran up the national debt, which itself was payable
in gold. The situation was unsustainable.
Democratic President Grover Cleveland, upon taking office in 1893 at the beginning of his second
detached term, inherited the mess along with the blossoming of the Panic of 1893 and economic depression
that ensued. He perceived the act to be a primary cause of the panic because it eroded public confidence in
the money supply. Therefore, he gave utmost priority to its repeal. He succeeded in getting the silver
purchase provision repealed on November 1,1893. However, repeal of the reissue provision governing the
Treasury notes had to await passage of the Gold Standard Act of March 14, 1900 seven years later during
Republican President McKinley?s term.
William McKinley took office March 4, 1897 and served until his assassination in 1901, which
occurred during the first year of his second term. He was a moderate on the silver/gold issue but leaned
toward the hard money position although in economics his passion was for tariff protection to insulate
American industry. As the campaign unfolded against silverite Williams Jennings Bryan, McKinley?s tariff
platform resonated well in the populous east so he downplayed the silver debate, thus winning a razor thin
victory.
His term was notable for victory in the Spanish?American War of 1898 that brought Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Guam and the Philippines in as colonial possessions as well as the annexation of Hawaii. Ironically,
McKinley argued against American Imperialism; instead, favoring isolationism.
Figure 4. A major priority for Democratic President
Grover Cleveland was repeal of the Sherman Silver
Purchase Act. He managed to win repeal of the
purchase requirement in 1893 but not the
dangerous Treasury note reissue provision.
Wikipedia photo.
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By rejecting the inflationary monetary
policy of free silver, keeping the nation on the gold
standard; and raising protective tariffs, his term saw
the nation recover from the lasting depression that
gripped the nation following the Panic of 1893. Much
credit for this success goes to Lymen J. Gage, an
accomplished banker and staunch Gold Democrat,
whom McKinley appointed as his Secretary of the
Treasury. Gage, formerly president of The First
National Bank of Chicago, served as Secretary from
McKinley?s inauguration until January 31, 1902
during Theodore Roosevelt?s administration. A
priority for Gage and the Republicans in Congress
was to place the nation on the Gold Standard.
However, more immediate at the outset of
McKinley?s term was the lingering problem of the
reissue provision for the Treasury notes. Secretary
Gage also was saddled with the fiasco attending the
failure of the Series of 1896 Educational silver
certificates inherited from John Carlisle,
Cleveland?s second Secretary of the Treasury
The Educational notes had foundered over
a design flaw; specifically, the lack of readily
visible counters on the corners of their faces. That
made sorting the notes difficult and had drawn
howls from the banking and merchant
communities.
At the time Gage took office, the engravers
at the BEP were preparing revised master dies for
the series. Gage had little patience with the series
so he cut the Treasury?s loses by killing the series
on May 3, 1897 (BEP, 1990) and ordering a new
series of $1, $2 and $5 to replace it. Bringing the
replacement Series of 1899 silver certificates to
fruition took two years, thus yielding that series
date for them.
Gage?s authority to do so resided in the
legislation that authorized currency. Those acts
specified the denominations but vested the
Secretary of the Treasury with responsibility for
their designs. The latter included not only the
engravings but also the series designations. The
Secretary could change either at will.
Figure 5. A priority for Congressional Republicans
during William McKinley presidency was passage of
the Gold Standard Act, which occurred in 1900. It
contained a provision that did away with the
lingering Treasury note reissue provision in the
Sherman Silver Purchase Act, thus ending the
issuance of Treasury notes. Wikipedia photo.
Figure 6. Republican McKinley?s Secretary of the
Treasury Lymen J. Gage, a Gold Democrat, authorized
the Series of 1899 $1 and $2 Treasury notes as a first
step in adopting uniform currency designs for the
various classes of currency. His major role was his
service as the administration?s point man for passage
of the Gold Standard Act key, which ironically did
away with Treasury notes. Wikipedia photo.
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Adoption of Uniform Designs
Historically it was a bit peculiar that there were so many different classes of Congressionally
authorized currency and that each class had entirely different designs. Handlers simply had to get used to
sorting them. Apparently, Gage already was sensitive to the sorting issue as a former banker. Now he had
just come away from the Series of 1896 silver certificates debacle over a similar sorting issue.
There were only two class of current $1s and $2s going into the late 1890s; specifically, silver
certificates and Treasury notes. An obvious first step toward uniformity would be to simultaneously replace
the $1 and $2 Series of 1891 Treasury notes with Series of 1899 silver certificate look-a-likes. Consequently,
Gage seized on the opportunity and authorized the replacement of the Series of 1891 Treasury notes with a
Series of 1899 Treasury notes.
1899 Treasury Notes Not Needed
Gage worked with Congress on passage of the Gold Standard Act, which was signed into law by
McKinley on March 14, 1900. Gage?s Treasury people certainly provided language for that act so its terms
were known to them well before it passed.
A provision was included in the Gold Standard Act to solve the Treasury note reissue dilemma.
Section 5 required the Treasury to redeem the Treasury notes and reissue them as silver certificates. The
silver certificates were redeemable only in silver. Thus, the Treasury?s gold would be shielded.
Gage?s Treasury knew that Section 5 was coming and that it would terminate the issuance of
Treasury notes. Being secure that the Gold Standard Act would pass, Gage had the BEP terminate work on
his Series of 1899 Treasury notes as unnecessary during the fall of 1899. That call was correct because
passage of the Gold Standard Act saw to it that Treasury notes ceased to be current thereafter.
Paving the Way
Even though the Series of 1899 Treasury notes never came into being, the idea of using uniform
designs for given denominations was now seeded in the Treasury Department and rattled around for the rest
of the large-note era. The administration of Treasury Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, who served
from May 1921 through January 1929, took another swipe at implementation in the form of the look-a-like
low denomination Series of 1923 silver certificates and legal tender notes. However, Mellon?s Treasury
prioritized reducing the size of the currency so adopting uniform designs for the larger denomination large-
size notes was shunted aside as unnecessary and wasteful. Uniformity awaited adoption of the small-size
notes beginning at the end of Mellon?s tenure in 1928.
Heck of a story to pull together between collecting some Series of 1890 and 1891 Treasury notes,
the four Series of 1899 Treasury note souvenir cards, and some Series of 1899 silver certificates, eh?
If you want the full story of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the Treasury notes of 1890 and
1891, read Huntoon (2022). You can get the article via the Society of Paper Money Collectors website.
Sources
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1863-1928, Certified proofs lifted from large-size U.S. currency printing plates: National
Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1990, Series of 1897 $5 silver certificate unfinished master face die souvenir card: 1890?s an
American Renaissance series, FUN 1990, Tampa, FL
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 2002a, Souvenir card, Series 1899 Treasury note $1 face, Florida United Numismatists, Orland,
FL, January 2002.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 2002b, Souvenir card, Series 1899 Treasury note $1 back, Texas Numismatic Association, Fort
Worth, TX, May 2002.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 2002c, Souvenir card, Series 1899 Treasury note $2 face, American Numismatic Association,
New York, NY, July-August 2002.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 2002d, Souvenir card, Series 1899 Treasury note $2 back: Long Beach Coin & Collectables
Show, Long Beach, CA, September 2002.
Carlisle, John G., 1894, Gold and silver in the Treasury of the United States, and circulation of silver & silver certificates (chart
with month-end totals including insets for imports and exports of gold and silver, June 1878 through May 1894); in, Annual
Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the state of the finances: Government Printing Office, 992 p.
Hesler, Gene, 1979, U.S. essay, proof and specimen notes: BNR Press, Port Clinton, OH, `262 p.
Huntoon, Peter, May-Jun, 2022, The origin and demise of the Treasury notes of 1890 & 1891: Paper Money, v. 61, p. 86-106.
United States Statutes, July 12, 1882,An Act to enable national banking associations to extend their corporate existence, and for
other purposes: Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
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United States Statutes, July 14, 1890, Sherman Silver Purchase Act: An Act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue
of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes: Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
United States Statutes, November 1, 1893, An Act to repeal a part of an act approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety,
entitled ?An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of notes thereon, and for other purposes?:
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
United States Statutes, March 14, 1900, Gold Standard Act; An Act to define and fix the standard of value, to maintain the parity
of all forms of money issued or coined by the United States, to refund the public debt, and for other purposes:
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
New High $2 Series of 1928C Mule Serial Number Discovery
Peter Huntoon
Small size U.S. variety collectors Derek Higgins and Larry Thomas compete with each other to
find $2 Series of 1928 notes that extend the reported serial number ranges for all the varieties in that popular
series.
Derek, within the last year, has outdone himself by extending the range for the very scarce 1928C
mule variety by buying or spotting three successive highs; specifically, C03473448A, C03716665A and
now C04103686A over the previous high of C02892104A reported back in 2020. He found the latest?
C04102686A J176/289?on the ExecutiveCoin.com website in February 2024.
Larry brought in a new low 1928A Woods-Mellon, new high 1928C Julian-Morgenthau star, and
new high 1928E Julian-Vinson during the same period.
These two have contributed more on the $2 1928 notes in the last couple of years than has come in
during the previous three decades. Send your reports to peterhuntoon@outlook.com
The serial number on this Series of 1928C mule printed in early 1940 is now
the highest reported for this scarce e variety. Executive Coin Co. photo. Table 1. Reported serial number ranges for the $2 LT Series of 1928 varieties.
S ri s Treas.-Sec'ry First or Low Delivered Last or High Delivered First or Low Last or High
1928 T te-Mellon A00000001A Apr 24, 1929 A96520744A 1933 *00000001A *00688584A
9 8A Woods-Mellon A50969839A 1930 B08965670A 1934 *00732343A *01055383A
1 28B Woods-Mills A86398443A 1933 B09004381A 1934 *00942054A *01053286A
1928C Julian-Morganthau B09008001A Jun 15, 1934 C25426677A 1941 *01062930A *02049788A
1928C mule Julian-Morganthau B97675354A 1939 C04103686A 1940 none reported
1928D mule Julian-Morganthau B86933784A 1939 D08430054A 1944 *01875119A *02619482A
1928D Julian-Morganthau B97269954A 1939 D35923578A 1946 *01972969A *03215773A
1928E Julian-Vinson D29712001A Feb 25, 1946 D40156288A 1947 *03212775A *03227372A
1928F Julian-Snyder D36192001A Sep 25, 1946 D82673798A 1950 *03236520A *03644508A
1928G Clark-Snyder D78552001A Jan 16, 1950 E30760000A May 6, 1953 *03648001A *04152000A
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Fr. 379a $1,000 1890 T.N.
Grand Watermelon
Sold for
$1,092,500
Fr. 183c $500 1863 L.T.
Sold for
$621,000
Fr. 328 $50 1880 S.C.
Sold for
$287,500 Lyn Knight
Currency Auctions
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Company in United
States Currency
Money Used in the Japanese-American Internment Camps of World War II
By Katherine Ameku1, Momo McCloskey Feller2, Ray Feller2,3, and Steve Feller1
Part I (Part II and references in Sep/Oct Issue)
Why the Camps Came to Be
Anti-Japanese racism existed in the United States from the start of Japanese immigration in the late 1800s.
Japanese immigrants were not allowed to become citizens, although their children were protected by the 14th
Amendment and were born as US citizens (Kashima, 2003). However, even these US citizens--over 100,000 Japanese
Americans--were subject to imprisonment in Japanese American camps during World War II.
The Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. War was declared the next day.
Only two months later, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued the now-infamous Executive
Order 9066 (US National Archives, see Figure 1). This required the forced evacuation of anyone of Japanese
ancestry--including United States citizens-- from a ?Western exclusion zone.? Figure 2 shows the military order
that put the relocation into action based on Executive Order 9066. Men, women, children, and the elderly were sent
first to short-term ?assembly centers? (located in temporary settings like fairgrounds and racetracks) and then to
relocation camps in the interior (read: middle of nowhere) of the United States. Those people who had aroused more
specific suspicion were sometimes placed in a third type of camp, run by the Justice Department or US Army
(US National Park Service).
1Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA. 2 Jamaica Plain, MA. 3 MIT, Cambridge, MA
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Figure 1: President Franklin Roosevelt?s Executive Order 9066 (National Archives).
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Figure 2: Instructions for implementing Executive Order 9066 (National Archives).
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Figure 3: Map of Japanese-American centers of internment during World War II (image from the National Park Service)
Numismatic Items from the Camps
Little has been written on the numismatic remainders of the assembly centers or from the ten relocation centers
established inland for the evacuees. The present research has uncovered numerous numismatic items from these
camps. We have utilized camp newspapers, memoirs, yearbooks from camp high schools, scrapbooks, film footage,
and official reports. We have also had the opportunity to visit some of the camp sites in person. From these sources,
we have begun to piece together the numismatic story of the Japanese American internment camps.
The internees were able to use US paper currency and coins. They also had bank accounts both back home and
in the camps. There were also other forms of money and other related ephemera in assembly centers and relocation
camps. These included paper scrip, event tickets, clothing and other commodity coupons, tokens, lottery tickets, and
co-op receipts.
Coupon Books
Within weeks of camps opening, numismatic items were being mentioned in the camp newspapers. The most
common were coupon books. Shown below is a newspaper from the Santa Anita (CA) Assembly Center with
headlines about coupon books. Many newspapers in the camps had similar reports. These references make clear that
the coupon books were an essential part of the camp economy. A coupon book is shown from the WCCA with one
attached coupon. To redeem coupons for goods, prisoners would have to present the coupon booklet with the coupon
attached. Goods were not exchanged if the coupon was loose. This prevented bartering for goods in the camps and is
the same model as many POW camps in the United States (see Seeley and Frank, 2019).
