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Table of Contents
Santa Claus on Obsolete Note - Benny Bolin
Sherman, Texas Bank--Peter Huntoon
Damn the Shin Plasters--Terry Bryan
$50 Legal Tender Face Plate Varieties--Peter Huntoon
The 1963 $5 Legal Tender Series-A Study--John Patrick
Important Info on the T-4 CSA $500 Notes--Steve Feller & Mark Coughlan
What Time is on the $100 Bill?--Lee Lofthus
Some Additional Odd Denomination Discoveries--Richard Allen
The Intriguing Postal Notes of Spokane, WA--Bob Laub
official journal of
The Society of Paper Money Collectors
Santa Claus on
Obsolete Notes
Contact Our Experts for
More Information Today!
Info@StacksBowers.com
November 2024 Showcase Auction Highlights from
STACK?S BOWERS GALLERIES
Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Winter Expo
Auction: November 18-22, 2024 ? Costa Mesa, CA
Expo Lot Viewing: November 12-15, 2024 ? Baltimore, MD
Peter A. Treglia
Director of Currency
PTreglia@StacksBowers.com
Tel: (949) 748-4828
Michael Moczalla
Currency Specialist
MMoczalla@StacksBowers.com
Tel: (949) 503-6244
T-35. Confederate Currency. 1861 $5.
PMG Very Fine 25.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bank of Milwaukee (2nd).
1855 $5. PMG Choice Fine 15.
Fr. 158. 1880 $50 Legal Tender Note.
PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ.
Fr. 262. 1886 $5 Silver Certificate.
PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ.
Logan, West Virginia. $10 1902 Red Seal. Fr. 614.
Logan NB. Charter #8136.
PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ. Serial Number 1.
Fr. 1217. 1922 $500 Gold Certificate.
PMG Choice Very Fine 35 EPQ.
Fr. 2231-B. 1934 Light Green Seal
$10,000 Federal Reserve Note. New York.
PCGS Banknote Choice Uncirculated 64.
Fr. 2054-KlgsH. 1934 $20 Light Green Seal
Federal Reserve Star Note. Dallas.
PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ. Serial Number 1.
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Visit Us Online at StacksBowers.com
a_oM_om
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385 SPMC F.U.N. '25 Activities
386 Santa Claus on U. S. Obsolete Notes--Benny Bolin
393 Sherman, Texas Bank--Peter Huntoon
397 Damn the Shin Plasters--Terry Bryan
401 $50 Legal Tender Face Plate Varieties--Peter Huntoon
409 The 1963 $5 Legal Tender Series-A Study--John Patrick
414 Important Info on the T-64 CSA $500 notes--Steve Feller & Mark Couglan
425 Some Additional Odd Denomination Discoveries--Richard Allen
444 The Ingriguing Postal Notes of Spokane, WA--Bob Laub
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
380
421 What Time is on the $100 Bill?--Lee Lofthus
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
Small Notes
Uncoupled
Obsolet Corner
Cherry Picker Corner
Quartermaster
Chump Change
Robert Vandevender 382
Benny Bolin 383
Frank Clark 384
Jamie Yakes 429
Joe Boling & Fred Schwan 430
Robert Gill 435
Robert Calderman 437
Michael McNeil 441
Loren Gatch 443
Stacks Bowers Galleries IFC
Pierre Fricke 380
PM of the U.S. 388
Bill Litt 396
Greysheet 396
Fred Bart 408
FCCB 408
World Banknote Auctions 400
PCGS-C 413
Lyn Knight Auctions 424
Whatnot 428
Higgins Museum 446
Bob Laub 446
PCDA 448
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 * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
381
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
Jerry Fochtman jerry@fochtman.us
Pierre Fricke pierrefricke@buyvingagecurrency.com
Loren Gatch lgatch@uco.edu
Derek Higgins derekhiggins219@gmail.com
Raiden Honaker raidenhonaker8@gmail.com
William Litt billitt@aol.com
Cody Regennitter cody.regennitter@gmail.com
Andy Timmerm
Wendell Wolka
an andrew.timmerman@aol.com
purduenut@aol.com
It is difficult to believe that it is once again time for Thanksgiving. This
year seems to have passed by very quickly. I hope this issue finds everyone
preparing to enjoy the holiday season and looking forward to attending the
upcoming FUN Show with our annual SPMC breakfast in January.
Planning for the event is in progress and we are looking forward to our
general membership meeting and of course the Thomas Bain raffle at our
Saturday breakfast meeting. Seating is limited, so buy your tickets online
in advance, although they will be available at the door if there are any slots
left available.
Our editor Benny suggested we make the subject of our columns for this
edition focused on the holidays. I struggled with what to say. I do have
one story. My other half, Nancy Purington, comes from a very large
family. Nancy was born on and grew up on a dairy farm in Colrain, MA,
one of eleven children. For Christmas, the Purington family decided to
focus on the family gathering instead of the buying of gifts and would have
a drawing of names. Everyone would purchase one inexpensive Christmas
gift for the person they were assigned. The gifts would be put under the
tree inside a reusable homemade cloth bag. One year, I had requested a
?star note? as a gift. When Christmas came, I opened my cloth bag and
inside was a package of star-shaped yellow sticky notes. I got a good laugh
out of it, and I supposed that was as close as a non-numismatist gift buyer
could come to my request.
Nancy and I staffed the SPMC table at the September Long Beach Expo
once again. Traffic was very slow and most of the dealers I spoke with
agreed it wasn?t the typical Fall show. Sadly, we did not sell any new
memberships, although several people did take applications with a few
making a promise to sign up later online. However, we did have several
interesting visitors stop by the table. One gentleman was a self-proclaimed
church-attending atheist who wanted to discuss why the currency has ?In
God We Trust? on it. Another person stopped by and discussed the design
of automobiles and how the front of them look like a face with the two eyes
being headlights and the emblem in the center being a nose and suggested
that they make the rear of cars look like ?butts? to complete the design.
The best one was a man who showed me some $2 bills wanting to know
their value, and then suggested that someone create an Artificial
Intelligence program where one could scan a note with their phone, and it
would tell them what it was worth. Frankly, I thought that was a pretty
good idea. Perhaps one of our members will pursue that one if it doesn?t
already exist somewhere! As Carl Bombara said at the show when I told
him some of the stories, ?Yes, you see all kinds come through here in Long
Beach!?
Also, I would like to thank SPMC Governor Derek Higgins for keeping
up with the SPMC Facebook account and posting a ?Note of the Day? to
increase our exposure on social media. If you come across one of his posts,
please hit ?Like.?
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
382
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 (aka goompa)
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
What a pair of lookers!!! Not just by almost doubling her weight
in six weeks, but looking like goompa (thats me), she has one great
future ahead of her!!
Now, on to the business at hand--paper money. From all that I
have read/seen, the hobby seems to be doing well. Show reports
are at times mixed, some good, some bad. Case in point, the
report I got on the recent Tampa show was traffic was not great
but many dealers had great sales. I know I attended a small
regional show in Grapevine and it was packed. I never had to
park that far away at that show. The aisles were packed! But it
cost $5 to get in! I thought about that as entrance fees are a hot
topic of late. I got to thinking--why does it bother us so much? $5
to get in and then inside I spent over $1,000 with one dealer.
Seems we may be a fickle bunch.
On to events soon at hand. Beginning November 22 (I hope)
you will be able and encouraged to vote on-line for the literary
awards. Please reward our authors and columnists with your
votes. The awards will be handed out at our breakfast at FUN '25.
Speaking of articles, I ask again for more. I have a couple of
longer articles but am in desparate need of 3-5 page articles.
FUN '25 is almost upons us! Please think of joining us for the
fun (at FUN) and excitement. As per our usual, the SPMC will be
making this our yearly in-person meeting. We will have a general
membership meeting with a very informative educational
presentation. Then on Saturday, we have our annual awards
breakfast followed by the always fun Tom Bain raffle (mix 'em
up)! If hurricaine Milton was not a totally bad boy, our every
effervescent emcee, Wendell Wolka will be again leading this.
BTW--if you have an item you want to donate, we will happily
accept it--it will be tax-deductible. We also would like to have a
number of paper money exhibits. I am placing an exhibit (maybe
two), but one is not paper money. Please don't tar and feather me
and run me out on a rail, but it is an exhibit of round copper
things (and they are not shiny). It is historical in nature, so
hopefully you will like it. So, make plans now to join us and take
part in some real FUN!!
It has also come to our sad attention that we lost another great
in our hobby. Confederate counterfeit researcher, writer and
overall good friend to the Union and Confederacy, George
Tremmell passed away in August. Our thoughts and prayers go
out to his family. His knowledge and expertise will be sorely
missed.
On another note--the entire SPMC wishes all in the hurricane
areas out best and we hope that you and your family are safe and
that your recovery will be easy.
Till next time! Stay safe and enjoy the upcomming winter!
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
383
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 MEMBERS 9/05/2024
Dues Remittal Process
Send dues directly to
Robert Moon
SPMC Treasurer
403 Gatewood Dr.
Greenwood, SC 29646
Refer to your mailing label for when
your dues are due.
You may also pay your dues online at
www.spmc.org.
15751 Alan Hargreaves, Pierre Fricke
15752 Joseph Robinette, Paper Money Forum
15753 Scott Szalkowski, Website
15754 Christopher Eby,
15755 Stephen Johnson, Website
15756 Brandon Navon, Website
15757 Jonathan Woensdregt, Frank Clark
15758 Thomas Justison, Frank Clark
15759 John Hinckley, Robert Moon
15760 Shawn Fruge, Robert Calderman
15761 Tucker Atwell, Robert Calderman
15762 Shawn A. Yancey, Robert Calderman
15763 Lekeshia Johnson, Robert Calderman
15764 Joseph J. Rifenburgh, Robert Calderman
15765 Tom Gaudet, Website
15766 Chol Hyun Jun, Website
15767 Janet Ryan, Frank Clark
15768 Joseph Oxley
REINSTATEMENTS
09419 Thomas M. Gregg, Robert Calderman
LIFE MEMBERSHIPS
LM472 Kris Oyster, Robert Calderman
Note--new
addressNote--new
address
NEW MEMBERS 10/05/2024
15738 Thomas J. Uram, Rbt Vandevender
15739 Brian Sebastian, Rbt Vandevender
15740 Stephen Perakis, Rbt Vandevender
15741 William Anderson, Rbt Vandevender
15742 Nicholas Whitt, Website
15743 Richard-Raymond Alasko, Website
15744 Lee Eilers, Robert Calderman
15745 John Kipple, Frank Clark
15746 Luke Jackson, Website
15747 Justin Fisher, Website
15748 Bob Deemer, Robert Calderman
15749 Melissa Gumm, Frank Clark
15750 Dean Arnold, Website
REINSTATEMENTS
None
LIFE MEMBERSHIPS
None
The SPMC has a lot of fun activities at F.U.N. ?25!
The SPMC is planning many fun activities, award presentations, meetings and educational presentations
at the winter FUN, January 9-12, 2025 in the North Hall of the Orange County Convention Center.
See the SPMC website for a full schedule of events with room #s and ticket ordering information.
Friday Jan 10 Saturday Jan 11
0800 Board of Governors mtg 0800 SPMC Breakfast and Tom Bain Raffle
0900 General membership mtg
w/educational program
Tom Bain Raffle
Meet other collectors
and talk paper money
Effervescent and always humorous
Auctioneer?Wendell Wolka
SPMC AWARDS
Educational
talks and paper
money exhibits
Mix ?em up!
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Santa Claus on U.S. Obsolete Notes
by Benny Bolin
Christmas is the largest holiday celebration/observance in the world today. For
two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both
religious and secular in nature. Over 2.5 billion people in over 160 countries, in some way, celebrate/observe
Christmas. What was originally a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus has slowly grown to a
more secular, materialistic holiday. It is a time of family gatherings, feasting, presents and decorating, even
with animatronic penguins, bears, etc. in our front yards. Gauche light displays on our houses and trees
inside define the time. One of the earliest trees inside a house was in 1846 when Queen
Victoria and German Prince Albert were sketched with their children around one in the
palace. Martin Luther is credited with devising the first lighted tree. He was awed by
the stars twinkling amidst evergreens, so in order to recapture the scene for his family,
he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles. Today
we decorate with wreaths of evergreen, tinsel which was first made of pure silver and
decorated with ornaments which got their start in Germany when Hans Greiner started
making glass balls (called baubles) during the 1800?s.
However, the most famous symbol of Christmas is Santa Claus. Today he is portrayed as a jolly, bearded
fat man with a belly like jelly. However, he did not start out that way. The legend of Santa Claus can be
traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that he was born sometime
around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St.
Nicholas became the subject of many legends. The historical Saint Nicholas (AD 270-343) was the patron
saint of archers, sailors, brewers, children and students. He also earned a reputation for secretly giving gifts,
serving as the model for everyone?s favorite Christmas gift distributor ? Santa Claus, sometimes referred to
as jolly St. Nick. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping
the poor and sick. One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time he saved three poor sisters from
being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be
married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas?s popularity spread and he became known as the protector
of children and sailors. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Christkind
or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. In
Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English
legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children?s stockings with
holiday treats. P?re No?l is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In Italy, there is a story of a
woman named La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian
homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children. The bells on Santa?s sleigh were also
more than decoration. Their jingling announced to children that Santa was on his way and that
they need to go to bed or they might have to deal with Krampus! He?s the half-man, half-goat
who comes around every year to chase naughty children and punish they for their mis-deeds.
Christmas was declared an official holiday in many northern states in the mid-1800s, and
some banks celebrated by creating Santa Claus currency since he became a symbol of charity and generosity
and was a very familiar and trusted personage. The bank note companies capitalized on this and placed his
likeness on their notes. All were on notes from the north and none to the west due to the limited banking in
that region. Most Santa notes were smaller denomination notes. The end of the state bank era in 1864 also
brought an end to Santa notes.