Although the references to coupon books are frequent, surviving examples are quite limited. This is likely
because the internees were encouraged to use their coupons before leaving. As one article from the Fresno Grapevine
reported on June 6, 1942: ??Coupon books are not re-imburseable [sic] in cash at the time evacuees are transferred to
other relocation center [sic],? states E.P. Pulliam. He also suggests that everyone expend their coupon books at the
center store since the same are not negotiable at the War Relocation Centers.? (See Figure 5) Given that the inmates
had to purchase coupon books in Fresno, likely the incentive was even higher to use them up.
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Figure 4: The Santa Anita Pacemaker of July 4, 1942.
The play on words indicates the racetrack origin of this assembly center (Densho).
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Figure 5: Fresno Grapevine, June 6, 1942, encouraging internees to use their coupons (Densho).
Figure 6: Coupons being issued at a Japanese Assembly Center (Densho).
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Figure 7: WCCA Center Store chit from a booklet. It was issued in the name of K. Takemoto (Densho).
Cooperatives
Associated Cooperatives of Oakland offered to help the relocation centers in establishing cooperatives. All but
one accepted and established a co-op system (Thompson, 2011). These allowed the prisoners to have more control
over their internal economy and what products were coming into the camps. The co-ops were not limited to stores.
They also included soda fountains, beauty salons, barber shops, shoe repair, photography studios, movie showings a
flower shop, check cashing, and other services (Unrau, 1996). They also produced their own newspapers to keep their
members up to date. The co-ops were very successful--in fact, a year after it opened, the Manzanar co-op was the
SPMC.org * Paper Money * July/Aug 2024 * Whole No. 352
261
second largest consumer co-op in the country (Thompson, 2011). Patrons had to use the same ration books as those
outside the camps, and examples of ration books issued to internees can be found.
Additionally, there are examples of special coupons for the Co-ops, as well as an incentivized receipt system.
Upon arrival at the camp, many internees did not have much more than what was on their back so the need for supplies
was prevalent. Co-op members paid dues that would go to the purchase of the wares at the co-op stores. When Co-
op members purchased supplies at these stores, they received a dividend. These were profit refunds based on the
sales as evidenced by the issued (and saved) receipts (see Figures 11 & 12).
Although Co-ops were introduced by the WRA, they were run by several committees composed of fellow
prisoners who were elected by cooperative members. These places of business accounted for millions of dollars in
sales. For example, the Tule Lake Cooperator issue from October 30, 1943, reported that the previous three months?
total sales and services amounted to $371,351.02.
Figure 8: Co-op voucher from the Jerome Co-op, 1944 (World War II Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee, AR)
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Figure 9: Rohwer Camp usage of Co-op coupons (World War II Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee, AR)
.
Co-op documents and vouchers:
Figure 10: Possibly a membership card for the Manzanar Co-op (image from Densho)
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Figure 11: Patronage receipt from the Manzanar Relocation Camp Co-op (image from the Manzanar National Historic Site)`
Figure 12: Patronage refund receipt from the Manzanar Co-op (image from Densho)
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Figure 13: Canteen in Manzanar; image by Ansel Adams (image from Densho)
Figure 14: Inside an Arkansas Japanese-American Internment Camp Store
(World War II Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee, AR)
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Figure 15: Outside an Arkansas Japanese-American Camp canteen
(World War II Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee, AR)
Other Numismatic Items
Other examples of numismatic items in the camps include tickets for recreational activities, such as baseball
tickets, movie tickets, and tickets to events like a birthday ball. Examples are shown below.
Figure 16: Movie ticket for use at Minidoka War Relocation Camp (Steve Feller Collection).
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Figure 17: Poston Movie Ticket (Image from a scrapbook, courtesy of Densho)
Figure 18: Ticket to a Birthday Ball in Jerome (World War II Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee, AR)
Figure 19: Ticket to baseball games between the US Army at Camp Shelby (Mississippi)
and Japanese American internees from Jerome, AR. The Jerome team won 2 out of 3 games
played in 1943. (California State University, Dominguez Hills, Archives and Special Collections).
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Figure 20: Raffle ticket for Poston III Camp (Image from Densho)
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In God We Trust
on U.S. Currency
AN ACT To provide that all United States currency shall bear the inscription
?In God We Trust?
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That at such time as new dies for the printing of currency are adopted in connection with
the current program of the Treasury Department to increase the capacity of presses utilized by the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the dies shall bear, at such place or places thereon as the Secretary
of the Treasury may determine to be appropriate, the inscription "In God We Trust", and thereafter
this inscription shall appear on all United States currency and coins.
Approved July 11, 1955,
Subsequently, ?In God We Trust? was established as the national motto by a Joint Resolution of
Congress signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 30, 1956.
Release to the public of $1 silver certificates with the motto on their backs took place on
The Paper
Column
Peter Huntoon
Figure 1. The first small size notes to utilize the national motto were $1
Series of 1957 silver certificates printed on new high-speed 32-subject
rotary presses bearing Anderson-Priest treasury signatures. These were
first released to the public on October 1, 1957.
269
October 1, 1957. The notes were $1 Series of 1957, the first U.S. currency printed on 32-subject
rotary presses. This is the history of how this came about.
National Motto on Coins and Paper Money
This section is reproduced verbatim from the U.S. Treasury web site.
The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the
increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P.
Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United
States recognize the Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears
that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary
Chase by Rev. M.R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville (present day Prospect
Park), Pennsylvania, and read:
Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs
of the national finances.
One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the
recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.
You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond
reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past
that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall
have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the
ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its
field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD,
LIBERTY, LAW.
This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would
relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine
protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in
disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.
To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.
As a result, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia,
to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861:
It was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and
devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States. This meant that the mint could
make no changes without the enactment of additional legislation by the Congress. In December
1863, the Director of the Mint submitted designs for new one-cent coin, two-cent coin, and three-
cent coin to Secretary Chase for approval. He proposed that upon the designs either OUR
COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST should appear as a motto on the coins.
In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863, Secretary Chase stated:
I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto
should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that
with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST.
The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation changed the composition
of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Mint Director was
directed to develop the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary. IN GOD WE
TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin.
Another Act of Congress passed on March 3, 1865. It allowed the Mint Director, with the
Secretary?s approval, to place the motto on all gold and silver coins that ?shall admit the inscription
thereon.? Under the Act, the motto was placed on the gold double-eagle coin, the gold eagle coin,
and the gold half-eagle coin. It was also placed on the silver dollar coin, the half-dollar coin and
270
the quarter-dollar coin, and on the nickel three-cent coin beginning in 1866. Later, Congress passed
the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873. It also said that the Secretary ?may cause the motto IN
GOD WE TRUST to be inscribed on such coins as shall admit of such motto.?
The use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted. The motto disappeared from
the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in
1938. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription. Later, the motto was found missing
from the new design of the double-eagle gold coin and the eagle gold coin shortly after they
appeared in 1907. In response to a general demand, Congress ordered it restored, and the Act of
May 18, 1908, made it mandatory on all coins upon which it had previously appeared. IN GOD
WE TRUST was not mandatory on the one-cent coin and five-cent coin. It could be placed on
them by the Secretary or the Mint Director with the Secretary?s approval.
The motto has been in continuous use on one-cent coins since 1909, and on the ten-cent
coin since 1916. It also has appeared on all gold and silver dollar, half-dollar and quarter-dollar
coins struck since July 1, 1908.
President Eisenhower approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress on July 30, 1956
declaring IN GOD WE TRUST as the national motto of the United States. IN GOD WE TRUST
was first used on paper money in 1957, when it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate. The
first paper currency bearing the motto entered circulation on October 1, 1957. The Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP) was converting to the dry intaglio printing process. During this
conversion, it gradually included IN GOD WE TRUST in the back design of all classes and
denominations of currency.
As a part of a comprehensive modernization program the BEP successfully developed and
installed new high-speed rotary intaglio printing presses in 1957. These allowed BEP to print
currency by the dry intaglio process, 32 notes to the sheet. One-dollar silver certificates were the
first denomination printed on the new high-speed presses. They included IN GOD WE TRUST as
part of the reverse design as BEP adopted new dies according to the law. The motto also appeared
on one-dollar silver certificates of the 1957-A and 1957-B series.
BEP prints United States paper currency by an intaglio process from engraved plates. It
was necessary, therefore, to engrave the motto into the printing plates as a part of the basic
engraved design to give it the prominence it deserved.
One-dollar silver certificates series 1935, 1935-A, 1935-B, 1935-C, 1935-D, 1935-E, 1935-
F, 1935-G, and 1935-H were all printed on the older flat-bed presses by the wet intaglio process.
P.L. 84-140 recognized that an enormous expense would be associated with immediately replacing
the costly printing plates. The law allowed BEP to gradually convert to the inclusion of IN GOD
Figure 2. The first use of ?In God
We Trust? on coins was in 1864 on
the 2 cent pieces.
271
WE TRUST on the currency. Accordingly, the motto is not found on series 1935-E and 1935-F
one-dollar notes. By September 1961, IN GOD WE TRUST had been added to the back design of
the Series 1935-G notes. Some early printings of this series do not bear the motto. IN GOD WE
TRUST appears on all series 1935-H one-dollar silver certificates.
Below is a listing by denomination of the first production and delivery dates for currency
bearing IN GOD WE TRUST:
Production Delivery
$1 FRN Feb 12, 1964 Mar 11, 1964
$5 LT Jan 23, 1964 Mar 2, 1964
$5 FRN Jul 31, 1964 Sep 16, 1964
$10 FRN Feb 24, 1964 Apr 24, 1964
$20 FRN Oct 7, 1964 Oct 7, 1964
$50 FRN Aug 24, 1966 Sep 28, 1966
$100 FRN Aug 18, 1966 Sep 27, 1966
Origin of the Motto on Paper Money
The impetus for getting the motto on U.S.
paper money resulted from a campaign orchestrated
by Matthew H. Rothert, a Christian Scientist, coin
collector, and founder of the Camden Furniture
Company of Camden, Arkansas. Rothert eventually
became president of the American Numismatic
Association from 1965 to 1967,
The following is abstracted from the ?In God
We Trust? web site, that illustrated key documents
from Rothert?s crusade.
Rothert floated the idea while president of the
Arkansas Numismatic Society at a quarterly meeting
in Mountain Home, Arkansas, on November 1, 1953.
He then wrote Secretary of the Treasury George
Humphrey on November 25, 1953 suggesting the
idea, followed by a letter to President Eisenhower
five days later. Rothert received a reply from Edward
F. Bartelt, Financial Assistant Secretary, dated
February 3, 1954, in which Bartelt stated:
As you know, provision was made by law in 1865 for placing this motto [In God We Trust] on
coins. Another act providing for the inscription became law in 1908. During debate on the 1908
measure, the suggestion was made that the motto be placed on currency, but no action was taken
on this point. From the record of this legislation, which has been reached that a clear precedent
was set for Congressional action in such a matter, and that Secretary of the Treasury should not
undertake to act individually.
Rothert persisted with a publicity campaign and petition drive, and worked with the
Arkansas congressional delegation, until bills supporting inclusion of the motto were introduced
into the Senate by Democrat J. William Fullbright of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Banking
Figure 3. Matthew H. Rothert. American
Numismatic Association photo.
272
Currency Committee, and into the House of Representatives by
Charles T. Bennett of Florida and Oren Harris of Arkansas.
When the bill seemed destined to die in committee,
Rothert learned that Senator Almer S. ?Mike? Monroney, of
Oklahoma, had been named chairman of the subcommittee
handling the bill. Rothert recalled: ?When I contacted my old
friend and former furniture dealer Senator Monroney, he assured
me he would bring the bill up for passage.? Several amendments
were offered to make the bill unacceptable, but these were voted
down.
More Background
The history of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
(1962, p. 176-178) adds valuable in-depth details.
In addition to coins, the motto appeared first on the new 8-
cent ordinary postage stamp released on April 9, 1954, followed
by the 3-cent denomination on June 21st. The timing of these
issues and Rothert?s campaign was not a coincidence.
The BEP account contains a choice Lincoln quote recorded by Ward Hill Lamon (1895),
Lincoln?s confidant and self-appointed bodyguard. Lincoln was then presiding over a virtually
empty treasury, so when presented with the idea of putting the motto on greenbacks, he replied:
?if you are going to put a motto on the greenbacks, I would suggest that of Peter and John: ?Silver
and gold we have not, but what we have we?ll give you.??
When Representative Charles Bennett first introduced his legislation in the House on
January 5, 1955, his bill required that the motto should appear on all currency within six months
of enactment. In answer to a request for comment from the office of the Secretary of the Treasury,
BEP Director Alvin Hall advised that the motto could most easily be incorporated on new dies-
being prepared for the high-speed 32-subject rotary presses being contemplated.
Secretary of the Treasury George Humphrey pointed out that specific legislation was not
required for currency design changes, because the Secretary was empowered by the then existing
laws to issue paper money in such form as he deemed suitable. Thus Humphrey, with the approval
of President Eisenhower, authorized addition of the motto on currency printed from the coming
32-subject plates.
Furthermore, the Secretary pointed out that imposition of a 6-month deadline for adopting
the motto would incur substantial additional costs because the existing inventory of plates would
have to be scrapped. The Secretary proposed that the bill be amended to read:
That as such time as new dies for the printing of currency are adopted in connection with the
current program of the Treasury Department to increase the capacity of presses utilized by the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the dies shall bear, at such place or places thereon as the
Secretary of the Treasury may determine to be appropriate, the inscription ?In God We Trust.?
This language was substituted by Bennett with the additional proviso ?and thereafter this
inscription shall appear on all United States currency and coins.?
This form of the bill was passed unanimously by the House and Senate respectively on
June 7 and June 29, 1955, and signed into law by Eisenhower July 11, 1955. Although use of the
motto already was in the works at the Bureau, the legislation unambiguously required its use on
all of the nation?s money as soon as practical.
Figure 4. The first use of ?In
God We Trust? on a postage
stamp was this 8-cent stamp
released on April 9, 1954.
273
274
Figure 5. Models of uniform backs that exhibit ?In God We Trust? inserts. The models were approved
March 15, 1956. National Numismatic Collection photos.
275
Figure 6. Top note: last Series of 1935G no-motto note delivered. Bottom note: first Series of 1935G
note with motto, The missing 1,001 serial numbers from this sequence were replaced by star notes.
276
Shown on Figure 5 are
models with the motto for
uniform back that were approved
March 15, 1956. These are now
housed in the National
Numismatic Collection, Museum
of American History,
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, DC.
Series of 1957 $1s
The BEP installed new
high-speed rotary intaglio
printing presses in 1957 that
allowed currency to be printed on
dry paper using newly developed
non-offset inks. One major
advantage of the dry method was
that paper shrinkage no longer
was a factor so plate size was
increased from 18- to 32-
subjects.
The first 32-subject
production consisted of $1 Series
of 1957 silver certificates that
went to press in July 1957, with
first deliveries to the Treasury on
September 9, 1957 for release to
the public October 1st. They
included IN GOD WE TRUST as part of the back design in accord with the Act of July 11, 1955.
Series of 1935 $1s
The other classes and denominations of currency including the $1 Series of 1935 silver
certificates were printed on flatbed presses using wetted paper. The Act of July 11, 1955
recognized that an enormous expense would be associated with immediately replacing the existing
costly printing plates used on the flatbed presses. Thus, the law permitted the BEP to gradually
include In God We Trust as production moved to the high-speed rotary presses. The first 32-subject
production for the other classes and denominations were launched as Series of 1963 notes.
The output of the rotary presses was insufficient to meet $1 demand so Series of 1935 silver
certificates without the motto continued to be printed on 18-subject flatbed presses. The Series of
1935F was current when Series of 1957 production began so 1935F and later 1935G notes were
produced without the motto.
Of course, the religious right, fanned by the press, claimed the missing motto on the 1935
series notes was the result of an atheistic conspiracy within the government, so they showered the
White House, Congress, Treasury and BEP with more than a thousand complaints, many being
Figure 7. AIn God We Trust@ was incorporated in the state
seal of Florida, first used in 1874 on Original Series National
Bank Notse. These National Bank Notes sported the first use
of the motto on U.S. currency through this happenstance.
277
lengthy petitions from religious, civic and veterans? organizations.
To quell the unrest, all the Series of 1935 $1 silver certificates began to be printed with the
motto mid-series in the Series of 1935G beginning on September 15, 1961. The changeover was
abrupt beginning with serial D48960001J. That note is illustrated on Figure 6.
The motto followed on other denominations and classes of currency as 32-subject plates
for those issues came on line. Those notes first appeared bearing a series date of 1963.
First Historic Use of the Motto
The first use of the national motto on U.S. paper money occurred with the issuance of
Original Series national bank notes from The First National Bank of Florida, Jacksonville, charter
2174, beginning in 1874. The motto happened to be incorporated into the Florida state seal, which
appeared on the backs of those notes. The first shipment of notes to the Jacksonville bank consisted
of 675 sheets of the Original Series 10-10-10-10 combination sent to the bank from the
Comptroller of the Currency?s office September 5, 1874.
The Florida seal saw continued use on the ensuing Series of 1875 and 1882 brown back
issues from the Jacksonville bank and several younger Florida national banks. It continued to
appear on Florida national bank notes in those series through mid-1908.
Similarly, the backs of the $5 Series of 1886 silver certificates carry an illustration of five
silver dollars, four of which are reverses, so parts of the motto show on them. The motto does not
appear on any of the gold coins on the backs of national gold bank notes.
References Cited and Sources of Data
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1962, History of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1862-1962: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 199 p.
?In God We Trust? on our currency web site:
http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/martin/indepth.htm [now obsolete]
Lamon, Ward Hill, 1895, Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1865: (reprint 1994) University of Nebraska Press,
392 p.
U.S. Statutes, Acts of July 11, 1955 and July 30, 1956 pertaining to the national motto: Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC,
U.S. Treasury Department web site: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml
[now obsolete]
Figure 8. ?In God We Trust? occurs on the backs of the silver dollars pictured on the
banks of the $5 Series of 1886 silver certificates.
278
THE KIRTLAND SAFETY SOCIETY BANK CEREMONIAL
BANK FIRST SIGNINGS
by Douglas A. Nyholm with additional research by Dave Hur
PART 1 HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF THE BANK
There has been quite a lot written regarding Kirtland Safety Society Banknotes. They were first issued in
Kirtland Ohio in early January of 1837 and later reissued in Salt Lake City Utah in 1849 after the Saints immigrated
west from Kirtland and other points east. The banking industry in 1837 had hundreds of banks operating individually,
some with currency issued which generally circulated in their immediate area. Many of these banks did not have a
legal charter and the value of their currency varied greatly. It was a real problem when any transfer of specie from
one institution to another was needed. This situation went from bad to worse in 1837 when the nation went into what
was called ?The Panic of 1837.? This downturn in the economy began in New York and rapidly spread to hundreds
of banks nationwide.
The Kirtland bank was formed in 1837, which was probably the worst time in our nation?s history to open a new
bank. The Kirtland bank was not intended to be a regional banking powerhouse but to function as a service to the
many Mormons who had settled in the Kirtland area. It?s circulating Kirtland banknotes were meant to operate as a
medium of exchange only within the immediate community. The Prophet, Joseph Smith Jr., urged the members of
the Church to invest in the bank hoping that it would be successful, and its currency would generally be accepted as
a known commodity and specific value. Unfortunately, the bank was doomed before it ever got off the ground.
PART 2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH
There has been much research regarding the Kirtland Bank, many books, articles, and studies both regarding the
beginning and failure of the bank have been written. In my book ?Mormon Currency 1837-1937? written in 2010 I
performed extensive research into the currency of the Kirtland bank along with many other Mormon scrip and coinage
issues. The collectability of Kirtland banknotes has always been popular due to the people and signatures associated
with the banknotes and Mormon history. In the groundbreaking book written in 1984 by Alvin Rust, which was the
inspiration for my book, Alvin did extensive research into Kirtland banknotes and as with many numismatic
researchers he attempted to devise an emission sequence for the notes themselves. He was never able to achieve this
goal. During my research I created a list of all known Kirtland banknotes which included their serial numbers, date
of issue, signatures, and other details. There are over 500 notes presently in this census. Originally, I was hopeful
that I would be able to understand specifically how they were issued but no pattern emerged from my research either.
Then enter Dave Hur, a local Utah collector also interested in Kirtland banknotes, and he was also unable to de-code
any emission sequence for the notes but came up with the very significant ?First-Signing? ceremony, which he
identified which notes were signed and initiated the banks existence in a special meeting or ceremony. During his
research new evidence was also uncovered regarding the failure of the bank and the fraud that ensued.
Kirtland $10 Banknote. Serial #6.
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PART 3 FUNCTIONALITY / HISTORY / INDIVIDUALS
The two individuals most often
associated with Kirtland banknotes are
Joseph Smith Jr., the Profit and President
of the Church whose signature appears on
the majority of Kirtland banknotes as
cashier. The other individual is Sidney
Rigdon who was Counselor to the Prophet
and signed most Kirtland banknotes as
President of the bank. For the scope of this
article, I will limit the names of people
who were directly associated with the
bank and/or whose signatures appear on the actual notes. This also will be limited to those who were related to the
Kirtland Bank during the period of time that it operated only in Kirtland Ohio during 1837. Many notes were re-
issued later in Salt Lake City in early 1849 and counter-signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Thomas
Bullock.
Other signatures appearing on the Kirtland Banknotes issued in Ohio include the following:
Frederick G. Williams Counselor to the Profit Joseph Smith Jr.
N.K. Whitney Early Bank official sometimes signing as President
W. Parrish Became President of the Bank after Smith and Rigdon severed ties
J. Kingsbury Became Cashier of the Bank after Smith and Rigdon severed ties
PART 4 EMMISION SEQUANCE / SIGNATURES
It has been generally accepted that multiple scribes were responsible for signatures appearing on Kirtland
banknotes. It has also been accepted that Joseph Smith Jr. also signed a number of Kirtland notes. As you can
imagine the Prophet and president of the Church had many responsibilities other than signing tens of thousands of
banknotes thus the use of scribes. Until recently no one had officially confirmed or denied which Kirtland notes
carried his actual signature even though Joseph?s signature is well known and confirmed on other documents.
Recently, Brent Ashworth, a well-known Mormon historian who
collects and sells Mormon documents, historical items,
including Kirtland banknotes, personally authenticated the
Joseph Smith Jr. signature on a $10 note with serial number six.
(This note is pictured on page 1 of this article) This note has
turned out to be one of the key notes in this article. Brent also
recently sold the only partial un-cut sheet of Kirtland banknotes
outside of the Church holdings which had been signed in
preparation for issuance. This original four-subject sheet, which
was missing the top note, was also authenticated to contain
Joseph Smith?s actual signatures. Other un-signed sheets are
known.
As stated, the first attempt to determine an emission
sequence was attempted by Alvin Rust in 1982 while writing his
book on Mormon currency. Alvin spent considerable time and
effort in an attempt to determine any logical emission sequence
for Kirtland banknotes but was unable to unravel a pattern. He
felt that this was important in order to understand the daily bank
operations and also help unravel the fraud which later occurred
in the bank later in 1837. Later, Doug Nyholm spent a
significant amount of research beginning with the construction
of a census of Kirtland banknotes but also was met with no
pattern or logical reason how the notes were issued. Each note is dated, signed, and has an applied serial number all
of which were applied by hand. As one can imagine, this hand process, which was applied to thousands of notes and
often penned by multiple individuals and can be problematic in deciphering the correct numbers and dates.
Joseph Smith, Jr.
Sidney Rigdon
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ISSUE DATES TABLE
Date Issued # Date Issued #
Jan 3, 1837 1 Mar 1, 1837 21
Jan 4, 1837 77 Mar 4, 1837 7
Jan 5, 1837 4 Mar 7, 1837 2
Jan 8, 1938 18 Mar 8, 1837 54
Jan 9, 1837 1 Mar 9, 1837 88
Feb 1, 1937 3 Mar 10, 1837 1
Feb 4, 1837 2 Mar 24, 1837 1
Feb 7, 1837 39 Apr 16, 1837 1
Feb 8, 1937 3 May 8, 1837 1
Feb 10, 1837 45 May 9, 1837 2
Feb 11, 1837 1 June 8, 1837 2
Feb 17, 1837 1 July 4, 1837 3
Feb 20, 1837 13 July 20, 1837 1
In order to understand the issuance, one has to begin with the study of how and when the signatures, dates, and
serial numbers were applied. One would initially presume that the notes would be completed and issued with these
fields at the same time or nearly so. This assumption appears to be far from the actual application. On some notes
up to three different colors of ink were used, which I believe that this, and other research tends to indicate that the
completion of the notes may have been days or even weeks apart. This would explain the inability to determine any
logical emission sequence. Why then would these fields be applied at such varying times? There are a couple of
reasons for this. For the note to be authenticated and complete, both signatures, date, and serial number would have
to be present. The authorized signers may not have been present to sign when note(s) were needed. The notes may
very well have been signed in advance, then numbered and/or serialized when needed. At that point their issuance
could be entered into the bank?s ledger. There is also a ?Will Pay To? field which was filled out somewhat in the
same manner as a modern check. Research has not been complete regarding the names in this field, which as it turns
out, may lead to additional information as to how and when some of the notes were issued. This is especially
important regarding the ?First Signing? of Kirtland banknotes as we will see.
PART 5 FIRST SIGNING?S
This brings us to the crux of this article and the research undertaken in an attempt to understand the emission
sequence which led to the meeting or ceremony where the first Kirtland banknotes were officially signed. Other than
these first 14 notes there may never be discovered or even if there was a process by the bank officials to set any kind
of emission standard. The research regarding these initial intended first 14 notes sequentially serialized is quite
interesting and profound. To begin with, in addition to the dates and serial numbers on the notes, was the physical
location of Church President Joseph Smith Jr. and bank President, Sidney Rigdon during early 1837 which shows
that they were both in Kirtland in early January. This was a much more complex factor than anyone before Dave Hur
had attempted to associate with the issuance of Kirtland banknotes. This factor plays directly into how (and when)
the notes were issued and is an integral part in connecting the issuance of the notes and bank operations. (See the
table of issuance dates which also factors in the other signing periods.) As per the existing bank ledger?s which shows
issued notes, the information does coincide with other dates that Joseph Smith Jr. and Sidney Rigdon were physically
present in Kirtland. These dates coincide with the high issuance numbers.
To explain this, one must be familiar with the conditions of the original bank charter. Article 14 states that the
presidency of the bank must be present at the time the banknotes were to be signed and/or prepared for circulation.
It is also stated therein in the last Article of the Charter, (#16) which allows for any other article to be changed or
modified except Article 14.
Article 14 - Requires that the notes of the Society be signed by the President and Cashier. (or scribes in the
presence of the President and/or Cashier)
Article 16 - States that any of these articles, except the 14th, may be altered by two-thirds of the members of
the Society. In this way the Kirtland Safety Society was organized.
281
Therefore, Joseph and Sydney must be present for notes to be signed, but not necessarily be the actual signers.