In his 1993 book ?About Christmas?, Roger Durand lists seven different vignettes of Santa that
were used on obsolete notes. 21 banks from 8 states issued obsolete notes featuring Santa Claus. Seven
total Santa vignettes were used (there are no examples of type VII; it is lost to history). These notes
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are very popular today with collectors but at auction, they demand a very pricey sum. In researching this
article, prices for Santa Claus notes ranged from 4-5 figures with the most expensive being the Bank of
Milwaukee $5 proof note that brought an astonishing $35,000! All pictures of the notes shown below are
the courtesy of Heritage Auctions Archives.
The depiction of Santa Claus in these vignettes is varied, from a thin Kris Kringle sneaking about a
bedroom to larger Kringle in a sleigh with reindeer over rooftops. The varied designs illustrate a period of
transition where Santa Claus? appearance was not standardized. The round, fat, jolly old elf in a red suit
wasn?t widely accepted until after Thomas Nast?s 1881 depiction of ?Merry Old Santa,? but it was moving
in that direction. Today?s depiction of Santa began in 1931, when Coca-Cola commissioned Haddon
Sundblom to paint Santa for their Christmas advertisements. He established Santa as a warm, happy
character with rosy cheeks, a white beard and a belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly.
TYPE I
The type I vignette was produced by
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson.
It is the most ?common? but it does
not appear on the largest number of
different bank notes, just on the most
frequently encountered. It shows Old
St. Nick and his reindeer on the job
on Christmas eve, departing some
lucky child?s rooftop. The Santa who graces this vignette is Sinter Klaas, a traditional figure brought by
Dutch settlers to New York in the 17th century.
Notes with this vignette;
$5 Howard Banking Co Boston, MA $2 Saint Nicholas NYC, NY
$1 The China Bank China, ME $5 Saint Nicholas NYC, NY
$2 The Maine Bank Brunswick, ME $3 The Central Bank of Troy Troy, NY
$2 White Mountain Bank Lancaster, NH
$1 Mechanics &
Manufacturers Bank
Providence RI
$2 The Waupun Bank Waupun, VT
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Type II
The type II is the second most encountered. It too was also produced by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson.
It shows a seemingly younger, clean shaven Santa filling children?s stocking that were hung by the chimney
with care filled with toys and goodies.
Notes with this vignette;
$2 The City Bank Biddeford, ME $1 Saint Nicholas Bank NYC, NY
$1 The Atlas Bank Providence RI $3 Saint Nicholas Bank NYC, NY
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Type III
Type III vignettes appear on the greatest number of notes. Produced by Baldwin, Adams and Co., George
D. Baldwin was a picture engraver and the probably engraver. The vignette shows Santa with his pipe in
his sleigh being pulled by his eight-faithful reindeer.
Notes with this vignette;
$20 Conway Bank Conway, MA $2 Central Bank of Brooklyn NYC, NY
$100 Spricket Falls Bank Methuen, MA $2 Bank of Sing Sing NYC, NY
$20 Pittsfield Bank Pittsfield, MA $1 Iron Bank Plattsburg, NY
$50 Buckport Bank Buckport, ME $3 Central Bank of Troy Troy, NY
$1 Central Bank New Ulm, MN $10 Lamoille County Bank Hyde Park, VT
**Note**The Spricket Falls Bank had two Santa Vignettes, T-III in center and T-VI at right.
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Type IV
Type IV was only used on Bank of Milwaukee notes of Wisconsin. Produced by Toppan, Carpenter and
Co., the original sketch was done by Felix O. C. Darley. The vignette itself was engraved by either John
W. Casilear or Nathaniel Jocelyn. It shows Santa leaving a
doll for two sleeping girls in a nearby bed.
Type V
The Type V vignette is found on only two notes, the $5 and $10 notes from the Saint Nicholas Bank of New
York. Produced by Toppan, Carpenter & Co., it was engraved by either Casilear or Jocelyn. It shows Santa
with a pipe in his mouth looking back as his reindeer begin to take off into the air.
Notes with this vignette;
$5 Saint Nicholas Bank NYC, NY
$10 Saint Nicholas Bank NYC, NY
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Type VI
The Type VI vignette is also only found on two notes, the Knickerbocker $2 note from New York and the
Spicket Falls Bank of Methuen, Massachusetts $100 note. Produced by Baldwin, Adams & Co., it was
engraved by George D. Baldwin. It shows Santa sitting in a chair by the fire, smoking a pipe and is holding
a doll in one hand. A sack on his back is filled with toys.
Notes with this vignette;
$2 Knickerbocker Bank NYC, NY $100 Spricket Falls Bank Methuen, MA
**Note**The Spricket Falls Bank had two Santa Vignettes, T-III in center and T-VI at right.
Type VII
Type VII appears on the $20 and $50 Saint Nicholas Bank notes and was probably an American Bank Note
Company engraving. Although it has not been seen, the description is ?children asleep in bed; Santa Claus
entering from a chimney.? While this is close to the description of Type IV, the mention of a fireplace and
chimney in view show it is a different vignette.
Durand also lists three other financial instruments/notes with Santa vignettes, although not of the
aforementioned types.
Columbus, GA- Grand Sponge Company Scrip $500 (1870s)
This is the only known example of this unsigned, over-size bond measuring approximately 5 ? x 7 ?
inches and printed in red ink. The piece was "Scrip for Redemption of Cuban Bonds" as per the text. The
Grand Sponge Company remains unknown as no information has been uncovered, however it is believed
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that it served as a front for racketeers. An almost woodsman looking Santa is portrayed stepping into a
chimney with his sleigh and reindeer in the background at the center of the note.
New York, NY- Scribner & Co. 25? July 4, 1876
The Santa Claus vignette on this piece of scrip that is printed in green ink that was good for 25-cents off
the $4 purchase price of one bound volume of their children?s book St. Nicholas, with the remaining $3.75
to be a cash payment. Scribner & Co. was located at 743 Broadway in New York. The company printed a
well-known children's magazine, St. Nicholas Magazine starting in1873.
Cedartown, GA- Cherokee Iron Company 5? March 15, 1873
In 1873, Amos G. West established the Cherokee Iron Company, a large conglomeration that had a mine,
a furnace, and a rail line for transport called the East and West Railroad. This 5-cent scrip has a vignette of
the jolly bearded one and his trusty reindeer in the center of the green ink reverse.
So, yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, whether in your heart or your imagination. Can all these bankers
be that wrong?
Thanks to Richard Melamed for his proof-reading and editing of the article.
Resources:
Saint Nicholas on Early State Bank Notes. Dr. John A. Muscalus. 1959.
Interesting Notes About Christmas. Roger Durand. 1973.
Christmas Currency, An Illustrated Trial List. Larry L. Ruehlen. 1973.
ANA Money Museum Blog. St. Nicholas Bank Notes. 2020.
Intelligent Collector.com/Santa-Claus notes. Dustin Johnson. 2019.
www.Masshist.org
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Sherman, Texas Bank
Organized Especially to Utilize
Aldrich-Vreeland Emergency Currency
Purpose and Introduction
This article profiles two technicalities. First, is that it involves two banks with exactly the same
titles and explains why. The second is that the second bank issued only Aldrich-Vreeland emergency
currency for the first few months of its existence. Both situations resulted because the bankers had their
eyes firmly on profits and played the system to maximize them as opportunities arose
The duplicate titles resulted from the bankers leaving the national system in order to take advantage
of a Texas bank deposit guarantee law in effect at the time for Texas state chartered banks that drew
depositors (Huntoon, Ch L16). They later rejoined the national system when it became apparent that the
emergency currency provisions in the Aldrich-Vreeland Act could play well to their bottom line. As for the
emergency currency, they indeed did subscribe for it and loaned it to its fullest extent during the short period
when it was profitable at the start of World War I.
Two Banks, Same Title
The title The Commercial National Bank of Sherman, Texas, was used twice, first under charter
5864 granted June 18, 1901 and under charter 10607 granted September 2, 1914. Charter 5864 issued Series
of 1882 brown and date backs whereas charter 10607 began issuing Series of 1902 date backs upon opening.
The Paper
Column
Peter Huntoon
Adam Stroup
Lee Lofthus
Figure 1. Two national banks with exactly the same title and management in Sherman, Texas, 5864 (1901-1911)
and 10607 (1914-1929). Heritage Auction archives photos.
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Both banks were operated by president W. R. Brents and cashier F. Z. Edwards for their entire corporate
lives.
The original bank, charter 5864, simultaneously merged with Continental State Bank of Sherman
and liquidated March 2, 1911 in order to reorganize under a state charter as Commercial State Bank run by
Brents and Edwards (Austin American-Statesman, Feb 7, 1911). Obviously, they found it advantageous to
operate under a less restrictive state charter that also came with a deposit guarantee provision.
However, they opted to rejoin the national bank system in 1914. We know exactly why they wanted
to regain a national charter thanks to a September 6, 1914 newspaper notice discovered by coauthor Adam
Stroup in The Daily Ardmoreite.
State Bank Reorganized as National
Sherman, Texas, Sept. 5?The Commercial State Bank of Sherman was today changed to a national bank
and will hereafter be known as the Commercial National Bank of Sherman. The change was made, it is
announced, in order to take advantage of the emergency currency act of the United States government and
assist in moving the crops of this section. The bank has a capital stock of $200,000 and surplus and undivided
profits to the amount of $207,000.
The Aldrich-Vreeland Act of March 30, 1908, provided for the infusion of what was popularly
called emergency national currency secured by short-term commercial loans. In its original form, the Act
reserved the privilege to receive emergency currency to national banks that had existing circulations of
traditional bond-secured currency.
Congress passed in haste an amendment on August 4, 1914?the day Britain declared war on
Germany?that liberalized the provisions of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, one being that bankers who had not
taken out traditional bond-secured circulation could now issue emergency currency. This applied to the new
Commercial National Bank, because Brents and Edwards did not take out bond-secured circulation upon it
being chartered.
Furthermore, Treasury Secretary William McAdoo issued the following statement on August 27,
1914, which sounded attractive.
Among the eligible securities to be used as a basis for the issue of currency I have decided to accept from
national banks, through their respective national currency associations, notes secured by warehouse
receipts for cotton or tobacco having not more than four months to run, at 75 per cent of their face value.
* * * This plan ought to enable the farmers to pick and market the cotton crop if the bankers, merchants,
and cotton manufacturers will cooperate with each other and with the farmers, and will avail of the relief
offered by the Treasury within reasonable limits. Such cooperation is earnestly urged upon all these
interests. (McAdoo, 1914, p. 11).
Bankers Use Only Emergency Currency at Startup
As was policy during this period, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing prepared a plate for the
bank immediately after it was chartered and printed a supply of notes from it in case the bankers subscribed
for emergency currency. The plate was a Series of 1902 or-other-securities 10-10-10-20 face plate certified
for use September 12, 1914. The first printing from it consisted of 2,000 sheets that were delivered to the
Comptroller?s office on September 20th
In accord with the Daily Ardmoreite article, Brents and Edwards subscribed for a short-term
infusion of $78,000 of emergency currency on October 21, 1914, a little over a month and a half after the
bank was chartered. Most likely it was secured by $108,000 worth of warehouse receipts. Accordingly, the
Comptroller of the Currency?s office shipped 1,560 sheets of 10-10-10-20 Series of 1902 date back to the
bank the next day. They bore sheet serials 1 through 1560.
This is a situation where for a time, the only currency in circulation from the bank consisted entirely
of Aldrich-Vreeland emergency currency. One note from the October 22, 1914 shipment is recorded in the
National Currency Foundation census; specifically, $10 Series of 1902 date back K278340B-514-B. That
beauty illustrates this article. It went through a Heritage FUN auction January 4, 2001.
Because the Aldrich-Vreeland emergency currency was secured by short-term loans, it was retired
by the bankers in short order as those loans matured. This was accomplished by deposits the bankers made
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into the U.S. Treasurer?s redemption fund that allowed it to be withdrawn from circulation. Those deposits
were $28,000 on February 4; $15,000 February 18; $10,000 February 25; and $25,000 March 1, 1915.
The entire duration of the emergency currency issues for The Commercial National Bank spanned
October 22, 1914 to March 1, 1915. The bank condition call dates for the 1914 and 1915 Annual Reports
of the Comptroller of the Currency, which included entries for the bank?s circulation, were September 12,
1914 and September 4, 1915. Notice that the emergency currency issues fell between these dates so they
are invisible to us in the annual reports. This is common for many banks that subscribed for emergency
currency under the Aldrich-Vreeland Act.
Circulation of Emergency Currency
In the case of The Commercial National Bank, all the emergency currency was actually loaned and
entered circulation as revealed by the fact that the worn notes came in for redemption spread rather
uniformly over the ensuing years. There is no record in the National Currency and Bond ledgers that the
bankers returned batches of uncut sheets in order to redeem any of it. The latter is a pattern we see when
other bankers held on to their emergency currency as a cash reserve in a strategy to provide them with
liquidity as money tightened during the early months of World War I.
Aftermath
The bankers made the decision to take out traditional bond-secured currency after their emergency
currency infusion. In 1915 they deposited the following 2% bonds to secure it: $100,000 on January 14 and
$20,000 December 13. The $100,000 January 14th amount shows up in their September 4, 1915 statement
of condition in the 1915 annual report, and the full $120,000 in the 1916 report. From there they continued
to grow their bond secured circulation to $200,000.
Their worn emergency currency did not start dribbling into the Treasury for redemption until
January 29, 1915, so the first of their bond-secured circulation of $100,000 consisted of the next 2,000 10-
10-10-20 sheets in the Comptroller?s inventory; specifically, those with sheet serials 1561 through 3560
shipped to them January 14, 1915.
In 1920, they paid for a 5-5-5-5 Series of 1902 plate, probably in response to pleas by Treasury
officials who encouraged national bankers to issue smaller denomination notes in order to alleviate a
Figure 2. Warehouse receipts such as this were likely used by the Sherman bankers as security for
their ?other securities? deposits used as backing for their Aldrich-Vreeland emergency currency
issues. They could obtain emergency currency equal in value to 75 percent of the value of the
commodities represented by the warehouse receipts. From Lofthus (2024).