Enter the use of scribes. The assumption regarding these low authenticated serial number notes is that they were
indeed signed and numbered in a special ceremony. It is also presumed that the actual signatures of Joseph Smith Jr.
and Sidney Rigdon are present on these first notes which have now been authenticated. Previously no Church official
or other person has authenticated these signatures on Kirtland notes until Brent Ashworth. Due to this additional
research, for the first-time authentication has now been completed for the $10 Note #6 stating the Joseph Smith Jr.
did sign this note. The signatures on number 6 note can been compared with other notes #4, #5, #11 and #13 as well
as to other well-known Church signatures on other documents for additional verification regarding the signature.
Regarding other Kirtland notes the accepted rule was that most were completed by scribes. It has been accepted
that Joseph did sign a number of other Kirtland banknotes but his authenticated signatures on these low serial number
notes adds significance for these low serialized and first notes to be issued. It is also significant regarding this group
of low serial number notes to have the actual signature of Joseph Smith Jr. authentication and as you can see from
the layout of these notes it had to be a special event that culminated in the signing. Up to now value of Kirtland
notes has not been affected by the signatures being from scribes but this may change for this series of low serial
numbers with authenticated signatures.
Comparing signatures side by side of notes #5, #11, and #6 shows subtle but significant differences. The
signature of Joseph Smith Jr. is very distinctly different in several ways. There is a front loop to the ?J?, an open top
loop to the ?S? in a leaning low profile, the crossing and style of the ?TH?, the ?v? style ending to ?Jr?, the overall
282
smaller, lower height of the entire signature, etc. Regardless of potential value these comparisons along with the
new research show the ceremonial or first signing took place in Kirtland with Joseph Smith and a number of Church
officials present.
Dave Hur?s research into the ?Will Pay To? issued names is ongoing, but very conclusive for some names &
individuals. Research has shown that the individuals (most likely) present at this ?First Signing? were Joseph Smith
Jr., the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, (including Sidney Rigdon) and The High Council at Kirtland.
This information comes from the Journal of Wilford Woodruff?Journal entry of Jan. 6th, 1837 where he describes
the issuance of the ?first notes?, by Joseph Smith Jr, to a ?Brother Bump in exchange for other notes.? This took
place at the ?printing office?. Bump was not a stockholder but a prominent landowner in Kirtland.
Regarding the completion of these notes the ?Will Pay To? field may have been left incomplete until it was
issued to prevent the notes use in the event it was stolen or utilized for some other unauthorized or fraudulent purpose.
It still doesn't completely explain the timing of the other date and serial number fields. Another possibility concerning
the two signatures required is that the scribe(s) required to apply the signatures could sign a number of notes at one
time during Smith and Rigdon?s presence and then the date and serial number could later be applied. According to
Article 14 the scribe?s signature would have to be completed in the presence of Smith/Rigdon. Then the ?Will Pay
To? field would most likely be the last field completed at the time of issuance or demand at the bank. These factors
could explain the different colors of ink.
We come back to both the uncut sheets which were signed and completed and those which were not. One
signed sheet is pictured in Rusts book of a complete sheet in the Church?s holdings. The second i s a partial sheet
which recently came on the market that is missing the top note and now held in a private collection. These two signed
sheets are very important as they indicate how the notes were numbered sequentially top to bottom and completed
for the most part before the individual notes were cut apart.
UNKNOWN SIGNATURE COMBINATION
283
These sheets make it possible to understand why a specific emission sequence is not possible to deduce as issuing
of notes was completely at random other than the first 14 notes. The problem of determining any issuance sequence
moved instead to a ceremonial ?First Signing.? After considerable research, Dave Hur began to experiment with
other possibilities. Fortunately, he hit on a sequence that was never previously examined by looking at notes with
low serial numbers, and personally examining the uncut sheets. It is known that the #1 serial number was not used
for any different denomination and although many low serial numbered Kirtland notes have been lost through time
there were several known to confirm his new hypothesis. It was then possible to construct a pattern regarding these
low serial numbers and using the known sheet configurations to construct a ceremonial signing. It seemed logical
that if the existing low serial numbers and signed sheets indicate a sequential number pattern then this could apply to
the sheet ($1-$1-$2-$3) beginning with Serial #1. The lowest numbered note was a $3, #4 and it fits as the last note
on the first sheet, and then positioning several un-cut sheets together a pattern began to emerge. Could it be that the
issuance began with the lower denomination sheet such as the $1-$1-$2-$3 sheet would continue with multiple other
sheets with this format and eventually transition to the higher denomination sheets and could this indicate a possible
284
ceremonial signing by Church and bank leaders? The first task was to identify as many low serial numbered notes
known and then try to construct a pattern. This was a daunting task as there are very few low serial numbered notes
which have survived and the search was on. Ultimately enough of these low numbered notes became known whereas
at least one note in each of the sheets identified for the first signing could be identified.
FIRST SIGNINGS TABLE CHART
$1
#1
$20
#5
$5
#7
$20
#11
$1
#2
$10
#6
$5
#8
$10
#12
$2
#3
$5
#9
$3
#4
$10
#10
$50
#13
$100
#14
The numbers in red/bold are those of surviving notes.
At this point in time the following low serial numbers are known:
$3 s/n 4
$20 s/n 5
$10 s/n 6
$5 s/n 7
$20 s/n 11 (Initially thought to be s/n 4)
$50 s/n 13
If one would look at this, there is simply no other possible solution, or reason, why these denominations
contained these serial numbers. However, there is a definite pattern which can only be credited to Dave?s persistence
and ability to solve one of the most complex riddles ever attempted regarding obsolete paper money.
285
SHOW LOW S/N AND THEIR DATES
$3 #4 This is a Jan. 3 Anti-Bank with a unique XXXX through the word bank
$5 #7 Not in Census, verified by the Authenticator, the previous owner. {Brent}
$10 #6 2-20-37 See New Image, HUR2
$20 #5 2-10-37
$20 #11 2-10-37
$50 #13 3-9-37
To revisit the ?Will Pay To? field this comes into play with these low s/n notes and the first signing. One
observation is that Hyrum Smiths name appears on the $10 note with serial #6. As this is Joseph?s brother this
indicates that a group of Church leaders were together and taking part in the ceremonial signing of some of the first
notes? At least Joseph Smith Jr., Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith were together. Further research including
documentation in the ?Church History? volumes and Journal s places this leadership together in Kirtland
between the 2nd and 4th of January 1837?and further research shows that Joseph Smith stated that he led a religious
discussion with the brethren in his office on Jan. 4th, after which business was conducted. The ?office? would refer
to ?His office,? on the 3rd floor office of the Temple. Several of the individuals that would already be present there
are on the early notes. This meeting in Joseph Smiths office is documented by Joseph Smith?s Journal entry where
the afore mentioned First Presidency attendees included Hyrum Smith (note #6) Carter (note #5) who was President
of the High Council in Kirtland, Orson Pratt (note #4) and others.
PART 6 UNCUT SHEETS
The surviving uncut sheets have played an important part in piecing together the First Signing of the Kirtland
banknotes. Most uncut sheets are unsigned and un-numbered but at least two have survived, one in the Church
archives and one in private hands. All possible original sheet configurations are known to exist which is helpful,
including the two completed sheets previously mentioned. These two indicate the manner that the notes were
numbered, from the top down prior to cut apart. It is important that all four surviving sheet configurations have
survived. These include: $1-$1-$2-$3; $5-$5-$5-$10; $20-$50; $50-$100.
286
PART 7 FAILURE AND FRAUD
The Kirtland bank ledgers were a good source of information especially when the fraud began occurring in late March
of 1837. These ledgers would record credits on one side and debits on the other side. When notes were returned to the
bank, they were either credited or debited to a particular account. Multiple pages are missing today which are most likely
attributed to Warren Parish?s fraud attempts.
Fraud and land speculation was rampant and was rife within the Kirtland area involving the Kirtland bank. Warren
Parrish was guilty of committing fraud and was using the Kirtland bank as his personal source of funding for his land
purchases. He would take redeemed notes from the bank and pass them as good currency as soon as they came in. He would
do this multiple times for land purchases if he could and pass the banknotes to the unsuspecting recipient. The banks finances
and fraudulent funds being used by Parrish began to unravel rapidly and the lawsuits against the bank began to mount. There
were almost a dozen lawsuits filed against the bank naming president, Joseph Smith Jr. as the plaintiff. A $1000 bond was
posted and forfeited after Smith failed to appear for one of the lawsuits. Joseph Smith Jr. was not in town to appear for the
other court appearances. Historical documents have shown that W. Parrish admitted to embezzling over $20,000, and there
was strong evidence that he took much more, according to George A. Smith, Acting as Auditor for the Prophet, the Journal
of Wilford Woodruff, and the history of Heber C. Kimball. George A. Smith accused him of taking over $100,000.
It is interesting to note that Smith?s and Rigdon?s signatures also appear on notes issued and dated well after the Banks
closure. The fact that these signatures appear after closure, and that Joseph Smith in court proceedings specifically denied
the authorization of these notes ? would indicate willful fraud and deceit by (at least) Warren Parrish, who continued to
operate the Bank months after the official closing on June 20th. The signatures would have been fraudulently applied to
lend credibility to the notes. Officially the bank closed on June 20, 1837, but any solvent operations realistically did not
occur after the end of March.
This gets more complicated as there are eight known signature combinations with a ninth one which cannot be traced
to any individuals. This note is almost certainly fraudulent.
Regarding the eight combinations, only three had neither Smith?s nor Rigdon?s signatures. It is also interesting to note
that Smith?s and Rigdon?s signatures also appear on notes issued and dated well after the bank?s closure. It is also likely
that these signatures were forged after the closure and actual failure of the bank as Joseph Smith?s in court proceedings,
specifically denied any further authorization of Kirtland notes.
Even though the bank failed, and many investors and individuals were defrauded, the bad debts were corrected decades
later by the Church when it was operating from Salt Lake City. [See Warren Cowdery Journal for reparation efforts from
Nauvoo, IL, late 1843, 5 years removed] All previously defrauded individuals were paid in full.
It is interesting that even though the Kirtland bank failed almost upon its onset during its beginning in 1837 its notes
were re-issued, counter-signed, and circulated in 1849 in Salt Lake City. These notes were backed by gold deposited in the
Church from miners returning from California during the gold rush. Joseph Smith?s prophecy would be fulfilled, stating
that the notes would someday be ?As Good as Gold.?
PART 8 SUMMARY AND
CONCLUSIONS
Trying to decode the operations of
the Kirtland Bank, or for that matter any
obsolete bank that operated over 150
years ago is almost impossible. Due to
the extensive research and Church
records that have survived regarding the
Kirtland Safety Society Bank is certainly
helpful, but even with this bank many of
the day-to-day operations were not
recorded. This new research is very compelling as to what very likely happened in early January of 1837 regarding the
probable ceremonial signing of the first few sheets of currency to be issued by the bank. It if very fortunate that there is at
least one surviving note from each sheet in order to produce an image of what was probably lying on the table at this meeting
and would be initiated and signed by those leaders and officers in attendance.
In regard to the emission sequence regarding which is probably the case with most obsolete banks of the period, a
similar problem probably exists. These banks did not really care or take note of how their banknotes were issued or tracked
and many were probably defunct before anything could be tracked anyhow. Research, both past and present, into the much-
documented Kirtland bank probably gives us some idea of just how the operations of these early banks was done.
Although this new research cannot be inequivalently proven as to what happened it is certainly compelling evidence
and a masterful bit of sleuthing by Dave Hur.
287
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NEW FRACTIONAL DISCOVERY ? SECOND ISSUE 25? (Fr. 1286a)
SLATE BACK WITH AN INVERTED BRONZE ?S? SURCHARGE
By Rick Melamed
It is surprising that 160 years after they were produced, new varieties of Fractional notes still surface.
In this case, a rare Fr. 1286a slate back second issue 25? note with an inverted ?S? bronze surcharge has
publicly surfaced. It is an exciting new discovery and has created quite a buzz among Fractional collectors
since the inverted ?S? variety has only been observed on the purple back.
Before we dive into the new discovery, we will present a short description of the second issue 25?
Fractional varieties. They are based on paper type and the reverse corner surcharges (the Treasury used
them as an anti-counterfeiting measure):
2nd Issue 25? Fractionals by Friedberg Number (Regular Issue):
Fr. 1283 (Plain paper, no corner surcharge)
Fr. 1284 (Plain paper, ?18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1285 (Plain paper, ?A-18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1286 (Plain paper, ?S-18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1286 ? Milton #2R25.3g (Plain paper, inverted ?S? surcharge)
Fr. 1286a (Plain paper - Slate back, ?S-18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1286a (Plain paper - Slate back, inverted ?S? surcharge) ? New Discovery
Fr. 1288 (Plain paper, ?2-18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1289 (Fiber paper, ?T-1-18-63? surcharge)
Fr. 1290 (Fiber paper, ?T-2-18-63? surcharge)
Almost all the 2nd issue 25? Fractionals have a purple back. Though they were made in various shades
of purple due to inconsistent dye mixing, they do not warrant their own Friedberg number (see ?Color
Variation on the 2nd Issue 25? Fractionals? in Paper Money Nov/Dec 2022 ? Whole #342). However, there
are about three dozen of the Fr. 1286?s with the ?S-18-63? reverse corner surcharge that have a slate back,
devoid of any purple, and have garnered their own Friedberg number ? Fr. 1286a.
Left/Center: Fr. 1286 Face/Back - Regular Purple Back with ?S-18-63? Bronze Corner Surcharge.