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shortage of them in circulation at that time. That plate was certified October 20, 1920 and used to print
Series of 1902 plain backs.
The Commercial National Bank was merged into The Merchants and Planters National Bank of
Sherman, charter 3159, on October 31, 1929 and its charter liquidated in the process.
Sources of Information and Articles Cited
Austin American-Statesman, Feb 7, 1911, Two banks have consolidated, Sherman Financial Institutions are merged into one:
p. 1.
Comptroller of the Currency, 1863-1935, National Currency and Bond Ledgers: Record Group 101, U.S. National Archives,
College Park, MD.
Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Oklahoma), Sep 6, 1914, State bank changes to national: p. 3.
Huntoon, Peter, Duplicated National Bank titles: Society of Paper Money Collectors, Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank
Notes, Ch. L16, 13 p. https://s3.amazonaws.com/nbnencyclopedia.spmc/chapter-l16-duplicated-titles.pdf
Lofthus, Lee, May-Jun, 2024, Protocols for handling the issuance and redemption of Aldrich-Vreeland emergency currency:
Paper Money, v. 63, p. 158-174.
McAdoo, William, 1914, Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances: Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC.
United States Statutes: Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
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Damn the Shin Plasters
by Terry A. Bryan
Treasury Rats now rule the land! Everything moves by their command; they cut out the work,
and handle the pay, and a charming song they sing today.
Oh, confound the Treasury Rats. (Anonymous 1830s political song later adapted to Civil War issues.)
Many of us have seen graffiti on paper money. A
cartoon dialog bubble having George Washington say, ?I
grew hemp? relates to the persistent efforts for marijuana
legalization. Funny alterations of William Meredith?s
portrait on Fractional Currency are common. Where?s
George? notes have graffiti for recreational tracking of a
note?s circulation.
Shinplasters were papers shoved down a soldier?s
trousers leg to protect against chafing by the boot tops. A
piece of paper money called by that name was worthless,
indeed. It was only good for use as a shin plaster. If the
piece of paper were worthless, and if that made you angry,
why not expose your opinions via graffiti on it?
Some rare scrip notes display pointed political
commentary about conditions during the Panic of 1837.
David Bowers in his book, Obsolete Paper Money, refers
to a contemporary editorial that advocated airing your
displeasure on the backs of the notes. Two issues of
Delaware shin plasters are found with political messages.
Two notes like this 5-cent scrip from Georgetown, Delaware were
used to carry strong anti-shin plaster graffiti.
Wilmington, Delaware utilized city scrip printed in 1837 and
1841. One of these 5-cent notes has face and back political
graffiti. Illustrated is the obverse of a similar note not defaced.
President Andrew Jackson raged against old
Federalist policies, such as a central bank and high tariffs.
He mistrusted the investor classes of New England.
Citizens of the western frontier, such as Jackson, were
generally debtors to Eastern financial interests. Nicholas
Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States
was an innovative banker with political leanings. Biddle
used his position to work against Jackson?s election. The
two were bound to clash. Had Biddle joined in
conciliatory discussion, history may have been changed,
but Jackson was likely to be unmoved by reasoning when
his mind was made up.
Reading about Jackson?s war with the Second Bank
of the United States reveals many causative factors and
disagreements about their relative importance. President
Jackson?s emotional approach to finance was a major
issue. The Bank of England?s increased interest rates
worsened the situation, especially in the Southern cotton
markets and in the money markets of the East Coast.
Eastern/Western sectionalism and particularly nasty party
politics inflamed groups of people in different ways.
People in many areas of the country had understandable
dislike of banks. Mistrust and general cussedness of
powerful individuals are among the causes cited.
Jackson?s contradictory policies appear to be the major
cause of the Panic of 1837. There was enough finger-
pointing to go around for the graffiti artists. Refer to the
sources list for further reading.
The Second Bank of the United States had previously
reined in the excessive issue of local bank notes.
Jackson?s refusal to renew the charter of the 2nd Bank in
1832 and his dividing Federal Treasury funds among
many banks (?Pet Banks?) in all parts of the country gave
a windfall of money to the bankers. This increase in the
banks? money deposits encouraged a flood of local bank
paper. The later Specie Circular mandated Federal land
Jackson and Van Buren are both lampooned on a money-
resembling broadside of the times. (Heritage Auctions)?
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payments to be in gold and silver?a contrary effect on
the money supply. Jackson?s erratic, conflicting policies
resulted in many bank failures and eventual suspension of
specie payments by most banks in 1837. All that bank
currency could no longer be redeemed in gold or silver.
Hoarding caused coins to disappear in ordinary
commerce. Private issues of tokens and scrip offered a
solution for making small purchases and making change.
Some references suggest that the economic downturn of
1837-1842 was second only to the Civil War as the most
severe economic crisis in our history, calculated by per
capita distress.
Like our Obsolete Bank Notes, scrip issues were
many and varied. Some were fraudulent; some might only
be payable at a future date. If you had scrip from a distant
source, how would you ever redeem it? If the notes stayed
in the local economy, you would at least know where it
came from. The local issuer was available for redemption.
The system would have worked fairly well within a small
radius of travel. The scarcity of such notes in collectors?
hands is a mark of how well the scrip was finally
redeemed for ?current funds? (that is, coins or bank notes)
or merchandise.
A lot of people were victims of hard times in the
financial crisis of 1837-1842. It is predictable that there
would be divisive feelings and class warfare evidenced by
news stories, political cartoons and public
pronouncements. The raw satire of the copper Hard Times
Token series spoke to different sides of the issues--
progressives and reactionaries. Cabinet members who
disagreed with Jackson were labeled ?Treasury Rats? for
their preference for the United States Treasury having a
single powerful bank. Debtors had no hard currency to
repay loans, and many businesses failed. Unemployment
affected all parts of the country.
President Jackson and Nicholas Biddle were
variously blamed for the crisis that fell on the Van Buren
administration. Dictatorial Jackson was an easy target.
Nicholas Biddle was blamed and hated for his role in
precipitating some events. Jackson?s huge, smelly cheese
in the White House at the end of his term became a
favorite image for his opponents. The ?stink? in the White
House carried over into the next administration. The Bank
of England and the 2nd Bank of the United States seemed
twinned evil influences in the minds of Jackson partisans.
The Biblical Book of Revelation describes the dream
image of demons associated with unclean and evil birds.
In some minds, scrip notes let loose on the world were
similarly apocalyptic visions. Most scrip notes from the
financial panic of the 1830s and 40s are blank on the back.
This provided partisans of diverse politics a canvas to
spread their ideas.
Delaware Obsolete Currency and scrip notes are
recognized as scarce commodities. Three pieces of scrip
with shinplaster graffiti are particularly unusual items.
Two such rants on identical notes place the blame on
multiple culprits, as though the propagandists are
covering all the bases.
The Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware (1807-
1981) was the last remaining bank in the U.S. to have its
state retain a large stock ownership. From the outset it
operated branch banks throughout the state. 1837 scrip
from the Georgetown branch have graffiti on reverses of
two different 5-cent notes.
A crude cartoon Nicholas Biddle with a rope around
his neck is captioned ?Biddle Hang by the neck until dead
dead.? One end shows a wedge of Jackson?s big cheese,
which odor permeated the Van Buren White House. The
cheese?s bad smell became symbolic mockery of Jackson.
Is this both anti-Biddle and anti-Jackson propaganda? The
other end exclaims, ?Down with the English Bank?. Anti-
Bank of England opinion, or linking the trials of the
English institution to the 2nd Bank of the United States?
Another example of the same scrip issue has a tiny
cartoon of a horned and tailed demon releasing a hellish
scrip note winging to the sky. The Evil One is captioned,
?Martin Van Buren Currency?. ?Damn the Shin Plasters?
is the motto. Better artwork, and they are certain who to
blame.
The City of Wilmington, Delaware made scrip issues
in 1814, 1837, 1841 and 1862. The issues must have been
profitable for the City and convenient for local business
for the town fathers to repeat the process this way. The
1837 and 1841 issues were post-dated for a year. You
could not expect redemption until then, and no interest
was paid for your trouble. This was an attempt to keep the
notes in general circulation in the community; notes also
had time to stray away from home and become a profit for
the issuer.
The large series of Hard Times Tokens vary with pro- and
anti-Jackson themes. (Heritage Auctions)
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A horned devil lets loose a filthy bird: Van Buren?s
Currency. Back of a second 5-cent Georgetown,
Delaware shinplaster, face same as above.
An 1841 five-cent scrip note from Wilmington has
an exhortation on the face that the note should carry
interest, since it is only redeemable in one year?s time.
The back of the note states, ?This species of ?the better
currency? was issued by a Whig Corporation ruling the
affairs of the City of Wilmington, Del. in March 1841. A
small humbug--payable 12 months after date! Hard
money & no rags!? Here, we have the urban poor,
businesspeople, or debtors blaming the anti-Jackson
forces for the hard times?possibly a coalition.?
A piece of 5-cent Wilmington,
Delaware city scrip of 1841 has
graffiti on both sides. The face
complains no interest is paid on a
note with a year?s delay to redeem.
The reverse (shown) accuses the
Whigs supposedly in control of City
government.
Certainly, people in Delaware were not terribly
victimized by worthless scrip. The small size of the state
and its small commerce and small banking community
had a positive influence on the public trust. Isolated areas
and large cities were more of a hotbed of fraud. The
politics and economics were complex, but the effect was
the same if you were unemployed by business failure.
People are still finding an outlet by means of graffiti
protesting thorny political and economic issues with no
easy solutions. Today as in 1837, everybody seeks
somebody to blame when the crunch comes.
References:
Special thanks for Professor Loren Gatch for kind advice on this article.
?America?s Other Great Depression?. https://www.brandeis.edu/magazine/2013/spring/inquiry/depression.html.
?Andrew Jackson?s Bank War & the Panic of 1837?.
https://economics.harvard.edu/files/economics/files/panic_1837_harvard_final.pdf.
Bowers, Q. David. Obsolete Paper Money. Atlanta: Whitman, 2006.
Clain-Stefanelli, Elvira & Vladimir. Two Centuries of American Banking. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1975.
?1837: The Hard Times?. https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/crises/1837.html.
?The Federalist Party?. www.history.com.
Hepburn, A. Barton. A History of Currency in the United States. New York: Macmillan, 1924.
Inskeep, Steve. Jacksonland. New York: Penguin, 2015.
McGrane, Reginald. The Panic of 1837: Some Financial Problems of the Jacksonian Era. New York, NY: Russell & Russell, 1965.
?Panic of 1837?. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Panic_of_1837.
?The Panic of 1837?. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-ushistory1/chapter/the-panic-of- 1837-and-the-whig-party/.
Rulau, Russell. Hard Times Tokens. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause, 1996.
Schlesinger, Arthur M. The Age of Jackson. New York: Mentor, 1953.
?An Ungovernable Anarchy?. www.intereconomic.eu/contents/year/2010.
Identical to the above 5-
cent Georgetown,
Delaware note: an
illustrated back
blaming all parties.
Biddle hangs, cheesy
bad odor hangs over the
White House, and the
banks are all indicted.
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$50 Legal Tender
Series of 1874, 1875, 1878, 1880
Intaglio Face Plate Varieties
Purpose and Introduction
The purpose of this article is to track the production and alteration of the $50 intaglio face plates
used to print Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 legal tender notes.
This tale is a fascinating example of both the continued use of the same master transfer roll across
four series during the course of 26 years coupled with numerous alterations to the plates made from it to
keep those plates reasonably current.
Every variety pertaining to these face plates is listed on Table 1. The scope of this discussion is
limited to the varieties in the intaglio elements on the face plates, not variations in the colorful overprints
applied to the faces or details associated with the back plates.
The face design for the $50 plates treated here was created and engraved at the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing. Bureau personnel made the plates. In contrast, the back plates were designed and made by the
Columbian Bank Note Company, which had the contract to print those backs during production of the Series
of 1874 and 1875. The back plates were turned over to the Bureau thereafter so Bureau personnel assumed
responsibly for both printing the backs and making additional back plates as needed beginning with the
Series of 1878.
The handling of the $50 legal tender face plates at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing provides
a window into how the manufacture of low-use high-denomination plates was handled. The byword was
economically.
Low-use plates used to print large-size notes were not hardened at the Bureau because wear was
not a serious concern. Because the plates were soft, they could be altered to update variable features such
as series dates, Treasury signatures and other minor design elements. In contrast, a roll lifted from a full-
face master die had to be hardened before it could be used to lay-in the image onto the plates. Consequently,
if elements on the roll become obsolete, the usual means for updating those elements was to alter them on
the plates after the image had been laid-in.
The Paper
Column
Peter Huntoon
Figure 1. Die proof lifted from the Series of 1874 $50 legal tender master die. Notice that it
carries an 1874 series date and Spinner-Allison signatures. The tail of Spinner?s signature
overlaps the rosette between the signatures. A roll lifted from this die was used to make all the
$50 Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 face plates. Bruce Hagen photo.
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$50 Full-Face Master Die and Roll
Our tale begins in 1874 when the Bureau engravers and siderographers finished the $50 Series of
1874 full-face master die and hardened it. A print from it is illustrated on Figure 1. Next. they made a
transfer roll from the die and hardened it as well. The images on the die and roll could not be altered once
those objects were hardened.
The creators of the master die and roll were not forward thinking because they included the Spinner-
Allison Treasury signatures as well as the 1874 series date on the die. Those elements would prove to be
variable. Despite this fact, the roll fathered every $50 Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 face plate that
was made.
The fact that the roll carried the Spinner-Allison signature combination allows us to demonstrate
that the roll was used to make all the plates. This comes about because Spinner?s signature overlapped the
rosette that separates the signatures. Consequently, vestiges of the tail of his signature are found in the
rosette on all the $50 face plates through the end of the Series of 1880. See Figure 2.
Figure 2. Left?tail of Spinner
signature on the rosette; Center?
removal of the signature; Right?
remnants of the signature remain
as blacken overlays on the white
line work where they could not be
removed from the rosette.
Table 1. $50 Legal Tender Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 face plates and their permutations listed in
chronological order of when they were certified. Dates listed where available in the plate history ledgers or on certified proofs.
Date Plate Plate Serial
Treasury Plate Date Plate Date Plate Condemned or Position of Plate Serial Also Between
PLATE Fr # Series Plate # Serial # Treasurer Register Authorized Certified Destroyed Number on Subjects C & D Subjects
1 152 1874 1 Spinner Allison Mar 14, 1874 left of left plate letters yes
2 152 1874 2 Spinner Allison Mar 16, 1874 left of left plate letters yes
3 152 1874 3 Spinner Allison May 7, 1874 left of left plate letters yes
4 152 1874 4 Spinner Allison May 11, 1874 left of left plate letters yes
1 153 1875 1 Wyman Allison left of left plate letters yes
2 154 1878 2 Gilfillan Allison right of right plate letter yes
3 154 1878 3 Gilfillan Allison right of left plate letter yes
4 154 1878 4 Gilfillan Allison under left plate letter yes
1 155 1880 1 Gilfillan Bruce Nov 12, 1880 Aug 16, 1882 right of right plate letter yes
1 156 1880 1 Wyman Bruce Jun 1883 right of right plate letter yes
G. W. Casilear's Nov. 24, 1868 patent removed from the lower frame of the serial number tombstone on existingg and new plates hereafter.
1 157 1880 617a 1 Jordan Rosecrans Dec 1885 Apr 5, 1886 right of right plate letter
5 157 1880 1513a 1513b Jordan Rosecrans Mar 18, 1886 under left plate letter
5 158 & 159c 1880 1513 1513b Hyatt Rosecrans under left plate letter
5 160 1880 1513 1513b Huston Rosecrans Dec 30, 1891 under left plate letter
6 160 & 161c 1880 2468 2468b Huston Rosecrans May 6, 1889 Jan 4, 1892 under left plate letter
7 noned 1880 4036 1 Nebeker Rosecrans May 6, 1892 Oct 14, 1892 under left plate letter
Placement of the Treasury signatures swithed on the plares hereafter.
Register Treasurer
7 162 1880 4036 1 Tillman Morgan Dec 4, 1893 under left plate letter
8 162 1880 4763 2 Tillman Morgan Nov 3, 1893 Jun 16, 1896 under left plate letter
9 162 1880 4833 3 Tillman Morgan Dec 4, 1893 Jul 17, 1897 under left plate letter
8 163 1880 4763 1 Bruce Roberts Apr 30, 1898 under left plate letter
9 163 1880 4833 2 Bruce Roberts Apr 30, 1898 under left plate letter
8 164 1880 4763 1 Lyons Roberts May 27, 1899 under left plate letter
10 164 1880 10783 3d Lyons Roberts Jul 28, 1900 Aug 4, 1900 under left plate letter
10 nonee 1880 10783 3 Napier McClung Jul 19, 1911 under left plate letter
a. The Treasury plate number was assigned in 1886 when that set of numbers was adopted but not placed in the margin of the plate.
b. The Treasury plate number was used as the plate serial number between 1886 and 1891.
c. The face plate used for these two Friedberg numbers was the same, the difference in the notes being the Treasury seals overprinted on them.
d. There was no plate serial number 2 Lyons-Roberts plate.
e. No notes were issued with this signature combination.
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The way this played out was when they used the roll to lay-in the four subjects on a given plate,
they had to remove the Spinner-Allison signatures and 1874 series date from each subject. This could be
accomplished rather easily for all but the tail of Spinner?s signature because those elements occupied open
fields on the plate. The problem was the tail in the rosette. They got progressively more adept at removing
it from the rosettes, but perfection often eluded them.
The Conundrum of Huston-Rosecrans Plate 2468
Two surviving proofs lifted from Huston-Rosecrans plate 2468 reveal that the plate was the
epicenter of a costly blunder. The plate was assigned a start date of May 6, 1892. Somewhat unusual is that
two proofs survive from it and the earliest was not certified. See Figure 3.
At first blush, the first of the proofs appears to have been made for some reason before they altered
the series date from 1874 to 1880. In this respect, the proof nicely demonstrates that 1874 was on the transfer
roll as expected. However, they already had replaced the Spinner-Allison signature combination with
Huston-Rosecrans. It was unusual to draw a proof until all the alterations were made.
The joker is that a string of six printer?s initials was stamped across the top margin of the plate.
Four were the same pressman, a man who went by the single initial W. This was no proof drawn from a
new plate. The proof had been drawn after the plate had seen service?plenty of service.
Only one scenario fits. As the plate was being made, the series date was not altered to 1880 when
the Spinner-Allison signatures were changed to Huston-Rosecrans. Pressman W spotted the problem as he
was engaged in a seventh printing from the plate. A proof was pulled and the 4s on all four subjects were
boldly circled to highlight the error. W then stamped his initial on the plate for the fifth time, thus closing
out the 7th printing and returned the plate to the plate vault pending a repair of the date.
The fact is, no Fr. 160 Huston-Rosecrans notes with an 1874 series date have been recorded. There
can be only one explanation. All the sheets from all seven printings were canceled.
The second proof was lifted to prove the correction to Series of 1880. That proof was duly certified
by BEP Chief William M. Meredeth. It carried seven printer?s initials across its upper margin at the time.
Recycled Plates
The plates under consideration saw rather light use so often remained serviceable when series and
signature combinations became obsolete. The Treasury signatures and series date were the principal items
Figure 3. Succession of proofs from Huston-Rosecrans plate 2468 illustrating that the 1874 series date from
the transfer roll was not replaced by 1880 when the plate was made. Seven printings were made before the
date was corrected. That production had to be canceled. National Numismatic Collection photos.
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that were updated on them. These changes
can be tracked through the plate history
ledgers allowing us to see the progression
presented on Table 1. Notice that all but
plate 2468 were altered at least once to
carry new signatures after they were made;
and, in the extreme, plate 1 was altered
multiple times to update both the series and
signatures.
Figure 4 reveals that the proof for
Series of 1878 Gilfillan-Allison plate 2
caught mid-stride the alteration of the
series dates on the plate. The plate began
life as the number 2 Series of 1874
Spinner-Allison plate. They already had
laid-in Gilfillan?s signatures so an
engraver was finishing the last digit in the
series dates and removing the tails of
Spinner?s signature from the rosettes.
The following minor design elements also were
altered or added.
Generally, but with exceptions, plate serial numbers
were used to denote the order in which plates bearing the same
series and Treasury signatures were made. Those numbers and
their placement were not sacrosanct so often were changed
and/or moved when Treasury signatures were updated. An
interesting example involves two of the three plates bearing
Tillman-Morgan signatures when they were altered to carry
the Bruce-Roberts combination. The number 2 and 3 Tillman-
Morgan plates became the number 1 and 2 Bruce-Roberts
plates. The number 1 Tillman-Morgan plate probably had
worn out by then.
In the early days. a copy of the plate serial number
was placed in the gutter between the C and D subjects. Those
numbers occasionally were moved within the gutters or, in
the case of plate 1, the number was removed when the plate
was altered into its Jorden-Roberts form.
An omnibus set of Treasury plate numbers was instituted in 1886
wherein the numbers threaded in chronological order through all Treasury plates
regardless of type of product. Once adopted, the Bureau used the Treasury plate
numbers as the plate serial number between 1886 and 1891. They even replaced
the plate serial numbers on old still serviceable plates that remained in their
inventory with the new Treasury plate numbers (Huntoon and Murray, 2017).
A patent notice embedded in the frame surrounding the serial number
tombstone was removed in 1893. See Figure 7. The patent was for the concept
of placing serial numbers on an engraved field to discourage alteration of them
awarded to BEP Chief Engraver George Casilear (Huntoon, 2020).
Why Different Series Years?
A curiosity associated with the legal tender notes treated here is the
reason for the use of four series dates for notes that shared the same generic face
Figure 4. Progress proof illustrating the incomplete alteration
of 1874 to 1878 on the number 2 Gilfillan-Allison plate.
Figure 5. A duplicate of the plate serial
number was placed in the gutter between
the 3rd and 4th subjects on early BEP alates.
Figure 6. Treasury plate
numbers adopted in
1886 also were used as
the plate serial numbers
between 1886 and 1891.
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and back designs. Doug Murray, the foremost authority on large-size type notes, provided the following
explanation.
Series of 1874: New face design to replace the Series of 1869 rainbow notes, a series that was
plagued by counterfeits.
Series of 1875: Change in signatures, otherwise the faces and backs of the 1874 and 1875 notes
are the same as was the security paper on which they were printed.
Series of 1878: Printing of backs assigned to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing by
Congressional mandate; Columbian Bank Note Company back plates with BEP imprint were used.
Series of 1880: New security paper supplier; specifically, the 1880 series notes utilized Crane
paper, whereas the 1878 series utilized Wilcox paper. Murray never found mixing of the papers between
the two series.
Summary
The 4-subject face plates for the $50 Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 legal tender notes were
designed and made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. All utilized the same generic intaglio design.
One master full-face die was made and a transfer roll was lifted from it that was used to make all the $50
face plates in the four series.
The notes printed in the four series embraced a plethora of varieties defined by their various series
dates, Treasury signature combinations, overprint face tints and Treasury seals. Thirteen distinct Friedberg
catalog numbers are assigned to the issued varieties.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing did not harden high-denomination plates because the
printings from them were modest to small so wear was not a major issue. Because the plates were not
hardened, they could be and were routinely altered. Alterations included updating series dates, Treasury
signature combinations, plate numbers and plate number placements.
A peculiarity with the Series of 1880 plates was that the positions of the signatures of the U.S.
Treasurer and Register of the Treasury were switched beginning in 1893 when the Tillman-Morgan
signature combination became current/
Cited Sources and Sources of Data
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1863-1929, Certified proofs of large-size U.S. type notes: National Numismatic Collection,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1863-1960, Record of plates in the plate vault, ledgers pertaining to dies, rolls, altos, plates and
serial numbers: Record Group 318, Entry P1, (450/79/17/01-containers 12-15), U.S. National Archives College Park, MD.
Huntoon, Peter, Sep-Oct 2012, Initials in the margins of large size proofs and sheets: Paper Money, v. 51, p. 333-342.
Huntoon, Peter, May-Jun 2020, Patent dates on early large size currency and certificates of deposit: Paper Money, v. 59, p. 156-
163.
Huntoon, Peter, and Doug Murray, Jan-Feb 2017, Treasury plate numbers used as plate serial numbers, 1886-1891: Paper Money,
v. 56, p. 3-15.
Huntoon, Peter, and Doug Murray, Sep-Oct 2019, Treasury sealing assigned to Treasurer?s office in 1885: Paper Money, v. 58, p.
327-337.
Figure 7. The Casilear patent notice referring to his patent for note serial numbers superimposed on engraved
backgrounds to prevent alteration of the numbers was removed in 1893.
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Figure 8. The four seal varieties arranged in chronological order and back used during the 26-year production
of $50 Series of 1874, 1875, 1878 and 1880 legal tender notes. Heritage Auction archives photos.
Figure 9. The roll with Allison-Spinner signatures and 1874 series date was used to lay-in this
$2 Allison-New Series of 1875 plate. The series date was in the process of begin changed to 1875
when this proof was drawn. National Numismatic Collection photo.
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Figure 10. The Series date on the $5 Allison-Gilfillan proof in the foreground should be 1878. The
plate serial number is 26. Is there a good story here? National Numismatic Collection photos.
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The 1963 $5 Legal Tender Series: A Study
by John S. Patrick
In 1964, the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing (BEP) began delivering the 1963 series
of $5 United States Notes (commonly known to
collectors as Legal Tender notes). This series
would have no alphabetic ?subseries? like the
1953 series which went up to 1953C, nor would
there also be the same series Silver Certificates as
the 1953 series. It would also be one of the
shortest printings, staying in A-A and *-A blocks
with a published total of 67,200,000 printed,
although not all of those would make it to
circulation as the evidence will show later. Even
though it is a short total run, this series is much
underappreciated by collectors, who often see the
necessity of only getting two notes for their
collection: one from A-A block and a star. And
for most collectors, that would be enough.
However, I took a liking to this series and wanted
to prove (or disprove) what little information I
could find by surveying notes from online
auctions, most notably eBay, which at any given
time seems to have over 200 notes listed from this
series. After quite a bit of time, I?ve managed to
collect data on what?s been posted on eBay, in
addition to other sources such as the
PaperMoneyForum.com, USPaperMoney.info,
and auction sites such as Heritage. Below are my
findings.
Let?s start off with the basics and quickly
correct some published data. Oakes, Schwartz,
Lindquist, and others (through multiple editions
of the Standard Guide to Small Size U. S. Paper
Money) state that the 1963 $5 Legal Tender series
have front plates of 1 through 10 and back plates
of 1 through 9. After cataloging a total of over
2100 notes from over all print runs, I have only
recorded the following plates in use--Table 1.
As you can see, front plates 2, 9, and 10 have
not been observed, and back plates 6 and 7 have
also not been observed on 1963 $5 Legal Tender.
(Note that back plate #7 was made and has been
seen on 1963 $5 Federal Reserve Notes, although
its use is uncommon at best, tending more toward
scarce; back plates 8 and 9 were also recorded on
the 1963 FRNs.) In fact, for star notes, only front
plates 1, 4, and 8 have been used, while back
plates for stars are limited to 1 and 2.
Table 1: Plates Recorded in 1963 $5 USN
Front Plate 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Back Plate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9
Bold numbers represent plates also
used on star notes.