Far right: Fr. 1286a ? with slate back with ?S-18-63? Bronze Corner Surcharge. Note the Olde English font
on the corner surcharges.
Printing on the second issue 25? note was a 3-part process. Part 1 was the face design, part 2 was the
back design; and part 3 was the application of bronze surcharges on the front (large bronze oval around
Washington?s portrait), and a large bronze ?25? on the back. On all but the
Fr. 1283, bronze corner surcharges were added. On a handful of the Fr. 1286 Fractionals (with the ?S-18-
63? S/C) the ?S? was inverted creating an interesting error. Milton Fridberg catalogued it as 2R25.3g in his
comprehensive reference, The Encyclopedia of United States Fractional and Postage Currency. On the
regular Olde English ?S? font, the decorative loop is at its normal position - on the bottom; on the inverted
?S? variety, the loop is on the top. The inverted ?S? error variety is rare, maybe two dozen are known.
289
Now for the new discovery Fractional. Up until the Heritage auction on May 19, 2024, all the Fr.
1286a errors known were on the purple back. In the May 19, 2024, auction, Heritage had a couple hundred
quality Fractionals for sale. Lot #95075 was a second Fr. 1286a graded PMG58EPQ and sold for $1,560.
However, this one was special ? something never cataloged before.
The Fr. 1286a had an inverted ?S?, the first ever recorded on a slate
back. The consignor, Heritage and PMG missed the inverted ?S?. It is
understandable that it was overlooked since the ?S? is very small and
easy to miss unless one is looking for it.
Left/Center: Front/back of an Fr. 1286a slate back Fractional with the inverted ?S?.
Right: Enlarged inverted ?S? from the back of the Fr. 1286a ? note the loop on the top.
For the sake of completeness, their also exists a second issue 25? Experimental with an inverted ?S?.
The Experimentals use the same surcharge as the regular issue Fractionals, resulting in an identical error:
Left/Center: Milton 2E25F.2 ? 25? Experimental with regular ?S? corner surcharge.
Right: Very rare, back of a 25? Experimental with an inverted ?S? surcharge (Milton 2E25F.6f).
This is an important regular issue discovery note, the only example known, and is sure to motivate
collectors to see if their Fr. 1286a might contain the inverted ?S? variety. To that end, looking through the
Lyn Knight, Heritage and Stacks/Bowers auction archives, no similar examples could be found. This new
discovery note has clearly earned its own Milton number.
Thanks to former Fractional Currency Collector Board (FCCB) president, Mike Marchioni, for finding
this exciting and landmark discovery and to Bob Laub. Also, thanks to Heritage for the images contained
in the article.
290
U N C O U P L E D :
PAPER MONEY?S
ODD COUPLE
Joseph E. Boling Fred Schwan
Patriotic Aviation bonds - 1941
This issue I have a piece of collateral material
related to a WWII bond series. The next two
paragraphs are lifted with edits from Schwan-Boling,
World War II Remembered.
Patriotic Aviation bonds are probably the most
popular of the Chinese war bonds among collectors
because of the airplane vignette thereon (a Boeing P-
26, nicknamed the Peashooter). These bonds were
issued in 1941 to raise US$50,000,000 to purchase
aircraft for the nationalist air force (advised by US
aviator Claire Chennault). They were bearer bonds
without coupons and were issued in US$5, $10, $50,
and $100 denominations. They were to be repaid
within five years after the end of the war in an order
determined by lottery. There is no mention of interest
on the bonds; perhaps they were called ?patriotic?
because buyers patriotically gave up their money for a
decade for the sake of the air force. Figure 1 shows a
$10 bond; it and the $5 are 4.5" by 7.5"; the high
denominations are larger.
Boling continued page 294
MPC Fest?25 years!!
We have mentioned MPCFest a few times here in
Paper Money. It has been more than a few times, but
now seems to be an appropriate time for a more detailed
report since we have just celebrated the 25th
anniversary of the first Fest.?
I think that I can
justifiably say that the Fest is
an event unlike any other. I can
also state that it was my idea.
Although it was my idea, most
of the important innovations
that have developed were not
my ideas. The Fest seed
germinated in 1999 on a phone call with Harold Kroll.
I confessed my idea to him of having an event
celebrating MPC and MPC collecting. Harold said that
if I held it, he would attend!
It did not take any more encouragement. Twelve
Festers met at a motel in Port Clinton, Ohio for a
weekend of MPC tales and even a few transactions. Part
of the reason for calling the event a fest was to avoid the
idea that the event was like a traditional ?show.?
The basic idea was that Festers would pay a
registration fee that included hotel room and meals for
the entire weekend. Larry Smulczenski and I were
working hard on the fourth edition of the MPC catalog
(Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment
Certificates). We had recently concluded a research trip
to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. There we had
solved the mysteries of multiple printings for MPC.
Well, we had solved at least most of the mysteries. We
presented the result of our research to the Festers.
Now collectors eagerly seek MPC from as many as
four printings of regular and replacement issues for a
given series. That presentation was just the first of many
landmark discoveries presented at MPCFests.
Fig. 1
291
Intertwined with the history of MPCFest is the
electronic newsletter MPCGram. The Gram started
out as an irregular publication. It quickly developed
into a daily message from headquarters. Now twenty-
five years later it has settled down as a (more or less)
weekly publication. Most issues include a lead news
or feature story, an editorial, and letters to the editor.
Because of the Fest, Gail Baker, then in charge of
education at the American Numismatic Association,
invited us (mostly Joe and me) to teach a class on
military numismatics at the ANA summer seminar.
Wow, I thought, that was a wonderful idea?we
instantly accepted the invitation. Then reality set in. It
was flattering to be invited, but it would be
embarrassing if the class had to be cancelled for lack
of students. That led to my next idea. We, the greater
military numismatic community, could (should) offer
scholarships to the seminar! While that was my idea,
the important idea was Larry Smulczenski?s. He
suggested that as part of the MPCFest we should hold
a charity auction to fund the scholarships. Now that
was a great idea!
Larry organized the first Fest scholarship auction
for Fest II and ran the next twenty or so auctions.
Those auctions have been the primary source of funds
for more than forty summer seminar scholarships that
the MPC community has funded! Larry retired from
the auctioneer position a few years ago. Dave Frank
has taken over this important position and has done an
equally great job. It is now called the Larry
Smulczenski Scholarship Auction.
Fest attendance at Fest II doubled to twenty-four
and several other innovations were introduced.
Souvenir notes were issued as pay at Fest I. That idea
was expanded at Fest II, where the title ?military fest
certificate? was introduced. Fest-specific challenge
coins were issued for the first time at Fest II. Both
MFC and challenge coins have been issued at each on-
site Fest since then and both are popular with
Festers?and a few non-Festers too. Building a
complete collection of these items is very difficult if
not impossible.
Larry had the idea to hold a Jeopardy style
knowledge-based game at the Fest. The first year it
was played as a team event. Starting with Fest III it
was organized as a single elimination tournament with
all Festers competing. That first individual tournament
was won by Marcus Turner. The winner of this annual
contest is now recognized as the national champion
military numismatist.
The fourth edition of the Comprehensive Catalog
of Military Payment Certificates was released at Fest
III. That was just the first of many publications that
have been released at the Fest. The fifth edition of the
MPC book is the most recent, in 2024.
From the beginning, I discouraged Festers from
bringing their wives or girlfriends to the Fest (at the
time I did not know any female candidates to attend the
Fest), because I did not want the Festers to be distracted.
Well, as you can imagine, exclusion was not an idea that
lasted very long. At Fest IV Loretta Freyser attended
with her husband Richard because they were driving
through the area. At first Dick hid the fact that Loretta
was stuck in the hotel room! We resolved that
misunderstanding and Loretta became a key?and
keen?Fester.
As much as my original idea for the Fest was to
have the event centered on MPC (and MFC and more),
I must report that romance is not dead at the Fest. Joe
and Louise Boling were re-married at MPC Fest VI and
each year at the Fest we celebrate their anniversary
without regard to the actual date. A few years after the
Boling wedding, Fester Cuneyd Tolek proposed
marriage to Fester Kris Gilmore in front of the
assembled Fest battalion. They recently celebrated their
twelfth anniversary. Now several women perform key
tasks at the Fest, and at least two attend alone because
they are the MPC collector in the family.
David Seelye was an active dealer. He suggested
that we have a bourse as part of the Fest. In the
beginning I had avoided any hint of a bourse because of
the confusion factor. Still, the suggestion had merit. We
developed the idea of a preFest to be held on the Friday
before the Fest! Each Fest formally opens at dinner time
on Friday. We have had a preFest bourse each year
since. It is now known as the Seelye Memorial Bourse
and has been quite successful. Collectors and even a
few dealers come from several states away for a five-
hour bourse and I have obtained some goodies for my
collection at our bourse.
The emphasis in recent years has evolved on
education. Second generation Fester Ray Feller is the
Fest education officer. At the most recent Fest, Ray
Feller brought her two third generation collectors along.
Recent Fests have featured as many as thirty
presentations (we call them staff briefings) on a wide
variety of military numismatic topics.
The education/training highlight is usually the
Saturday afternoon keynote presentation by a Fester or
guest. We were very fortunate to have some spectacular
guests. Len Buckley designed MPC Series 692 and
described the process for Festers. Hans Walter was the
last survivor of Operation Bernhard. He attended three
Fests. He told us amazing details and is sadly missed.
292
Harold Brown was a Tuskegee Airman. He shared
tales of combat and his time as a POW. He signed
many short snorters and copies of his biography (Keep
your Airspeed Up) for Festers. He too is sadly missed.
Michael Schoene is a prominent collector and
numismatic author from Germany. He told us about
growing up in East Germany and his adventures in
collecting World War II money. The champion for
long-distance Fest travel is Greg Hale, who came from
Australia to tell us about Japanese invasion money and
his research thereon. We are always looking for
interesting visitors!
After all of this we get to Fest 2024. I got myself
in a little trouble by calling it Fest XXV. The first Fest
was in 2000. That would make Fest 2024 Fest XXV
except that the Fests for 2020-2022 were canceled due
to Covid. We had two eFests during that time so what
ordinal is Fest 2024? I like to point out that when the
International Olympic Committee cancelled the 1940
and 1944 Olympics because of the war, they counted
the cancelled events. I figured that if it is good enough
for the IOC, it is good enough for us. Not surprisingly,
not everyone agrees. Nearly fifty Festers arrived at
Camp Leo May (aka Holiday Inn Express, Port
Clinton) on 12 April for Fest 2024.
The knowledge competition and presentations
start on Friday evening, but the highlight is the
introduction of the new money and the payment of the
troops (Festers). Fest chief finance officer Harold
Kroll opened the box and introduced Series 241.
Astronomy was the theme of the notes featuring
portraits of great astronomers.
After Fest 2023 we had four living three-time and
retired champions (in order of achieving this, Jim
Downey, Bill Myers, Fred Schwan, and Joe Boling). I
should point out that Neil Shafer too was a retired three-
time champion. Because this was the twenty-fifth
anniversary Fest, we held a GOAT (greatest of all time)
competition.
The preliminary round eliminated two, then the
remaining two met for the title. Sadly, I was eliminated
first and Joe second putting Bill Myers and Jim Downey
in the finals. It looked like a changing of the guard with
the old guys kicked to the side of the road. Jim Downey
went on to earn the title GOAT. I promise to get my
revenge at the 50th anniversary Fest!
On Saturday, training officer Ray Feller led us
through more outstanding presentations. The Bob
Olson award for the most outstanding staff briefing as
determined by vote of the Fest battalion went to Dave
Leong. He is doing research on the paper used for
Operation Bernhard. This research has included
papermaking in the kitchen sink!
The finals of the annual competition (separate
from the GOAT contest) were held on Saturday night.
The final two were Harold Kroll and Larry
Smulczenski. The 2024 national champion is Larry.
The Ray Toy award is presented for outstanding
service or achievement. It is named for legendary
collector Ray Toy, who published five books on World
War II paper money. The award is usually, but not
always, made to a Fester. It is not awarded every year.
The 2024 Ray Toy award for service went to Fester
Dave Frank.
Saturday night features an event that seems quite
out of character with the rest of the Fest. It is the Fest
poker tournament. This is a very low stakes, but high
ego event. The winner receives a Fest poker bracelet
and has their name recorded for history. Ray Feller
among others is a three-time champion. It may not seem
so, but this event is in line with the other educational re-
enactments held at the Fest. Poker was important to
soldiers and it was usually played with the notes that we
study and collect today!
293
As usual, it was a hotly contested event. I made it
to third place-?a spot that I have achieved a time or
two in the past. Second place went to Dick Dunn. The
winner and champion were first-time Fester Roy
Greenwood.
The Smulczenski Charity Auction is held on
Sunday morning. The auction always includes
interesting items, and this year was no exception. It
even generates email and phone bidding! After the
auction was completed, auctioneer Frank and
scholarship chair Kathy Freeland announced that more
than $3000 had been raised for scholarships this year!
(see some lots below).
Some Festers depart after lunch on Sunday. For
those who stay, we generally have a field trip. This
year we visited, as we have several times before, the
Liberty Aviation Museum only about a mile from Camp
May. The special purpose of this visit was to see Clark
Gable?s personal World War II short snorter. Gable was
a celebrity. He signed many short snorters, but he only
had one that now belongs to the museum. It is not on
public display, but the museum agreed to have it
available for us to see and museum chief executive
officer Ed Patrick was our docent. He thrilled us with
many stories of history and acquisitions.
Do you want to attend a Fest or learn more? You
may subscribe to the MPCGram by writing to me at
fredschwan@yahoo.com. You can download a copy of
the 2024 Fest program at
militarypaymentcertificates.us. In due course you can
also download the 2025 program there. I promise to
keep you informed of Fest 2025 as the time gets closer.
Boling continued
Only eleven aircraft were actually received by the
Chinese air force?perhaps not enough patriots were
found or perhaps the money went elsewhere. The $100
bond is quite scarce; the two low denominations appear
regularly. All are nicely lithographed on white paper
without watermark, with each denomination in a
different color. Each has a 43mm embossed seal with
the nationalist government?s 12-pointed sun in the
center. The backs are all black text in a red frame; there
is no imprint.
Now?about that airplane. At last Fall?s Michigan
State show I was rummaging through a box of
miscellaneous paper at Paul Cunningham?s table.
Eventually a QSL card surfaced (figs 2 and 3). Most
such cards (used to confirm an amateur radio contact)
are postal cards. This one is a real-photo card not
configured as a postcard?presumably it was
dispatched in an envelope. The first thing I noticed was
that it originated in Hawaii in territorial days?see the
Fig.?2
294
?T.H.? designation after ?Wheeler Field.? The date of
the radio contact is shown as 26 May 1935. The next
thing I noticed was the small airplane flying over
Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head (fig 4). The
cowling around the engine is distinctive?it?s the same
plane that is on the bonds (fig 5). The paint job is a
little different, but check out the rudder?same decor
there! The only visible difference is the presence of a
radio mast in front of the US pilot.
In those days fighter aircraft were called pursuit
planes?thus the P-26 designation. This was the first
production monoplane in US Army Air Corps service.
It joined the force in 1933. It could muster over
200mph, but before the US was dragged into WWII, it
was already obsolete. Closed-cockpit fighters with
retractable landing gear and better aerodynamics
replaced it. Some did see combat, but not with US
flyers. The ones that China bought fought, but were no
match for the Japanese Zero, and a few were still in
use by the Philippine air service when the Japanese
arrived there. Two Filipino pilots were credited with
aerial victories against Japanese planes.
What looks like gibberish on the card (fig 3) are
abbreviations used by radio operators to describe the
quality and radio frequency of the contact, the
equipment used, and information that would assist in
renewing the contact on another date; and some of it is
in plain text.
I was tickled to find this real-life link between the
Air Corps and numismatics.
Additional credit, accessed 8 June 2024: Bill
Walton https://avgeekery.com/the-peashooter-this-
stubby-little-fighter-was-the-first-of-its-kind/
The following are comments from Fred about the
bonds Joe presented in this issue.
We have a different ancillary item for the aviation
bonds in Remembered. It is a receipt for the purchase of
one or more bonds. The receipt, like the QSL card,
features an image of a P-26. I was very excited to obtain
this item from the Hank Barton collection. Hank was a
World War II veteran and a well-known collector in the
1960s.
He was author with Charles Altz of Foreign Coins
Struck at United States Mints (1964 and 1965). Joe and
I visited Hank sometime in the 1970s or possibly early
1980s. I think that it was when I was visiting Joe while
he lived in the Washington, D.C. area. It was at that
meeting that I first saw the receipt. I cannot remember
if I obtained it from Hank at that time or somehow got
it later from his estate.
It was about that same time that I began lusting for
the $100 aviation bond. It is red, and as Joe mentioned,
very scarce. The four
denominations are blue,
brown, green, and red. For
many years the red
aviation bond was near or
at the top of my personal
want list. In about 2000 I
had a chance to buy a
large WWII collection that
included many bonds, among
them a red $100 aviation bond. I
think that at the time it was the
largest WWII bond collection
ever offered. I put together a trip
to drive to southern California to
buy the collection.
The collector and I spent
half a day going through the
collection. Boxes, albums, and a
few piles of notes, bonds and the
like?good stuff. Anticipation of
seeing, holding, and buying the
red bond built. I resisted asking about the red bond.
After all, I did not want to seem too eager.
When we were finished, and I finally worked up
my offer I had to ask about the object of my desire. He
said that I must have missed it. I said no, but we went
through everything?no red bond. He searched the rest
of the house?no luck. He confirmed that he did indeed
have a red aviation bond in his collection but did not
know what had happened to it. Not only did he never
find it, but I also still have not obtained one.
Fig.?3
???Fig.?4????????????????? ????????Fig.?5
Red Bond above
Receipt for same below
295
During the Spring of each year, the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) announces its choice for ?Bank
Note of the Year.? For 2023, the winner was an Eastern Caribbean $2 note, which commemorates the 40th
anniversary of the founding of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the world?s first modern central bank with
transnational supervisory responsibilities (i.e., it predates the European Central Bank). Each Spring I look forward
to learning who the winner is not just because I?m a member of the IBNS (you should be, too; spread the love!) but
because it?s an award whose announcement gets picked up by the non-numismatic mainstream media, of course
usually in those countries whose currency gets the nod.
Even as I approve of the fanfare surrounding the choice, the premise of the contest has always remained
something of a mystery to me. What exactly makes for a noteworthy note, in terms of beauty, aesthetics,
compositional design, or some other criterion? The IBNS is not the only awards-giving body; the security printing
industry has its own sequence of contests, indeed for multiple categories of banknotes. As it happened, that very
same Eastern Caribbean note also scooped up two other industry awards for features more related to the technical
characteristics of the note (its polymer substrate; its holographic security features, and so forth).
The need to fight counterfeiting does impose some fundamental design constraints on contemporary currency.
All things being equal, design complexity is safer than simplicity. Combined with the embedding of security strips,
transparent windows, and various holographic doodads, the general effect on modern currency almost everywhere
is sheer busyness. The Eastern Caribbean note, for example, has almost no blank space, filled as it is with
specimens of hologram-accented aquatic life, a map of the island chain that comprises the currency?s users, and an
action pose by Sir Vivian Richards, a celebrated cricket player.
Another design constraint is imposed by the functions of money itself. Almost without exception, modern
money is a liability of some political authority. As such, a banknote is at once a legal, political, and economic
document. Its phraseology and iconography need to reflect that. Given the space limitations on a banknote, this
signaling of political authority should be as terse as possible. Personally, as a traditionalist I go for standard
repertoires of national symbolism: major historical public figures; imposing edifices and monuments; official seals;
coats-of-arms; and even impressive military hardware. Although they are obsolete, I?m partial to the dreadnought
HMS Bellerophon on the reverse of Canada?s 1913 $10 note, or the USS New York on the U.S. $2 bill of 1918.
Even so, I?m still sympathetic to more expansive interpretations of national identity. I get that publics expect
the symbols on modern currency to be more representative and inclusive. At some point the United States will
replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman; I only hope that the rendering of Tubman won?t look as dour as
some of the alternatives I?ve seen. I have about as much of a feel for cricket as I do for the sport of curling. Still, Sir
?Viv? was probably a good choice for a banknote, given that the Eastern Caribbean Dollar circulates across six
sovereign countries and two British Overseas Territories (Richards was born in Antigua). Putting a national
political figure on a transnational note would have been inevitably awkward.
In the case of the Eurozone?s banknotes, the problem of who to put on them was solved by not putting anyone
at all, instead opting for the bridges-and-gateways abstractions of European identity. Like the Eastern Caribbean
banknote, the European Union?s currency employs a map to depict the community of its users. At the time of this
writing, elections are ongoing for seats in the European Parliament. Mainstream parties across the continent face a
drubbing from more populist alternatives who nurse grievances that the European Union isn?t responsive to the
needs of its member nations. I feel that the Union lost an opportunity to engage with its restive citizenries by not
humanizing its banknotes? symbolism. Were there simply no historical or even mythical figures that banknote
designers could have argued personified Europe, and which would have offended nobody? Had the French not
already used him on a 1992 banknote, Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry?s ?The Little Prince? would have been for me a
whimsical but plausible choice. Standing for the importance of friendship and for the yearning to return home,
Saint-Exup?ry?s character represents values that speak to all Europeans, if not humanity itself.
Every year the Eurovision Song Contest represents a prominent example of a continent-wide cultural ritual
that expresses Europe?s aspiration to build a common identity. Like the IBNS?s banknote contest, I have no idea
what makes for a winning musical entry. But I think it?s important that contests like these happen, nonetheless.
Chump Change
Loren Gatch
A Noteworthy Note
296
$MALL NOTE$ By Jamie Yakes
$5 S.F. Face 52 C.O.P. Discovered
Derek Higgins has been busy the past few years finding rare stuff. This includes a Series of 1935A $1
silver certificate mule with back plate 4701, and the first Series of 1934A $5 San Francisco note with late-
finished face 52, a star no less.2 This year, he?s done it again?another San Francisco 52 note, but a regular
serial number and one half of a changeover pair (see photo). Higgins snatched the pair on eBay after they
appeared as separate But-it-Now auctions.
A changeover pair
has two notes of different
types with consecutive
serial numbers. They can
involve pairings of
different face or back plate
varieties, or both, such as
different series and
signatures, micro and
macro plate numbers, or
wide and narrow designs.
Changeover pairs were
common among early
small-size production from
twelve-subject intaglio
plates when those plates
included series dates and
treasury signatures.
It was customary for the BEP to mix plates from consecutive series on four-plate printing presses
during sheet printing as they transitioned between types. For instance, one press could have held two 1934
and two 1934A faces. Finished sheets pulled off the press would cycle repeatedly through the four plates?
1934-1934-1934A-1934A, etc.?as they were stacked into piles. When those sheet piles proceeded to serial
numbering, they received consecutive serial numbers that linked the changeovers distributed throughout the
batches. In Higgins?s pair, note the transition from plate positions F to A, indicating his notes are the last and
first notes from consecutive sheets.
Here I?ll discuss how Higgins?s changeover pair was created and how it came to involve 52.
Five-dollar San Francisco face 52 was a late-finished Series of 1934A Federal Reserve Note face3 that
was begun as a 1934 master plate on November 15, 1934. Four years later, in June 1938, it was altered into a
1934A face and used as the master plate for all subsequent San Francisco 1934A faces. Face 52 then sat idle
for over six years until it was finished as a production plate in November 1944. This meant the plate serials
were etched into each of its twelve subjects and the plate was proofed to ensure it passed inspection. It was
immediately placed into service as a production plate for four press runs from then until January 1946.
Face 52 shared press time with other 1934A faces, among them 91. Face 91 was finished in January
1944 and also stayed in use until January 1946. Both faces shared two press runs: the first from April to May
1945, and another from November 1945 to January 1946. Each run involved numerous other faces.
The first run began April 23, 1945, when the BEP sent to press faces 52, 65, and 80-82. On May 7
they dropped 65 and sent 83, 86, 89, and 90. The following day they sent 91 and 92. On May 16 they dropped
80, and two days later dropped 92 and sent 93 and 94. The next day they dropped 81. The run ended May 23
when they pulled all the faces off the presses. For most of that time they had enough plates with spares to run
two presses of four plates.
The second run began six months later, on November 23, when the BEP sent to press faces 52, 82, 83,
86, and 89-93. On December 10, they dropped 93 and sent 144 and 145. Again, they had enough plates to run
297
two presses of four plates. On December 21, they added a third press with faces 111-114. On January 7, 1946,
they added a fourth with faces 94-97. They dropped all the faces on January 23.
The first San Francisco serial number delivered in 1946 was L92372000A, so Higgins?s pair was
numbered and delivered sometime early that year. This indicates the sheet likely came from the second press
run with faces 52 and 91.
Both notes in Higgins?s pair have back plate 1668. It had been finished in July 1944, and was first
sent to press on September 21, 1944, where it remained for a few weeks. The 1668 sheets mated to 52 and 91
came from that time on press.
It?s unusual that both notes have the same back plate. Typically, each note in the pair would have
different back plates, as four were used on a press and the sheet stocks produced from them would?ve
alternated among the different plates. That two successive sheets from 1668 received printings from different
faces suggests for some reason the intervening back sheets were removed prior to face printing.
Sources Cited
1. Huntoon. ?$1 Late-Finished SC Series of 1935A Back Plate 470 Discovery.? Paper Money Whole No. 345 (2023,
May/June): 200.
2. Yakes, Jamie. ?Discovered!?$5 San Francisco LF Face 52 Star.? Paper Money Whole No. 343 (2023, Jan/Feb):
74
3. ???. ?San Francisco Late-Finished Face 52.? Paper Money Whole No. 337 (2022, Jan/Feb): 72.
References
?First Serial Numbers on U.S Small Size Notes Delivered during each year 1928 to 1952.? Prepared by the O&M
Secretary, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, April 1952. BEP Historical Resource Center, Washington,
D.C.
Record Group 318-Bureau of Engraving and Printing: Entry P1, ?Ledgers Pertaining to Plates, Rolls and Dies, 1870s-
1960s,? Containers 43, 144, and 147. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
298
The Obsolete Corner
The City Bank of New Haven
by Robert Gill
As I?m writing this article, we are in the midst of
tornado season here in southern Oklahoma. Within the
last week (early May) terrible storms have created
devastation in the surrounding area where I live. And
that, along with the political scene and all the
demonstrations going on in our country, it?s very easy to
become dejected and frustrated. But there is one thing in
my life that brings me pleasure regardless of the times,
and that?s my love of studying the wonderful world of
paper. So, with that, let?s look at the sheet from my
collection that I?ve chosen to share with you.
In this issue of Paper Money, let?s go to ?The
Constitution State?, and look at The City Bank of New
Haven, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The notes
from this institution are very plentiful and easily
acquired, but they are beautiful examples of the
engravers/printers art.
With the news that two hundred sixty miles of the
Erie Canal had been completed in New York State,
prominent men in New Haven, Connecticut, realized
they could have access to the interior of the country by
building a canal route running North, from the tidewater
at New Haven, to the Massachusetts border and beyond.