For regular notes, there were a total of 99 full
20,000 sheet printings. Based on analysis of the
serial numbers to determine the sheet on which
they were printed, it appears that all 1,980,000
sheets were printed and circulated; for runs 4, 16,
and 18, I?ve only recorded two (2) notes for these
runs but they are sufficiently spaced to show they
were full print runs. Also, looking at plate
positions of the notes, the distribution is such that
it does not appear that any specific plate position
was undistributed. While I have only recorded
two (2) notes in quadrant 1 (plate positions A1
through H1) for run 1 (representing serials A 000
00001 A through A 001 60000 A) and both in
position A1, I do believe they are out there, just
not having come up in my research. Also, the high
serial of A 633 60000 A may still be out there to
be found; the highest I have found to date is A
633 38640 A, which?not surprisingly?has been
added to my collection. If you have notes in any
of the needed print runs above, or higher serial
numbers, I will gladly take additional data via
email.
When looking at plate numbers and their
progression (see Figures 1 and 2), it is obvious
that the BEP cycled through and retired when the
plate was unserviceable, starting both front and
back plates at #1. No front plate is limited in
representation, with front plate #1 being used the
least on only seven (7) 20,000-sheet print runs.
However, on the back plates, back plate #9 was
only used for half of the last run (99): somewhere
right around sheet 10000 was the transition from
back plate #8 to back plate #9. The highest sheet
number found with back plate #8 is 9387 (serial
number A 629 29387 A) while the lowest sheet
number found with back plate #9 is 10595 (serial
number A 632 90595 A). (To find the sheet
number, divide the serial by 20000 and then look
at the remainder; a remainder of 0 is sheet 20000.)
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Figure 1: Front Plates Used by Print Run for 1963 $5 USN
Figure 2: Back Plates Used by Print Run for 1963 $5 USN
Front and Back Plates recorded by each of the 99 print runs.
What this means is that back plate #9 is
found on only 320000 of the 63360000 notes, or
just slightly more than 0.5%!
From a perspective of ?fancy? serial
numbers, this series is very limited. With only a
single AA block run?and not even two-thirds of
a complete set of 999 99999!?the number of
fancy numbers (radars, repeaters, ladders) is
limited. In addition to single digits serials, only
6335 radars and repeaters (see Figure 3 for the
author?s radar fancy), each, including only five
(5!) solids (ones through fives), plus only a
handful of ladders means that about 12,700 fancy
numbers were printed, plus another 800-star
fancies. I?ve only seen less than ten at auctions,
shows, or ?shown off? in online forums. Given
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the limited numbers of fancies available, this
series may represent some of the rarest fancies
out there.
With regards to replacement (star) notes,
there were only six (6) 20,000 sheet printings, and
each printing has a ?dedicated? plate pair, as
shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Front and Back Plates Used for the
Six (6) Star Note Runs
Print
Run Serial Range
Front
Plate
Back
Plate
1 * 000 00001 A* 006 40000 A 1 1
2 * 006 40001 A* 012 80000 A 4 2
3 * 012 80001 A* 019 20000 A 4 2
4 * 019 20001 A* 025 60000 A 8 2
5 * 025 60001 A* 032 00000 A 8 2
6 * 032 00001 A* 038 40000 A 1 1
Better than 99.81% of the star notes I?ve
recorded have the front/back plate pairs as shown
in Table 2. However, 99.81% is not 100%; I have
found (and, of course, purchased) two stars from
run 4 with the 1/1 front/back plate pair! (See
Figure 4 for the first one the author found.) If they
were in run 2, one might assume that extra sheets
from run 1 were found and used to replace
damaged sheets pre-serialization. But as they are
sheets 14967 and 14992 in run 4 (serials ends in
4967 and 4992 with a preceding odd number),
and, oddly, both notes found are in position H4,
your guess is as good as mine how these 1/1
sheets ended up ?in the mix? for the serialization
stage. Since I?ve only found two, each on
different sheets, there are at least 31 on each of
the two sheets remaining out there to find, and
maybe the sheets in between!
Analysis of the data (see Table 3) for
replacement (star) note runs 1 through 5 show
nothing special. The sheet span covers nearly the
entire 20,000 sheets and nearly every plate
position has been found multiple times (I have not
recorded run 1 positions E2, F4, and G4, and run
3 position A1), meaning all sheets were printed
and no bundles were kept making a certain plate
position uncommon let alone rare.
Table 3: Count of Recorded Notes for 1963 $5
USN Stars
Star
Print
Run
Number
Recorded
Lowest
Sheet #
Highest
Sheet #
1 142* 337 19777
2 106 212 19908
3 152 139 19584
4 302 20 19960
5 321 288 20000
6 47 16044 19965
However, star note run 6 shows something
much different. Looking at this table and
understanding survivor bias (that later notes
would circulate less and therefore be more easily
found), you can see that star print runs 2 through
5 follow that: the number found and recorded of
each run increases from run 2 to run 5. Print run
1 includes several groups of consecutive notes
which skews the count; I also anticipate print run
1 has more found than run 2 as the lower serial
numbers (more zeroes) tend to be kept in
collections more often. But why does star note
print run 6 have less than one third of the number
of print run 1? Let?s look at the lowest and highest
sheet in the survey for each run.
The evidence shows that while print runs 1
through 5 are pretty much guaranteed to have
been full 20,000 sheet printings, print run 6 may
have had only 4,000 sheets printed. This
reduction of 80% helps correlate with the paltry
number of samples found in the survey. But when
coupled with the fact that only 21 of the 32 plate
positions have been found (all of quadrants 1 and
2, but only have recorded four (A3, B3, C3, F3)
in quadrant 3 and only a single (C4) in quadrant
4) (see Figure 5), perhaps some of the 4000-note
?bricks? from a single plate position never
circulated? As the old commercial said,
?Enquiring minds want to know!? Combined, this
makes star notes from print run 6 much harder to
find and should command more of a premium
than notes from runs 2-5. Star notes from run 1,
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possessing lower serial numbers, will always
command higher prices.
In summary, the previously published front
plate and back plate numbers have been shown to
be mistaken, with a few reported plates of each
not being seen. Furthermore, while all 99 print
runs were circulated for the non-star notes,
backplate number 9 is limited to only about
320,000 of the 63,360,000 notes printed and
should be a collection target. On the star note
side, print run 6 is at least five times less common
than any other print run, and there are at least 62
additional star notes with front- and backplate
numbers that aren?t standard. For fancy number
collectors, this series may provide more of a
challenge just given the lower number printed.
Good collecting, everyone!
Figure 4: One of the Star Note Plate Anomalies
Figure 5: Star Note Run 6 by
Plate Position
Figure 3: Author?s ?Fancy? 1963 $5 USN
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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You Collect. We Protect.
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Important New Information on the T-64 CSA $500 Note Survey
Now at 3807 Notes
by Steve Feller and Mark Coughlan
The above image is from Heritage Auctions.
Figure 1: The old (38386) and new (38390) last numbered serial notes for the T-64 $500 CSA note.
For just about 17 years a plethora of surveys of the T-64 Confederate ?Stonewall Jackson? $500 note yielded
38386 as the last serial [1-10]. Now at nearly 19 years that has been superseded by co-author Mark Coughlan?s
observation of 38390 in Heritage Auctions amazing data base, See Figure 1. The new note is just four higher than the
previous high serial. This is consistent with the survey?s average separation of about 10. Further new information
was provided by co-author Mark on the signers of these notes and their complete serial ranges! Furthermore, we have
updated all details of the ongoing survey.
This is an ongoing series of articles on these surveys of the T-64 notes [1-10]. The data from the 3807 note
census, as of August 5, 2024, have been added to the other surveys and are summarized below.
Date Notes Seen Change Notes/day Notes seen per week
August 5, 2024 3807 307 0.44 3.1
September 11, 2022 3500 346 0.53 3.7
November 29, 2020 3154 443 0.46 3.2
March 25, 2018 2711 348 0.42 2.9
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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December 25, 2015 2363 516 0.46 3.2
November 18, 2012 1847 206 0.42 2.9
July 16, 2011 1641 665 0.48 3.4
September 15, 2007 976 372 0.59 4.1
December 23, 2005 604
8/5/24- 12/23/05 3203 for 6800 days 0.471 3.3
Table 1: Number and rate of T-64 notes surveyed as of August 5, 2024
It is interesting to note how constant the rate of finding new notes is?For almost 19 years it has remained at
about 3-4 new notes per week. The rate hasn?t slowed implying that there are still many unreported notes out in the
world.
The $500 1864 Confederate notes of the seventh series are called T-64 notes as named by Grover Criswell in
his classic catalogs [11]. Criswell further delineated the notes into three subtypes: 489A (serial between 1-6000), 489
(serials in the range 6001 and 33000), and 489B (serials from 33001 and 38400). Table 2 below gives the number of
each type of T-64 and the survival rate to August 5, 2024. It also gives the changes for the last two surveys.
Serial Range # Printed Type # Seen Frequency 8/5/24-9/11/22 Freq.chng
1-6000 24000 489a 545 0.0227 41 0.0017
6001-33000 108000 489 2603 0.0241 207 0.0019
33001-38400 21600* 489b 659 0.0305 59 0.0027
Total 153600* 3807 0.0247 307 0.0020
Serial Range # Printed Type # Seen Frequency 9/11/22-11/29/20 Freq.chng
1-6000 24000 489a 504 0.0210 50 0.0021
6001-33000 108000 489 2396 0.0222 239 0.0022
33001-38400 21600* 489b 600 0.0278 57 0.0026
Total 153600* 3500 0.0228 346 0.0023
*In this table it is assumed that Type 489B notes ceased production with serial 38400 (see text for further details).
Table 2: Number and frequency of varieties of T-64 notes seen in the last two surveys.
Figure 2: Number of notes seen for the three Criswell types: 489a, 489, and 489b.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Type 489a Type 489 Type 489b
#
N
ot
es
Criswell Type
Number of Notes by Criswell Type
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The average separation between serial numbers is about 10 while forType 489B it is only 8. The four serial
letters, A,B,C,D are more or less equal in frequncy as one might expect, see Figures 3. However, the B serial letter
has consistently been about 10% higher than the others, this is due to runs of B notes that exceed those of the other
letters.
Figure 3: Number of notes with serials A,B,C, and D after 3807 note observations
The survival frequencies of types 489a, 489, and 489b are shown in Figure 4. Since the first survey we have
observed that Type 489b is the most frequent in terms of number survived divided by number printed. In the current
survey Type 489b survived about 25-30% more frequently than Types 489a and 489. Also, Types 489a and 489 are
very close in frequncy. Perhaps 489a is a bit less frequent since they had more of a chance to be lost since they were
issued before Type 489.
Figure 4: Observation frequencies (number survived divided by nmber printed) of Type 489a, Type 489, Type 489b T-64 notes. The
overall average for T-64 is shown as well.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
A B C D
N
um
be
r
Serial Letter
Number of Notes with Serial Letters A,B,C, and D for
Type 64 CSA $500 after 3807 Note Observations
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
Type 489a Type 489 Type 489b T-64 Avg
Fr
eq
ue
nc
y
(O
bs
er
ve
d/
P
ri
nt
ed
)
Criswell Type
Relative frequency of 3807 Type 64 CSA Notes
as of August 5, 2024
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Figure 5: The number of notes seen per ranges of 2000 serials by serial letters.
A few points maybe determined from Figure 5. Note that the B serial letters have several strong peaks; these
represent the large survival runs of these serials. These include very strong B serial sequences in the ranges 6001-
80000 and 22001-24000. Other letters have runs too but B has more than the others.
The scarcity of serials after 38000 is apparent, see Figure 5 and Table 3. Serial letters A and B represent 31 out
of the 35 = 89% of the recorded serial letters in this group. This may imply that stacks of A and B serialed notes
were distributed first and that time ran out on C and D serials as the war concluded amidst the chaos in Columbia,
SC. This is further supported by the fact that at high serials (above 38250) there are no Ds and but one C out of 18
notes.
A B C D Not recorded
14 17 2 2 1
Table 3: Serial letter survival data from serials above 38000.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Serials
A's B's C's D's
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Other information may be gleaned from the 3807, 3500, 3154, 2711, 2363, 1847, 1641 and 976 observed serials
from the last eight survey sampling periods. Consider the last six groups of one thousand serials; this constitutes the
entire range of Criswell 489B notes, these often come with the marvelous dark red ink. We observed the following
in Table 4:
Thousand Serials Notes in Each Observed Set
976 1641 1847 2363 2711 3154 3500 3807
33001-34000 30 47 53 62 74 89 102 119
34001-35000 32 64 69 80 91 118 129 137
35001-36000 34 56 62 81 91 111 123 136
36001-37000 39 49 61 97 106 118 127 136
37001-38000 35 49 53 63 71 76 86 95
38001-38400 (Last Note) 13 15 17 20 24 31 33 36
Total Type 489b Notes 183 280 315 403 457 543 600 659
Fraction of Type 489b 0.19 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17
Fraction of 489b 38000+ 0.013 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.010 0.009 0.009
Table 4: Number of Type 489B notes observed.
Figure 6: Histogram of Type 489b notes.
It appears that the notes from the highest serial numbers are less common in type 489b; this is especially so
above 38000.
For the current data set Type 489b notes (with the range of serial numbers 33001 to 38000) there is on average
125 observed notes per 1000 serials with a variation, 95 to 137, in the numbers observed. The sudden drop to 36
serials above 38000 is a clear indication that the serials stopped abruptly. Extrapolating the rate of observed notes of
125 per 1000 for notes whose serials are between 33001 and 38000 to the range above 38000 and using the fact that
36 notes have been observed above 38000 leads to a predicted end of the serial range to be 38000 + (36/125)*1000
or 38288. Since we actually observed the note with serial 38390 the estimate is low because the survival rate of the
notes above 38000 is low.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
33001-
34000
34001-
35000
35001-
36000
36001-
37000
37001-
38000
38001-
39000
N
um
be
r
Serial Range
1000 Serial Number Ranges
Type 489B after 3807 Notes Seen
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Still 38288 is somewhat close to 38390 indicating that 38390 is near to the last of the serial numbers. For
convenience and because 38400 represents exactly 9600 half-sheets of four notes (A, B, C, D) we have chosen 38400
as the final serial. The last seven surveys, shown in Table 4, predict the final serial numbers to be:
976 1641 847 2363 2711 3154 3500 3779 notes
Predicted Last Serial 38382 38283 38285 38261 38277 38303 38291 38289
Predicted Last Serial
-18 -117 -115 -139 -123- 38400 -97 -109 -111
Table 5: Predicted last serial numbers and difference to interpolated 38400 based on the trend of Type 489B notes.
Yet more new information was uncovered by Mark?the complete set of signers of T-64 along with their serial
number ranges, See Table 6. This is no small task and result! Indeed, Raphael Thian, in his monumental Register of
the Confederate Debt [12] only reported serials to 32900, now the complete range is being reported with confidence.
START SN END SN SIGNED FOR REGISTER SIGNED FOR TREASURER
1 20000 MR. WILLIAM F. MILLER MR. JAMES C. JOPLIN
20001 29800 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS RICHE HAYNES
29801 30400 MRS. VIRGINIA M. PEURIFOY MISS ADELAIDE L. STUART
30401 31500 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS RICHE HAYNES
31501 31900 MRS. VIRGINIA M. PEURIFOY MISS RICHE HAYNES
31901 33100 MRS. VIRGINIA M. PEURIFOY MISS ADELAIDE L. STUART
33101 33700 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS C.P. WHITE
33701 34300 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS EUGENIA A. BAKER
34301 34800 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS MARIA PARKER SAVAGE
34801 35600 MISS LIZZIE W. ELLIOTT MISS RICHE HAYNES
35601 38000 MRS. VIRGINIA M. PEURIFOY MISS EUGENIA A. BAKER
38001 38400 MISS ESTHER H. BARNWELL MISS EUGENIA A. BAKER
NOTE - MR. THIAN ONLY RECORDED SERIAL NUMBERS 1 ? 32900 IN THE REGISTER.
Table 6: Complete list of signers, by serial numbers, of T-64 $500 Confederate Note.
What a treasure trove of information. For example, it is now possible to see if the signature pair on any
T-64 note is correct.
If readers have additional serial number and letter reports, we would be pleased to receive
them at sfeller@coe.edu; a scan would be great. Each article generates several new observations that
are sent this way. The previous articles in this series are listed below.
In summary, it does not seem that we are nearing the end of new serial numbers. They are still being
found at a rate of about 3.3 notes per week or one note every two-three days.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Bibliography
[1] S. A. Feller, ?The Criswell Type 64 Confederate States of America $500 Note,?
I.B.N.S. Journal, 42(3) 2003 27-33.
[2] S.A. Feller, ?The Criswell Type 64 Confederate States of America $500 Note:
A Statistical Update,? I.B.N.S. Journal, 43(2) 2004 54-55.
[3] S.A. Feller, ?Is This the Last Confederate Note Issued?,? I.B.N.S. Journal, 44(4) 2005
31-32.
[4] S.A. Feller, ?A Survey of Nearly 1000 Type-64 CSA $500 Notes,? Paper Money
XLVII (1) Whole Number 253 2008 11-18.
[5] S.A. Feller, ?1641 Note-Survey Update on Type-64 CSA $500 Notes: What was
the last number Issued,? Paper Money L (6) (Whole Number 276) 464-476 (2011).
[6] S.A. Feller, ?1847 Note Survey on Type- 64 CSA $500 Notes: What Was the
Last Note Issued?: A Brief Update,? Paper Money LII (4) (Whole Number 284)
116-118 (2013).
[7] S.A. Feller, ?2363 Note Survey on Type- 64 CSA $500 Notes: What Was the
Last Note Issued?: Another Brief Update,? Paper Money LV (2) (Whole Number 302)
118-121 (2016).
[8] S.A. Feller, ?My Over 15 Year Hunt: A 2711 Note Survey on T-64 CSA $500 Notes:
What Was the Last Note Issued?: A Detailed Update,? Paper Money LVII (3) (Whole
Number 315) 180-185 (2018).
[9] Steve Feller,? My 17 Year Hunt: The 3154 Note Survey on T-64 CSA $500 Notes
What Was the Last Note Issued? Another Update,? Paper Money LX (3) (Whole Number
333) 211-217 (2021).
[10] Steve Feller, ?A Very Brief Update on the T-64 CSA $500 Note Survey of 3500
Notes,? Paper Money LXI (6) (Whole Number 342 419-421 (2022).
[11] Grover C. Criswell, Comprehensive Catalog of Confederate Paper Money
(BNR Press: Port Clinton, OH) (1996).
[12] Raphael P. Thian, Register of the Confederate Debt (Quarterman Publications:
Boston) 1972.
Confederate Currency Collectors Lose a Great Member
George Tremmel
It is with great sadness and a sense of personal loss to inform you that George
Tremmel passed away on August 8th.
George Tremmel was one of the giants of Confederate numismatics and the
leading authority on Confederate counterfeits.
He was an extremely generous man, and he worked hard to document and
preserve Thian's collection of documents in the Special Collections of the
Library at Duke University.
George was member #2623 of the SPMC, joining the society in 1969.
George will be missed by all who knew him and collectors of Confederate
Currency.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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What time is it on the $100 bill?
By Lee Lofthus
In March 1947 an Illinois resident, a Mrs. R. Canty, wrote the Treasury Department the following
letter:
March 3, 1947.
U.S. Treasury Dept.
Washington, D.C.
Gentlemen:
Would appreciate it very much if you would enlighten me on this question. What
time does the clock indicate on the back of a one hundred dollar bill? I have asked bank
clerks and postal clerks and no one seems to be able to answer it. Thanking you in
advance, I am
Sincerely,
Mrs. [R.] Canty
When Mrs. Canty wrote Treasury in 1947, the new $100 bills were the Series 1934C Federal
Reserve notes (Figure 1). But she could have been looking at any small-size $100 bill. Regardless, the back
design of the $100s, showing the south side of Independence Hall, had not changed since the small-size
currency was introduced almost twenty years earlier.
Treasury?s reply to Mrs. Canty (Figure 2) said the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) had
inspected the original models for the $100 back and that the time on the clock was 2:24. However, the reply
also noted the same approximate positions of the hands would exist at 4:10, disclosing some uncertainty
even inside Treasury. Handwritten notes by unidentified Treasury officials in the margin of Mrs. Canty?s
incoming letter offered two times, one suggesting ?2:24? and the other ?10 after 4.?
Figure 1. The back of a Series of 1934C $100 Federal Reserve Note showing south side view of
Independence Hall. The 1934C notes were the new issues in 1947 when an Illinois resident
wrote and asked the Treasury Department what time appeared on the back of the $100 bill.
Heritage Auctions photograph.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Looking at the original $100 back plate proofs in in the Smithsonian Institution?s cache of BEP
proofs is no help. The 12-subject proof of small size $100 back plate No.1, dated June 14, 1929, is no more
distinct than the issued 1934C notes (Figure 3).
When the Series of 1966 $100 U.S. Notes (Figure 4) were introduced, the back design appears
sharper, but the clock time ambiguity remained.
When the redesigned Series of 1996 large head $100 notes appeared, new back plates were created,
but again using the same south-side Independence Hall central vignette as the source. The engraving appears
crisper, but the clock still allows for either a 2:24 or 4:10 interpretation, perhaps favoring the 4:10 answer
(Figure 5).
The popular movie ?National Treasure? came out in 2004, and the time on the back of the $100 bill
was an important clue to finding the treasure. After examining a Series 1996-style $100 note, the treasure
hunters declared the time on the bill was 2:22.
Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3, far left, is a
close up of the Series 1934C Federal
Reserve note back. Figure 4, near left, is
a Series 1966 $100 Legal Tender back.
The Series 1966 design appears sharper
but the clock time remains indistinct and
opinions would vary whether the time
was 2:24 or 4:10.
Figure 2. Treasury?s 1947 reply to Mrs. Canty regarding the time on the back of the
$100 bill. Treasury officials took great pains to promptly reply to Mrs. Canty?s inquiry.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Notwithstanding the movie, over the years the official view of the time came to favor the 4:10 time.
Possibly no one was aware of the 2:24 answer given in 1947.
The big change came October 8, 2013 when the Series 2009A $100s featuring color-shifting inks,
blue 3-D security ribbon, and other enhanced security features came out. (The Series 2009 $100s were
printed earlier, but their release was delayed due to quality control problems with some of the notes). The
view of Independence Hall on the back was changed from the south side of the building to the north side.
The clock time changed to a distinct 10:30 (Figure 6).
One might think that the clock was changed to resolve the uncertainty over the time, but that was
not the case. BEP engraver Joachim C. Benzing created both the north and south views of Independence
Hall in the late 1920?s. The Series 2009 $100 backs use Benzing?s north side engraving where the time
shown was 10:30.
Benzing was born in Ellicott City, Maryland (slightly west of Baltimore), and was hired by the BEP
in 1905. He studied under George T. Morgan, chief engraver at the U.S. Mint. Benzing had a successful
BEP career, engraving the Lincoln Memorial for the small size $5 back design, and Jefferson?s portrait for
the small size $2 bill, among other engravings. He retired in 1943 after having been Superintendent of the
Engraving Division for his last ten years at the bureau. Regarding the Independence Hall clocks, it is
believed Benzing engraved the times that appeared in the photographs he worked from for the north and
south views.
So, when asked ?what time is it on the $100 bill?? the answer is ?it depends.? It depends on whether
someone is looking at an old-style $100 bill, where two different answers have been given over time, the
Series 1996 through 2006A design, or the current generation of Series 2009A/2009 and subsequent series
notes.
Sources
Canty-Treasury correspondence, March 1947, Record Group 56, General Records of the Department of the Treasury, Central Files, Office of
the Secretary, 1933-1956, 56/450/57/13/3 Box 16, file Bank Notes and Currency. National Archives, College Park, Maryland.
Loboy, Jim. ?Facts about the 100 dollar bill? [reporting the time as 10:30 on the Series of 2013 $100 notes and the prior time being 4:10].
March 28, 2022, ABC News affiliate WYTV.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, National Numismatic Collection, Coins, Currency, and Medals. Certified
Proofs, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Numismatic Rapid Capture Project, proof sheet Accession No. NU.297219.127284.
Accessed January 6, 2023. americanhistory.si.edu
Southwest Harbor Public Library. Biography of Joachim Clarence Benzing Jr., 1880-1970. Accessed January 6, 2023,
swhplibrary.net/digitalarchives
Taylor, Jennifer. ?30 Things You Never Knew About the $100 Bill? [reporting the north and south view engravings of Independence Hall were
both done in the 1920?s by J. C. Benzing, with the north engraving showing time as 10:30]. July 13, 2018, gobankingrates.com
Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5, far left, is
from a Series 1996 ?large head? $100.
The face and back designs were
modernized, and material in the early
2000?s from the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing explained the time was
approximately 4:10. Figure 6, near left,
is the back of a Series 2009A $100 note
showing the north view of
Independence Hall and the time as
10:30. Take a look the next time you
have a new C-note. ?
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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full value. Prior to mailing material, please make a complete listing, including photocopies of
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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.
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$287,500 Lyn Knight
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Deal with the
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Some Additional Odd Denomination Discoveries
By Richard Allen, SPMC LM40
It was 1977 when I received my latest copy
of Paper Money in the mail (May-June 1977, vol.
XVI, No.3, Whole No. 69). Upon opening it I
found a fascinating article (p. 152-5) by Roger
Durand entitled ?Psst, Got Change for an Eight,?
and it pictured an obsolete $8 note from the
Peoples? Bank of Patterson, N.J. I had always
had a fascination with odd denomination coins,
such as 2 & 3 cents, and was aware of the U.S.
fractional currency issues and the encased
postage pieces. However, I was not aware of the
plethora of our very strange and odd obsolete
banknotes that once circulated, primarily in the
era of Broken Banknotes.
Because of our country?s bicentennial in
1976, I had also started collecting Colonial and
Continental Currency, and thus was aware of the
odd denominations which circulated as part of the
British monetary system, as well as the use of the
Spanish Milled Dollar and its ?bit? fractions. It
became clear that I had to get Durand?s book:
?Interesting Notes About Denominations.?
The book proved to be a treasure trove of
fascinating facts of how our early monetary
system functioned, and listed 100 different
denominations from one mill (1/10 of 1 cent)to
$100,000. I was hooked! I had to get a complete
collection. However, as Mr. Durand had
cautioned in his SPMC article, newly discovered
notes might appear at any time. Ashe put it:
?Yesterday a note was unknown, today it is
unique, tomorrow it might be common. However,
the discovery of a new denomination is quite a
rare occurrence.?
Durand?s book listed 30 denominations as
?U? or ?Uncollectible.? And, indeed, there are a
few denominations that no one has ever seen but
research has found, for example, that a bank in
Michigan issued a nine-bit ($1.12and 1/2 ) and
11-bit ($1.37and1/2) notes. Who knows, maybe
one day they will appear! I won?t go into all the
facts, denominations and revelations of the
Durand book here, but will leave it to the reader
to get and enjoy his fascinating book.
What I would like to reveal to today?s reader
is what I have discovered when trying to
complete my collection: Namely, unlisted
denominations in his book that I have discovered.
1/5cent from State Bank of Isle, Mn.
1/4 mill from Warboy?s Drug Store,
San Francisco, Ca.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
425
3/4 cent from Blue Island State Bank, Il.
1-1/4cent & 5/8cent
from the National
Children?s Savings
Ass?n
4 1/6cent ($1/24) from State Bank of Isle, Mn.
12cents 5mills from
Hartford New Haven Turnpike, Ct.
16 2/3cents ($1/6) from The Bank of Instruction, 18 cents from the Allentown Bank, Pa.