This would increase commerce and the importance of
New Haven. As a result, The Farmington Canal
Company, a private enterprise, was chartered in 1822. It
needed to raise $480,698.88 before digging could start,
but it soon became clear that such funding would be
difficult. Company officers optimistically issued stock
at $100 per share, with the prospective stockholders
paying only a portion of this down, the remainder to
follow at intervals specified by the Company. But not
nearly enough stock was sold, and the State of
Connecticut did not want financial involvement in a
private endeavor.
In an effort to increase the subscription and to
encourage public confidence in the canal project, the
Directors of the Canal Company organized three
different banks on the condition that each of them would
subscribe to $200,000 of the stock of the Canal
Company. The second such bank organized was The
City Bank of New Haven, which was incorporated on
May 28th, 1831, and opened on June 25th, 1832. Its
capital was set at $500,000.
The charter also required the Bank to subscribe to
$100,000 in stock of The Hampshire and Hampton
Canal Company, which turned out to be a complete
financial loss. The Bank was also required to give gifts
of $5,000 to The Connecticut Literary Institute of
Suffield, and $1,000 to The Connecticut Historical
Society.
The City Bank of New Haven started out doing
ample business for the first few years of its life. But, in
1836, following a complaint, the General Assembly
appointed a committee to examine the Bank?s dealings,
which was not welcomed with open arms by the Bank.
According to William F. Hasse Jr., in his
publication, A History of Money and Banking in
Connecticut, the report published by order of the
General Assembly in 1837, showed that the Bank had
been loaning money at an alarming rate to people
outside of New Haven. It stated that Mr. Charles
Atwater, the Bank's President, commenced very early
bringing up, from New York at regular intervals, large
parcels of notes for discount, and these with a few or no
exceptions had been discounted by the Bank. Whatever
may have been the state of the money market, the
business of New Haven and its vicinity was treated as of
secondary importance. The Bank Commissioner's
comment was, "This Bank appears to make large loans
abroad, not having sufficient calls for its funds at home,
so stated its officers." The result of the findings of the
committee led to the Legislature's voting to repeal the
Bank charter, but the Governor vetoed the bill.
The Bank originally operated at 8 Exchange Place
on Chapel Street, according to the first City Directory.
In 1849, the Bank purchased the lot on the southeast
corner of Chapel and Orange Streets, and two years later,
its building was erected, into which it moved 4/4/1851.
From then on, The City Bank of New Haven
operated successfully for many years, but the
shareholders never voted to dissolve it and become a
National Bank. It remained as a State Bank into the 20th
Century, and on August 28th, 1915, merged into The
National New Haven Bank.
So, there?s the history that I?ve been able to put
together on this old bank. It?s one that, during its life,
was a great benefit to its locale, which was not the norm
during Obsolete times.
As I always do, I invite comments to my cell phone
(580) 221-0898, or my personal email address
robertdalegill@gmail.com.
So, until next time, I wish you HAPPY
COLLECTING.
299
300
The front of the Type-41 Treasury note 72458 Y endorsed by Major Julian A. Mitchell, CS.
Image: Warren D. Robinson
Maj. Julian Augustus Mitchell, C. S.
his is a banner year for new discoveries, and
Warren Robinson has found a new Major and
Commissary of Subsistence. The National
Archives have only 29 documents for Julian A.
Mitchell in the files for Officers (Fold3.com), but his
history is interesting and the endorsement on the
Treasury note is a perfect match to his signatures on
original National Archives documents.
Background
Julian Augustus Mitchell was born on April
24th, 1836, in Charleston, South Carolina. His father,
Dr. Edward Mitchell (1788-1855) was a medical
doctor in Charleston. He studied law and received his
degree from the College of Charleston in 1855, and
also studied in Germany. Mitchell married Caroline
Pinckney (1837-1901), whose father was The
Reverend Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. They had
one son, Julian A. Mitchell Jr (1867-1960). He was
the secretary on the staff of Samuel B. Pickens?
legation to Russia during the Buchanan
administration.1
1862 Julian A. Mitchell was appointed Maj.
& Commissary of Subsistence on June 2nd, confirmed
on September 30th, and reported to Gen?l Roswell
Sabine Ripley. He later served with Gen?ls George
Pierce Doles and Robert Emmett Rodes.
1863 Mitchell was captured on July 4th at
Smithsburg, Maryland, during the Gettysburg
Campaign and sent to Fort Deleware on July 10th. He
was forwarded to Johnson?s Island near Sandusky,
Ohio, on July 18th. His capture was noted on several
documents at Smith(s)burg, Pennsylvania, but
historical research shows that the location matches
Smithsburg, Maryland, which is very close to the
border with Pennsylvania and Gettysburg. The date
T
The Quartermaster Column No. 37
by Michael McNeil
The endorsement reads: ?Issued June 21st 1863 / Julian
Mitchell / Maj & CS?
Image: Warren D. Robinson
301
An interesting telegraph in
the file for Julian A. Mitchell
hints at the impact of Gen?l
W. T. Sherman?s tactic of
feeding his army from the
countryside. ?I am making
effort to strip the country
before the enemy. I require
an energetic man identified
with the locality &
respectfully apply for [to]
Maj. Julian Mitchell A.C.S.,
Early?s Command, for duty in
contiguous districts of South
Carolina.? At the date of this
telegraph on November 23rd,
1864, Sherman had not yet
reached Savannah, Georgia,
but by mid-February 1865 he
had shelled and burned
Columbia, South Carolina.
Image: Fold3.com
of capture marks the retreat of Gen?l Robert E. Lee?s
army from Gettysburg, and Mitchell reported to
Rodes? Division in the 2nd Corps of the Army of
Northern Virginia.
1864 Mitchell was forwarded from
Johnson?s Island to Fort Columbus, New York
Harbor, on September 12th. He escaped from Lt.
Stephens? 20th New York Battery enroute to Elmira,
New York. It is not clear what transpired next, but
another record notes that Mitchell was ?specially
exchanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on October
3rd for Maj. F. Pruyn, 7th New York Heavy Artillery
by order of the (Confederate) Secretary of War.?
Mitchell was listed on a roll of prisoners of war on
the U. S. Transport Canonicus at Charleston. An
inspection report at New Market, Virginia, on
November 30th noted that Mitchell was assigned to,
but absent from, Cook?s Brigade, Rodes? Division,
2nd Corps (Early?s Command at this date). Mitchell?s
career summary sheet noted on November 25th with
respect to an order to report to Augusta, Georgia, that
?Maj. Mitchell has lately been released from
captivity, does very well as a Brigade Comsy, and
objects to the transfer.?
1865 Mitchell reported for duty on January
9th, but was relieved from duty on January 23rd. On
January 24th Mitchell was ordered to report to the
Governor of South Carolina at Columbia for special
duty. It was well known that Gen?l W. T. Sherman
was pressing north towards Columbia, and Sherman
shelled the city on Febuary 16th, destroying what
remained of the Treasury-note Bureau that had fled
north that day on trains. As Richmond fell on April
3rd, Mitchell was appointed Chief Commissary of
South Carolina and stationed at Chester. The last
record on April 29th noted that a guard had been
ordered to Chester.
Postscript After the war Mitchell was a
leading criminal lawyer in Charleston with his son
(Mitchell & Whaley, and Mitchell & Smith).
He died from an apparent stroke while
delivering a lecture on education on January 30th,
1907.1
Carpe diem
References: All military data was derived from National Archives documents on Fold3.com.
1. Researched by Charles Derby.
302
Robert Calderman
Taming the Little Lion!
Rising inflation, solar eclipses, new conspiracy
theories daily, and an upcoming Presidential Election
filled with so much drama that it will feel like the Super
Bowl??? Wow, 2024 is shaping up to be a wild year!
Unless you have the courage and fortitude to completely
disconnect, donate all of your TV?s to the Goodwill, and
go one step further and delete all the apps on your phone
so you can ONLY make phone calls? just like it was in
1990 before even texting existed! Silence is golden as
they say and I can hardly remember that lost sweet
paradise. If you have that much gumption, you are my
hero! For the rest of us that are addicted to the Hypnotic
Cyclops (Television) and the magical pocket size laptop
they deceivingly call a cell phone? our heads will be
spinning all year!
Sooo?now that we are firmly ensconced into the
month of July, are there any Carnac like predictions
coming from Cherry Picker?s Corner? Absolutely! Our
prognostication is $10 Federal Reserve Notes will come
out of the shadows and finally gain traction with small
size collectors!!! What? Are we saying $10?s do not
have a massive following rivaling large size type? Yes,
pretty much that is exactly the current state of collecting
small size Hamiltons. Why? Historically, small size
fanatics like myself began our journey collecting $1?s.
The endless plethora of affordable silver certificate
varieties kept us happy for a long, long time? until we
finally had our fill and converted over to $5?s. Naturally
a desire for hunting FRN?s entered the mix soon after,
and again we followed our natural habit of acquiring
$1?s and $5?s. Some studious collectors even expanded
into red seals and $2?s. Wow, so much fun to be had at
every turn! With all that said, through the fog and across
the bay were the black sheep. The folks who collected
the other stuff! Twenty-dollar collectors had to be the
guys with multiple corvettes and a boat right? I mean,
who could afford to collect $20?s, that is soo much face
value!!! Fifties and Hundreds? That doesn?t even
compute? I suppose if you have a jet airplane and own
a private island you could afford to collect those
denominations in quantity. We are not talking about
303
collecting an example to have for type like a single $500
or $1000 note. We are speaking of dedicated collecting,
going down the windy road of assembling a collection
by series, block, and even district, the whole pizza pie!
Then we have our $10?s? for some reason they just
seemed to stay in the fog, hidden from view and beyond
the scope of the average collector. There are always
exceptions of course, but for the majority of the
collecting community these fantastic notes have not
received much love outside of acquiring a single type
note like a North Africa or Hawaii Emergency Issue, or a
legendary 1933 Silver Certificate. So what will make
this change, a celestial event aligning the planets? Not
exactly. Inflation is now making more notes pop up on
our collecting radar vs. in decades past. Higher
denominations become more palatable once we?ve been
smacked in the face with higher prices on virtually
everything we purchase. I?ve been saying a lot lately that
the $100 bill feels like the new $20? meaning it costs
one hundred dollars to buy the same items that in the
past you could purchase for just twenty dollars. Is this a
stretch? In 1994, thirty years ago, twenty dollars then is
supposedly worth about forty-two dollars today in 2024.
So we are not quite there yet, but it does feel like things
are moving awfully fast! You actually have to go back to
1978 for $20 then to now equal $100. So what is the
point? Tens now finally seem cheap! When my wife and
I go out to dinner and spend nearly $80 not even for
somewhere nice, we?re just at the sports bar? gosh,
what?s ten bucks? nothing!!! It only seems logical that
now is finally the time for Hamiltons to shine. Will this
prediction come true, or are we predicting events that are
still much further in the future? We shall see!
Since tens are our focus for this installment, let?s look
at one of my favorite varieties on this denomination!
1934C $10 Federal Reserve notes were printed on all
twelve districts but only one makes the cut for a
specialized variety. Kansas City is the district that reigns
supreme for this series. A district that is typically a
scarcer one for early era Feds, KC shines very brightly
and becomes the key to compiling a complete set of
1934C tens. There are two versions of the ?J? note here.
The first is the more common ?Wide? version and then
the prohibitively challenging ?Narrow? variety. The key
identifiers are the face plate numbers. Narrow face plate
#?s: 86, 87, 88, and 89 are the final four face plates for
the district produced in December 1949. These came
about as a standardization effort was in place to create
uniform face plate sizes across all denomination. This
change became the standard for all districts once the next
series of 1934D was released. However, because Kansas
City was blessed with the change occurring within the
1934C series, we have the opportunity to hunt for a very
special and tough beast of a note. What is even better
you ask? There are also narrow KC stars known! Count
yourself very lucky if you are able to add a narrow face
1934C $10 Kansas City FRN to your collection. If you
manage to land a narrow face star note, you are among
very elite company within the collecting community! To
underscore the point and help paint a clearer picture on
the gravity of this variety, PMG has only graded two
examples of a narrow face star and just eight examples
of the narrow face non-star! Wow, what an absolute
treasure to find an example at all, regardless of
condition. Here we have images to study of both a star
and non-star of this exceptional variety. Study them well
and memorize these plate numbers. Why? This non-star
narrow face example Fp.#89 graded PMG 65EPQ sold
via Stack?s on December 1st, 2021 for $2,640! Compare
this to a wide version in the same Gem grade that
typically sells for just $80? remember that?s barely
dinner for my wife and I. The narrow star example
pictured Fp.#88 graded PMG 30EPQ also sold via
Stack?s auctions in the same sale and brought a
staggering $3,600!!! What is its counterpart worth? A
wide star in the same grade is valued at? yup, you
guessed it? just eighty bucks!!! Hopefully this wets
your appetite a bit. Go out to your next local coin show
and pick up some Hamiltons.
Do you have a great Cherry Pick story that you?d like
to share? Your note might be featured here in a future
article and you can remain anonymous if desired! Email
scans of your note with a brief description of what you
paid and where it was found to: gacoins@earthlink.net
Recommended reading:
? The? Transition? from? Wide? to? Narrow
Designs? on? U.S.? Small? Size? Notes? between
1947?and?1953?by?Peter?Huntoon?and?James
Hodgson.? (Paper? Money? Sep./Oct.? 2006
Whole?No.245)
304
The table of contents shows the depth of Coughlan?s research
Engravers and Printers of Confederate Paper Money, by
Mark Coughlan, 535 pages, ISBN 9798865899242,
8.5? by 11? format, soft cover with perfect binding.
Available on Amazon for $55.00.
umismatic books take the form of prized
references and catalogs, but rarely do
they delve into the historical context to
place numismatics in the realm of human
triumphs and foibles. Mark Coughlan is a master
of such writing in his new book,
Engravers and Printers of Confederate
Paper Money. This is a heavily
researched book of more than 500 pages,
representing years of effort. The fluid
prose and depth of knowledge would
suggest that Mr. Coughlan had deep
roots in the American South, but he is, in
fact, a resident of London whose family
has deep roots in the British Isles.
Coughlan?s uncle rescued many
Confederate bonds and treasury notes
that had resided in the vaults of a
London banker since the Civil War, and
eventually gave them to Coughlan,
knowing his ?enthusiasm for that period
in history.?
The struggles of the Confederacy
in its effort to create a money supply are
palpable in the historical context
provided by Coughlan, and this is what
makes the book such compelling
reading.
The South had very few
resources for printing and engraving,
and those that it did were often run by
immigrants, such as the German
lithographers at Hoyer & Ludwig in
Richmond. With the explosive demand for paper
money production in the new Confederacy,
Christopher G. Memminger, the Secretary of the
Treasury and the son of a German quartermaster,
turned to the private sector to produce paper
money. President Lincoln quickly shut down the
first orders at New York firms and Memminger
turned to Southern printers. To meet the demand
some of these firms hired European engravers
and lithographers, many of whom came from
N
Engravers and Printers
of Confederate Paper Money
A Book Review by Michael McNeil
305
The cover of Coughlan?s new book
Mark A. Coughlan
England and Scotland. The South had little
infrastructure in the making of paper, and
Memminger also turned to English paper mills
like Hodgkinson?s Wookey Hole Mill. Coughlan
has unearthed much previously unknown history
in the role of English and Scottish engravers,
lithographers, and paper mills that you won?t
find anywhere else in Confederate numismatics.
The tour de force of this book is that Coughlan?s
considerable skills in researching this history
extend also to the American South.
To use Coughlan?s own words, ?...the
book is intended to provide a unique, interesting,
and enjoyable insight into each of the companies
that were involved in the manufacture of
Confederates States Treasury notes and bonds.?
Coughlan also provides an excellent ?...overview
of the engraving, printing, and paper
manufacturing industry as it evolved up until the
mid-nineteenth century....? This book takes
numismatics to a new level, and it is one of the
great contributions to Confederate history.
Carpe diem
306
INTEREST PAID
on Type 39, 40, and 41 Confederate Treasury Notes,
with an Appendix on the Type 41 Tint Plate, by Roger
Adamek, 74 pages, published by CC&A, 2024.
oger Adamek has compiled a new catalog
of the varieties of methods used to denote
the interest paid on Confederate treasury
notes. This new book, available on eBay in an
8.5? by 11? format, will be listed in eBay?s
Confederate note section. It is the culmination of
an intense effort spanning two decades. In this
book you will find images of all known varieties
of Interest-Paid stamps and manuscripts on Type
39, 40, and 41 notes.
Treasury notes financed the war effort for
the Confederacy. The first treasury notes were
printed from high quality steel plate engravings
by New York firms. President Lincoln shut down
this production in early 1861 and C. G.
Memminger, the Secretary of the Treasury for
the Confederacy, was forced to turn to Richmond
printers. On May 5th, 1862 the Treasury Note
Division in Richmond began issuing large
quantities of $100 notes designed and initially
printed by the Richmond firm of Hoyer &
Ludwig; 498,400 of these notes were issued up
to January 16th, 1863, most of them printed by J.
T. Paterson in Columbia, South Carolina. Hoyer
& Ludwig?s design included a train vignette
borrowed from northern engravers. The notes
were printed as lithographs and are today known
as Type 39 and Type 40 ?train? notes (the Type
40 designation is the same design with
minuscule differences and was reportedly
conceived as a device to sell more notes to
collectors). The Columbia, South Carolina firm
of Keatinge & Ball produced a design from high
quality engraved steel plates featuring slaves
hoeing cotton. Known as Type 41 ?hoer? notes,
production commenced on August 26th, 1862,
with a total of 670,400 notes issued by January
8th, 1863.
To make these notes attractive for
commerce they bore interest at 2 cents per day,
or an astounding 7.3% per year. The notes were
hand-dated on the front, and interest was initially
paid from that date. The Treasury Department
later sought to limit its liability for interest by
requiring those who issued the notes for
commerce to record the date of issue on the
back, and interest then accrued from that later
date. Interest was typically paid up to the 1st of
January for any year, and nearly all of the
R
Interest Paid ? a book review
by Michael McNeil
307
?Interest Paid? stamps reflect that date.
Manuscript indications of interest-paid were used
when stamps were not available, and their
variety is fascinating; some show places where
interest was paid, some show who paid the
interest, and some show the arithmetic to
calculate the interest.
These interest-bearing notes were issued
by Treasury Department depositaries, military
quartermasters, military commissaries, military
paymasters, and other government agents.
Interest was paid by Treasury Department
depositaries, port collectors, and their deputies,
who often had offices in local banks. Some
depositaries resided at literal ports like
Wilmington, North Carolina, but a great many
also resided at what were considered ?ports? of
commerce like Augusta, Georgia. The
depositaries kept detailed registers of the interest
paid on these treasury notes (illustrated on the
back cover of the book). Hand-written entries are
found with serial numbers, plate position letters,
the dates of issue, the number of days of interest,
and the interest paid on each note. This was an
immense job when we consider that 1,168,800
notes were issued.
The new book contains an extensive
appendix with new information on the colorful
tint plate used as an anti-counterfeiting device on
the Type 41 note. Adamek has delved into the
history of this device and its many varieties. This
research helps to explain the large variety of its
observed positions and colors. Collectors,
auction houses, and grading services might want
to re-examine the use of the term ?oxidized? to
explain the darker colors we often see in this
device. While ?oxidation? or some environ-
mental chemical reaction is surely seen in some
circumstances, research suggests that it is not the
cause of most of the variation we see, which was
very likely a part of the production process.
Adamek draws on the work of George Tremmel
to suggest a more likely cause.
This book explores some of the
wonderful variety we see in the effort of the
Confederate Treasury Department to supply a
monetary base. A large part of this variety is
simply due to the reality that the Confederacy
had to create a centralized government and its
institutions from scratch. Department heads like
Treasury Secretary C. G. Memminger had to
resort to outsourcing much of the work to the
private sector, and this is why we see such a rich
variety of designs and such a wide variation in
the artistic quality and workmanship. To make
matters worse, the private sector of the
Confederacy was ill-equipped to provide the
paper, inks, and the skills needed to design,
engrave, and print millions of notes. The firm of
Keatinge & Ball relied on the skills of Scottish
lithographers and guaranteed their passage to and
from the Confederacy by payment in gold. A
great deal of the paper and
inks were imported from
England on blockade runners.
Keatinge & Ball provided the
highest-quality lithographs to
the Confederacy in very large
quantities, but as we can see
in the varieties of the
?HUNDRED? device, even
this firm struggled to provide
consistent quality in its ele-
gant, intaglio-printed Type 41 design.
The same issues hampered the creation of
a system which could disburse the treasury notes
? the depositories had no precedent in the
Confederacy and had to be created from scratch.
It is no wonder that we see such a rich variety of
methods to denote the payment of accrued
interest on the $100 interest-bearing notes issued
in 1862 and early 1863. The depositaries quickly
The Type 41 tint plate ?HUNDRED? device, an intaglio underprint in orange-red ink.
308
Roger Adamek, author
A Type 41 tint plate device with color variations which are not attributable to ?oxidation.? The new book explains why.
A very rare Interest Paid stamp from Fayetteville, NC.
adopted stamps to record interest paid on
treasury notes, but the proliferation of
manuscript notations of interest paid is a
reflection of the infancy of the centralized
Confederate government and the need to get the
job done if a formal stamp was not available.
The Treasury Department paid interest at 7.3%
on these notes, and while this is an astonishing
return, it is also easy to calculate the interest,
which accrued at exactly two cents per day. The
calculations of interest on the backs of some
treasury notes show the practical utility of this
rate of interest.
Adamek?s book presents a window into
the efforts of a newly-established government
attempting to meet the monetary needs of its
society. It was a heroic effort, but it was
predicated on the preservation of slavery as the
engine of its economy, and this was
memorialized in the central vignette of the Type
41 treasury note. It was a society based on
extreme wealth inequality, and in the end, it
didn?t survive.
Carpe diem
309
You Collect. We Protect.
Learn more at: www.PCGS.com/Banknote
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by PCGS feature revolutionary
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enables collectors and dealers to
instantly verify every holder and
banknote within.
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BOOK REVIEW - Coal Mine Company Obsolete Notes and Scrip (2023) by
David Schenkman
Reviewed by Wendell Wolka
One of the most interesting and, at the same time, most unexplored and undocumented areas of obsolete paper
money has been the notes and scrip issued by companies engaged in coal mining and transportation. These notes
often took the form of company store issues that served as part of the pay for company employees, The scrip was
often only valid for use by employees and often only valid for purchases made in these company-controlled or owned
stores that sold food and other necessities. The coal companies often took the opportunity to turn these retail
establishments into significant profit centers by selling such goods at prices that today would equate to convenience
store price levels.
Cataloging these scrip issues is not an easy task and is perhaps the reason that David Schenkman?s book is the
first comprehensive attempt at doing so on a national basis.
The companies? issues were not regulated by any federal agencies, meaning that records of the types and
quantities issued, signers, and even the identities and histories of the companies themselves have, for the most part,
been lost to the ages. Rather, Schenkman had to painstakingly reconstruct this information from small clues provided
by newspapers, local histories, and other scattered local documents, as well as from individual state catalogs written
by those inclined to include such issues. Collectors are fortunate that David is a consummate researcher, best known
for his work with tokens, who understands how to get at these difficult details and provide the reader with a much
more satisfying and useful work on the subject rather that just a sterile checklist of notes and scrip that he has seen.
The book is some one hundred and sixty pages in length, a size that surprised me a bit. I knew that there was a
significant number of issuers but I did not appreciate before this book?s appearance that there were that many. In fact,
227 issuing locations appear in the book from 22 different states including obvious ones such as Kentucky,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio to more surprising locales such as California and Washington.
The layout of the catalog checks all of the boxes for an easy-to-use reference. The catalog is laid out
alphabetically by state, then by place of issue, and then by issuer followed by the denominations for that issuer. When
looking up a note, this arrangement should allow the reader to quickly locate the appropriate pages that detail the
information being sought. The catalog numbering system is both simple and flexible, allowing for future discoveries
without becoming so complicated that it becomes unusable.
All notes are illustrated in color and are assigned one of four rarities (very few of these notes are ?common? in
absolute terms)- C (Common; more than twenty known); S (Scarce; between eleven and twenty known); V (Very
Scarce; between five and ten known); and R (Rare; less than five known).
Schenkman has opted not to include prices for each note which may be seen by some as a negative. However,
as a cataloger for some fifty years, I completely understand and agree with David?s decision. The market for these
notes is often quite thin and their rarity means that market appearances will, in many cases, be infrequent, sometimes
decades apart. This renders pricing obsolete before the ink is dry on a catalog for items like these.
The most enduring and important feature of this catalog is the history of the issuers that Schenkman has included.
It reflects years of effort and research, searching for the tiniest bits of information that together can be knit into a
commentary on the who?s, whys, where?s, and what?s that combine to create the history of this fascinating area of
numismatics.
A final tip of the hat for providing a well manufactured book that is both attractive and up to being used (and
abused) by collectors and students of the subject. Providing a hard cover book with enameled paper, full color
illustrations, and a decent binding that will not fail after only a few uses is much appreciated.
Coal Mine Company Obsolete Notes and Scrip
ISBN 979-8-218-95630-1
160 Pages, Illustrated
$39.95 + Shipping
Available from Wizard Coin Supply www.wizardcoinsupply.com.
311
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To be assured of knowledgeable, professional, and ethical dealings
when buying or selling currency, look for dealers who
proudly display the PCDA emblem.
For further information, please contact:
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PCDA
? Holds its annual National Currency Convention in conjunction with the Central States Numis-
matic Society?s Anniversary Convention. Please visit our Web Site pcda.com for dates and location.
? Encourages public awareness and education regarding the hobby of Paper Money Collecting.
? Sponsors the John Hickman National Currency Exhibit Award each year, as well as Paper Money
classes and scholarships at the A.N.A.?s Summer Seminar series.
? Publishes several ?How to Collect? booklets regarding currency and related paper items. Availability
of these booklets can be found on our Web Site.
? Is a proud supporter of the Society of Paper Money Collectors.
Or Visit Our Web Site At: www.pcda.com
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Paul R. Minshull #16591. BP 20%; see HA.com. 74551
Canada
Bank of Canada
$500 1935 BC-17 English Text
PCGS Banknote About Uncirculated 53 PPQ
Realized: $228,000
Palestine
Palestine Currency Board
10 Pounds 7.9.1939 Pick 9c
PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ
Realized: $45,600
Jamaica
Treasury
10 Shillings 1918 Pick 30
PMG Choice Very Fine 35 EPQ
Realized: $33,600
Turks & Caicos Islands
Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands
1 Pound 12.11.1918 Pick 3b
PMG Very Fine 20
Realized: $28,800
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
50 Riyals 1961 / AH1379 Pick 9a
PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ
Realized: $19,800
China
Russo-Chinese Bank, Tientsin
1 Tael 1907 Pick S549a
PMG Very Fine 25
Realized: $16,800
WORLD PAPER MONEY SIGNATURE? AUCTION
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