Thomas School No. 87
37 cents from Stephan Mason, Richmond, Va. 44 cents from D.S. Huntington, Adrian, Mi.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
426
$17.50 & 75
from the
South
Carolina
R.R., Co.
$87.50 &
$175 from
South Carolina
RR CO
$110 from Alliance Agriculture Works, Ohio & Pa.
also Fisher, Shalers & Co.
$160 from Burdett Business & Shorthand College
$125,000 from Pacific Bank, San Francisco, Ca.
The reasons behind the need for some of these denominations is an on-going enigma, but a
stimulating challenge for the collector of unusual and obsolete banknotes.
Bibliography
Durand, Roger H., Psst Got Change for an Eight?, Paper Money, May-June, 1977, Vol. XVI, No. 3, Whole No. 69. p. 152-5.
Durand, Roger H., Interesting Notes About Denominations. 1988
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
427
Shop Live 24/7
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whatnot.com
$MALL NOTE$ By Jamie Yakes
Changed Redemption Clauses on
Small Size Silver Certificates
The frantic monetary policies of the 1930s required dramatic overhauls to the redemption
statements on silver certificates. These statements are located above and below the portraits on small-
size notes and described two things: what you got when redeeming the notes, and what the Treasury
held in reserve for circulating notes. Here is how and why these changes occurred.
The Bland-Allison Act created silver certificates in 1878 to carry circulation of bulky silver
dollars. The Treasury sent deposited silver to the mints who made silver dollars with it. They then
deposited these back with the Treasury, who issued silver certificates against the coins. Thus, the
mechanism required one silver dollar held in reserve for each certificate in circulation. The redemption
statement on the notes pronounced these actions. The version as it appeared on Series of 1928 notes
stated: ?This certifies there has been deposited?one silver dollar payable to the bearer on demand.?
After taking office in March 1933, President Roosevelt jolted the Depression-starved economy
by increasing the money supply. Both gold and silver played a large role in his scheme, though silver
became the monetary workhorse. He pushed it to the forefront by increasing the Treasury?s silver stocks
and by removing the traditional silver dollar backing for silver certificates.
The Thomas Amendment contained in the May 12, 1933, Agricultural Adjustment Act provided
the first move. It enabled the Treasury to accept debt payments from foreign countries in silver. From
May to November, eleven countries sent the Treasury $265 million in silver to settle their liabilities.
The Treasury used it to back Series of 1933 $10 silver certificates. To expedite getting the notes
into circulation, the law made them ?payable in silver coin to the bearer on demand.? This allowed the
Treasury to quickly issue them against already-minted subsidiary coins, which backed no silver
certificates. They shuffled the Thomas Amendment silver into those accounts using creative
bookkeeping.
Roosevelt had more up his sleeve. Two acts passed in 1934 authorized the free coinage of silver.
First, the January 30, 1934, Gold Reserve Act rescinded the traditional one-silver-dollar-for-one-
certificate backing for silver certificates. The Treasury could now freely issue notes against reserves of
silver dollars, subsidiary coins, and silver bullion. Secondly, the Silver Purchase Act, passed June 19,
began a monumental silver purchase program by the Treasury, which vastly increased its silver stocks
and necessitated the issue of millions of dollars of silver certificates.
Both acts consolidated the Treasury?s separate reserve accounts for the 1928 and 1933 notes, as
well as unreserved silver, into one account. This required a new silver certificate to reflect the combined
reserve requirements. On
June 14, in anticipation of the
purchase act, Treasury
officials had already begun
production of Series of 1934
silver certificates. They issued
the first notes on July 29.
Unlike those before them,
the 1934s were redeemable
for ?[dollars] in silver to the
bearer on demand.? They
had no mention of the form
of silver.
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UNCOUPLED
PAPER MONEY?S
ODD COUPLE
Holiday Greetings
The editor asked for holiday-related material for
this issue. Here are a few contributions.
Digging into my pile of short snorters, one piece
I have had for a while shows a list of where the
owner was for major holidays in 1942-44 (fig 1). The
other side of that note (fig 2) has his itinerary for his
entire time overseas. It shows that he left the States
on 12 December1942 and arrived in Oran, Algeria on
the day after Christmas. So the holiday side shows
that on Christmas day 1942 he was on the
Mediterranean. Reading down past New Years Eve,
Easter, and Thanksgiving, we find that on Christmas
1943 he was in Naples. For Christmas 1944,
Florence. On 3 October 1945 he arrived back in the
States, and record-keeping stopped. Nothing in his
84-note short snorter shows any hint of who the
owner was, nor any further mention of holidays. But
he survived to go home.
Surprisingly, every other note that I found with a
Christmas or New Year theme came from the other
theater of war?the Pacific.
See Boling page pg. 432
World War II Christmas Numismatics
When I first read Editor Bolin?s request for a
Christmas themed column, I thought that it was a good
idea. I also worried about finding enough material.
When I started digging around among my notes and
computer files, I found that I had over-worried the
problem of material.
It sounds funny to say that Christmas was special
during World War II, but it was. Millions of military
personnel were serving around the world, and families
on the home front endured shortages, worry, and
sometimes danger. The holiday magnified thoughts of
home and family members. These factors applied to
most belligerent nations. Of course we know that the war
generated a profound variety of paper issues. These
include many subcategories, some of which are well
known. Christmas may not exactly be a well-known
World War II collecting category, but there are more
issues than you probably suspect.
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The low hanging fruit for this report is ephemera
for war savings stamps and bonds sales. Throughout the
war years, beautiful materials were produced in
prodigious quantities. This item with Santa and Uncle
Sam is an envelope intended for use in presenting a war
bond as a Christmas gift. The other item is an envelope
stuffer that was sent when a bond was delivered via
mail. I particularly like these stuffers because they are
approximately the size of a dollar note. These stuffers
were produced in many different designs over the course
of the war, but this is one of a few that specifically
mention Christmas. I collect these stuffers avidly.
Someday I will figure out a way to justify a report
specifically on the war bond stuffers.
As a group, war bond ephemera items are common.
You can find many different items like these on the
internet or at antique malls, but not so much at coin and
paper money shows.
The beautiful sales materials introduce the idea of
war (and defense) bonds. Many war bonds were issued
with overprints recognizing D-Day, Pearl Harbor
anniversaries, and other events, but I have never seen a
bond with an overprint celebrating Christmas. Still,
because bonds were dated we can find Christmas bonds.
This $200 war bond was sold on Christmas Eve 1945
(see the date stamp at lower right). This bond was likely
a last-minute Christmas gift bought for Pearl Leeflang.
The $200 denomination was a commemorative issue of
the passing of Franklin Roosevelt and it is rare.
Next we have a very unusual $25 bond. The bond itself
is quite common, but this one is an unusual Christmas
bond. First look at the paid stamp in the lower left
corner. It was paid by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York on exactly the date that the $200 bond above was
purchased: December 24, 1945. While we are fairly sure
that the $200 bond was purchased as a gift on that day,
we are equally sure that the $25 bond was redeemed in
order to buy gifts or products for Christmas. How do we
know this?
The other dates on the front give the first clue. The
bond was purchased in November and redeemed in
December 1945. This was in spite of the fact that bonds
had to be held for six months before they could be
redeemed. There was a little-known exception to the six-
month rule. It provided that bonds could be redeemed
early for emergencies! The stamp on the back states
?time limitation waived.? In the space provided for the
signature of the Assistant Chief of the Savings Bond
Redemption Department, the reason for the emergency
redemption?X Mass. I admit that this text is hard to
read, but when this bond was found, it was part of a
group of three or four and collectively I am confident of
the Christmas text.
Next we have two actual bank notes that were
converted to Christmas greetings. The first is a Central
Bank of China 1936 5 yuan that some enterprising
soldier (or sailor or airman) customized. Probably more
than one were made and sent home to family and
friends, but I do not know for sure. This note came from
the Neil Shafer collection.
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The other modified note is a Japanese invasion
Philippine 5 peso note with a nice type-written
Christmas message. In this case we have some great
additional information. The maker was Lieutenant
Colonel R. E. Robinson, Air Corps. We also know that
Lt. Col. Robinson created more than one of these,
because when collector John Riley obtained these a few
years ago, he obtained a small group of them. Thank
you, John.
I was about to say
that now we have an
unusual item, but all
of the above (and
below) are unusual, so
let it suffice to say
that this too is an
interesting item. It is a
chit specifically made
and issued for a
children?s Christmas
party (probably) in
Australia (6 pence).
The chit speaks for
itself as far as details
are concerned.
Oh my, another really unusual and interesting
item. I was particularly pleased to find this image
from Germany to spread the geographical
representation of this report. It is a war-time German
lottery ticket. These tickets are commonly collected
because the lotteries were part of the system used by
Germany to fund the war. The lottery system was
extremely complex?and fascinating. Harold Kroll
has done extensive research on these issues and
includes interesting listings thereof in his book on
Nazi war-time issues. This lottery ticket was a special
issue for war orphans. Even more specifically, it was
a special Christmas (Weihnachts) event.
This concludes my Christmas report and gives
me the opportunity to wish everyone a Merry
Christmas or other winter holiday and a happy new
year too.
Boling continued;
The note in figure 3 bears a very elaborate rubber
stamp calling for a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year, with the second sentiment also expressed
in Chinese. The note?s date marks this as a post-1941
greeting.
Figure 3
Figure 4?s rubber stamp specifies that it was for
the 1944 holiday season. Here we find New Year also
mentioned in the sentiment. Additional information
neatly lettered beside the stamp says ?Souvenir of
Chengtu, China.? Chengtu (now Chengdu) was one
of several western China locations of the Nationalist
Chinese government during WWII.
Figure 4
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Figure 5 continues in the same vein and adds space
for personalization within the rubber stamp. The
?Joe? mentioned therein was not me.
In figure 6 we find a more elaborate greeting, still
mentioning the new year, but now printed rather than
stamped, with the sender?s name (Roy Farrell) added
in the message. The fine-line cursive font is hard to
read in places. Farrell flew for China National
Aviation Co, bringing cargo over the Himalayas
during the war, and co-founded Cathay Pacific
Airways in 1946.
Figure 7b
Figure 8 identifies
both the sender and
the year, and is all
typed (on three
sides). The
additional
signatures would
have been added at
a holiday party
where the note was
delivered. Each
signer used a
different pen,
adding to the
festive appearance
of the piece. You
would think that a
name like Pauline
Gertsmeyer would
come right up in an
internet search?
no luck. Figure 6
The sentiment on figures 7a and 7b is for Christmas
only, and is hand-lettered on both sides of the note.
On the back, it curves around the personal seal of the
sender, with the name Herb Gilbert visible down the
left side and across the bottom. Presumably the
pronunciation of the Chinese characters occupying
most of the seal reads close to that name when voiced
in Chinese.
Figure 7a
Figure 9 is another rubber stamp, with space for
the sender to add his name. I won?t even try looking
for Tony Jones on the internet?I don?t want to have
to deal with 12,718 hits. Chungking was another of
the cities where the Chinese government settled
beyond the reach of the Japanese ground forces (but
not safe from aerial bombardment).
Figure 5
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Figures 10a and 10b are another hand-made effort,
neatly drawn in black ink. The Chinese characters are
obviously not the work of a native user?I am not
sure that a native reader would be able to dope them
out. The sentiment on the back is a raw plea for a
successful 1945?and it worked!
Figure 10a (above) & 10b (below)
Figure 11 is an obvious one-off, to a relative or
friend whom I assume was a juvenile?but maybe
not. It is more intimate than the ones we have seen
before it.
Figure 11
Figure 12
And finally figure 13, another item that involved
me directly. Note the end of the first sentence. This
was a Viet Cong propaganda leaflet left in the barbed
wire around the logistical base NW of Pleiku where I
was assigned at the end of 1968. An interesting
message. We smiled at the misspelled word.
Figure 13
Merry Christmas, friends. Enjoy 2025.
Figure 12 is another personalized greeting, from
Dwight Musser, a prominent numismatist of decades
ago. Note the date in the postmark. He did not have
to find a postal station that was open on Christmas
day?between the wavy lines is small print ?Mailer
postmark permit #1.? He could do his own
postmarking, as long as the postage was at least the
minimum for whatever class of mail was involved.
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The Obsolete Corner
The City of Lynchburg
by Robert Gill
Hello paper money lovers. By the time you read
this article the election will be over. But as I write this,
I have no idea what the outcome will be. We will
either be embarking on a new life of big government,
or we will be continuing in the practice of free market.
I just hope that we, as a nation, made the right choice!
The positive thing about this time of year is that
the Christmas Season is almost here. It?s always
enjoyable for all of us to watch our children as they
enjoy everything that the Holidays bring. Hopefully,
Santa (my wife) will surprise me with a nice sheet of
Obsolete paper money. Oh well, probably just a wish.
And now, 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 the State of
Virginia, known as The Old Dominion, and look at my
sheet on the City of Lynchburg. I acquired it from the
holdings of Eric P. Newman, and it is thought to be
unique. And now, let?s look at the history that I?ve
been able to compile on it.
During the years of the Confederacy, 1861-1865,
many counties and cities in Virginia were forced to
issue as currency, notes or scrip in sums equal to the
amounts authorized for arming and equipping their
volunteers, to support the families of those indigent
and in service, and to replace the coins that rapidly
disappeared from circulation. This action was
authorized by Acts of the General Assembly passed on
March 29th, 1862. Prior to this, the sheriffs of many of
the counties issued notes or scrip to meet the
emergency or to carry on business.
Most of these notes are type-set and were printed
locally on any type of paper that was available. Some
were printed on circulars and others on the backs of
banknotes and bills of exchange. Paper was a very
scarce item during this period.
Researcher Ray Williamson, from Lynchburg, did
an extensive study on the Lynchburg notes, and
provided us paper lovers with the following
information.
At the Lynchburg City Council meeting of May
8th, 1862, David Edley Spence was authorized to sign
and serial number "up to $120,000" of the city's new
small notes, for Council President John M. Speed.
There were to be eight denominations, each under one
dollar face value; the quantity of each was to be
determined by the Council's Finance Committee. For
the onerous task of signing and numbering, the Council
agreed to pay Spence $1.00 per one thousand notes.
By July 25th, about $50,000 of the notes had been
issued. At the City Council meeting of October 28th, it
was reported that the project was complete with
$72,418.60 face value of the notes having been issued
into circulation by October 8th, just over sixty percent
of the amount authorized.
We may speculate that the City Treasurer often
issued these notes as uncut sheets, to be cut apart by
the purchaser. Precedence for the issuance of uncut
sheets had been provided by the City of Richmond,
whose notes issued per their ordinance April 19th,
1861, had been much in demand. The Richmond Whig
reported that "... to facilitate the exchange so eagerly
sought for, the city notes are handed over by sheets,
and the receiver cut them apart at his convenience".
The Lynchburg small notes were paid for mainly in
Confederate treasury notes, up to that time available
only in denominations of $5 or greater.
The eight authorized denominations of Lynchburg
small notes included four reasonable face values of 10
cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and 75 cents - plus four highly
unexpected values, all multiples of 15 cents; these were
15 cents, 30 cents, 60 cents, and 90 cents. Thus, a
complete set of Lynchburg notes added up to $3.55
face value. At the October 28th Council meeting,
payment in full to Spence was authorized in the
amount of $649.41 for signing $72,418.60 face value
of notes.
Research indicates that the 10 cent, 15 cent, 25
cent, 30 cent, 50 cent, 60 cent denominations were
issued as a sheet, and twenty thousand one hundred
seventy-one of these sheets were printed. It is believed
that the first eight hundred sheets were signed "David
E. Spence" until fatigue and efficiency dictated an
abbreviated "D.E. Spence". Both the 75 cent and 90
cent notes were printed as a separate sheet, and twenty
thousand six hundred sixty-three of these sheets were
printed, all being signed "D.E. Spence". It was on
September 22nd, 1863, the General Assembly passed an
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Act to suppress the further issuance of small notes as
currency by cities and towns of the Commonwealth.
So, there?s the information that I?ve been able to
uncover on this old sheet of paper money. Maybe
someday I?ll be able to surface a sheet of the two
higher denomination notes. Who knows what?s hiding
out there in the ?woodwork?.
As I always do, I invite any comments to my cell
phone (580) 221-0898 or my email address
robertdalegill@gmail.com
So, until next, HAPPY COLLECTING.
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Robert Calderman
What a Difference a Decade Makes!
Christmas came early this year for many collectors and
dealers who put the time in to study the recent Long
Beach Heritage Auction Catalogs! There are always
deals for well versed diversified students that hunt
relentlessly every time an auction comes through town.
This sale was no exception as there were some incredible
opportunities to be had for all. While the ever so popular
large size type category held its own and remains
relatively stable, other categories had jaw dropping give
away prices that left some folks wishing their piggy
banks had higher reserves available! Often I hear coin
dealers say, ?My only regret was not getting into paper
money when prices were so cheap!? On the inside I can
only giggle when something like this is said. It is clear
there are always opportunities no matter how hot or cold
individual sectors of the paper money market may be at
any given time. Sure, it is true that you cannot buy Gem
Black Eagles for $75 anymore, but that doesn?t mean
that buying them now at $1,100 isn?t worthwhile! How
do you know what to buy and when? It only requires
paying attention. Put the time in, talk to people, go to
shows, stop sitting on the sidelines and dive in? the
water is nice!
So the claim here is that monumental deals just passed
you by while you were asleep at the wheel! How rude
that someone would call you out for being so lazy. That
is never really the ultimate goal here, but if it motivates
you to spend some money in the paper money arena then
shoot, my efforts have not been in vain! Why share the
knowledge and create more competition in the market?
Wouldn?t this cause an immediate backfire for my
personal interests as a dealer collector? My either
delusional or forward-thinking mind still believes a
rising tide lifts all boats... so if those politics really hold
true, then a healthy hobby is a better hobby for all of us
now and far into the future! If only this column gave us
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the opportunity to really let loose and dedicate thousands
of pages elaborately lying out in plain view all of deals
that you missed out on. There is a solid chance you
would rip this copy of Paper Money to pieces and curse
the day you ever read ?Cherry Picker?s Corner?. God
forbid you are reading this on a fancy MacBook Pro?
that would be rather expensive to destroy in a fit of rage!
Well call yourself a lucky duck, and very fortunate that
here we generally only have room to feature two or three
notes at a time per installment! You should be able to
handle that without losing your cool right?
Our first featured note is a rather innocuous looking
Jackson Twenty. Sure it?s a star note, but on a 1934A
series and New York District? How pass? you might say.
Well it turns out this note is nothing short of legendary!
Late finished back plate #204 notes are very popular for
a select elite group of small size collecting aficionados.
Add a star to the already popular back check number and
you have something extremely tough to locate. In fact on
all series and districts combined, PMG has only graded
five bp.204 stars! The highest of these graded is only
35EPQ. Previous to the note featured here, there has
never been an example graded XF or above! This note
has been graded CCU 64PPQ WOW! While we were
just waiting for an XF level example to appear, we now
have an absolutely gorgeous near Gem blazer! Sadly
after nearly five years of PCGS Banknote grading we
still do not have an accessible population report
available or, dare I even say it, a paper money
?Registry? program!!! Is it too soon to say this is
absolutely PATHETIC!!! That is a sidebar conversation
for another day? but sending an email once a week to
the powers that be at PCGS-B couldn?t hurt. Probably
this would do just as much good as sending a weekly
letter to your Congressman asking them to please focus
their efforts on paying down the national debt! Ha, when
pigs fly?
Okay, so let?s get back on track here. A 204 star note
in choice crisp uncirculated condition! How do we know
what it is worth? This is not the easiest widget to
analyze. The specialized small size book is nearly
fourteen years dead, published way back in 2011.
Thankfully, I hear from a reliable source that someone
has decided to take on the enormous undertaking of
putting out a better product that will breathe life back
into what has recently become a struggling category.
That dude is my hero! So, if the dead book doesn?t help
us and there has never been an example above VF35 to
appear out of the weeds before, how do we know where
we stand? All we can do is extrapolate on past history,
the current market demand, and what leading dealers and
collectors are willing to pay. Find any tiny piece of logic
we can hold onto and run with it. Hypothetically, if
someone were to put this note in my hands at a show and
say to me they wanted $3500 for it, I?d be rushing to get
the money out of my pockets so fast that there is a very
solid chance I would injure myself in the process! Well
this note was recently at auction and did it bring $6,000?
Was it featured in the Platinum night category with a
huge spread detailing its importance as a legendary small
size variety of epic proportions? Nope, this incredible
trophy note was listed at an opening bid of $1,250. Was
there a fight to the death battle that ensued? Surprisingly
no! This incredible survivor brought only the opening
bid. An all-in price of admission of only $1,500!!! Does
this mean all hope is lost for the small size U.S. paper
money category? No of course not, the end of the world
is not quite upon us yet. Auctions always have cherries
for the picking and one lucky bucko scored big on this
amazing note!
Let?s squeeze in one more amazing note that was a
grand opportunity for someone looking for great
material at wild bargain prices. National Bank Notes are
one of the most exciting and exhilarating categories in
all of paper money collecting. Why you ask? The
majority of the time, the reason folks are collecting these
notes is because they have a personal connection to the
specific geographic locale. There is a romance
surrounding these hometown bank notes that reaches far
beyond their basic series date, type, and denomination.
Sure, sometimes a cool bank name is all it takes for
someone to want to spend their hard-earned cash on a
national bank note, but more often than not, they are
buying their hometown, where they went to college,
where they met their true love, etc. On occasion there is
a collector so dedicated (We don?t like to use the term
crazy) that they want to collect every type and
denomination for a town, or an example of every note
from an entire county, or even in some cases a whole
state! Competition is what drives pricing here more than
any other category of paper money we have available to
us. Why is this so black and white for nationals? There
are 14,320 charters of national bank notes. While all of
these banks did not issue notes, the majority of them did.
It only takes two to tango to make these individual notes
shine brightly at auction or completely bite the dust.
Here we have a very poignant example of a feast or
famine scenario!
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The First National Bank of Van Nuys California charter
number 10168 was previously unreported for many,
many years. It wasn?t until 2001 that this exact note sold
as a discovery example and fetched a very healthy
$14,300 at Currency Auctions of America (Now
Heritage Auctions). This one bank town is located in
?The Valley? or San Fernando Valley area, two-thirds of
which fall within Los Angeles County. The region is so
famous that it got its own comedy movie back in 1983
featuring Nicholas Cage and Deborah Foreman called
?Valley Girl?. There have since been numerous flicks
featuring the infamous and hilarious ?Valley? accent. If
you are not sure what I am referring to, just think of the
voice of Sean Penn?s character Spicoli from the
legendary Fast Times at Ridgemont High circa 1982.
Even Saturday Night Live created a recurring sketch
called ?The Californians?. For me, even though I grew
up in Southern California, I was not in a neighborhood
that directly reflected all of this silliness, but it was
definitely everywhere you looked on TV and Film in the
1980?s and 90?s. When this SNL parody first aired I was
in literal pain I was laughing so hard!
Usually when a discovery national note comes up at
auction there is an enormous price realized that is a one
shot, flash in the pan, dollar amount that is never
attained again. The next auction whenever that may
happen in the future features the same example or
another appears on the bank and the subsequent sale
brings a number that is often half the amount the
discovery example brought, sometimes even less than
half. In this specific instance this was far from being the
case! Seven years later, when Don Kelly?s final edition
of National Bank Notes was released in 2008 this Van
Nuys note was still the sole example known for the
issuing charter number. Then finally thirteen years later
after its initial auction appearance in 2001 this same note
came up for sale again, this time at a Stacks Bowers
Auction during the summer of 2014. This time, our
featured note brought an absolutely incredible sum of
$28,200.00 can you hear Spicoli? ?Whoa man, that?s
totally bitchin?!!!? A realized sale price of almost
exactly double what this monster national note achieved
during its initial debut! Since 2014 there have been two
additional, new to the census, examples on the bank
appearing nearly back-to-back in 2015 and 2016
realizing $15,000 and $10,575 respectively. This brings
the total population on this one bank town from a unique
piece to a current miniscule three notes known. Two
plain back tens and our now infamous sole date back
five featured here. There is no doubt that after the
incredible record price set back in 2014 the two new
examples that surfaced were driven out of hiding chasing
that lofty record number of nearly thirty thousand
dollars!
Well, after that incredible performance, we now get to
spin the clock forward a full decade and our date back $5
has returned again, making its first appearance since it
was last on the auction stage and was launched into the
stratosphere ten years ago. Since the tally on the bank
now stands at three notes and we?ve had a couple of
sales since 2014 at prices that have leveled off and
calmed the feverish fury of bidding competition, you
would not expect the previous all-time record to be
beaten would you? Even though this is the only five
known and the only date back? Surely this note would
still see strong bidding by collectors eager to own this
incredible piece of history right? If anything there would
be a movie industry mogul that would see this note and
just have to own it at any cost? We insiders in the paper
money world know that this is not always the case. What
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a note brings today at auction vs. tomorrow can be vastly
different stories depending on the demand at the time
and who misses out by simply not paying attention on
any given day. Currently there has been a lot of
generational transition causing a major stir in the
national bank note category. When a 1901 $10 Legal
Tender Bison in Gem 65EPQ appears at auction there
are a large number of interested parties waiting to
pounce on the note and make it their own. In the world
of national bank notes it is a significant challenge for
every single town in every single county within every
state and territory to see very strong and consistent
competition. Some areas of the country fall flat for a
period of time creating once in a lifetime bargains for
national bank note collectors! For savvy dealers, they
know to tread lightly as stacking your coffers with
towering stacks of nationals can be nothing short of
committing Bushido seppuku! Stocking countless
nationals for the purposes of making a guaranteed profit
could take several lifetimes to accomplish, and until
Elon Musk invents suitable cyborg upgrades we can
order on Amazon, it would be playing with fire to go
down this road. This is a compelling argument for why
national bank notes are ultimately so pure as a
collectable. More often than not, there has to be a
significant connection between the note and the buyer.
The appeal for these collectibles is extremely narrow
underscoring the old adage, ?One man?s trash is another
man?s treasure.? I can show a dedicated paper money
collector a prized note from my nationals collection and
they shrug their shoulders and politely say, ?Neat note.?
Whereas, you hand them a note on the town they were
born in and they are instantly beside themselves
sweating bullets hoping the note is for sale so they can
buy it as quickly as possible. What a unique and
polarizing category of widgets these are!
So, I never actually told you what this California Valley
note brought recently at auction? After the lengthy
diatribe you just read it will likely come as no surprise
that this once discovery Van Nuys note went for the deal
of a lifetime! With its last appearance in August 2014
bringing nearly $30K, this note a decade later in
September 2024 sold for just its opening bid of
$6,000.00!!! This new number equals nearly an 80%
discount from its previous sale price. Wow, what an
incredibly epic day for the bodacious dude who added
this amazing piece of history to their collection!
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
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440
The front of the Type-41 Treasury note issued at Harrisburg, Texas.
Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
Harrisburg, Texas
ew discoveries of places where interest-bearing
Type 39, 40, and 41 Confederate treasury notes
were issued are becoming quite rare. Mathematicians
would say that we are approaching an asymptote. I
have kept a diligent census of these notes for well
over a decade and I now have more than 2,500 entries
for places, officers, agents, and civilians. Heritage
Auctions recently listed a new place discovery of
Harrisburg, Texas. The note is a well-worn warrior
with dark soiling and a faint but very legible
endorsement:
Background of Harrisburg, Texas
Harrisburg was founded in 1826 by John R.
Harris, the first settler in 1823, and it was a port and
shipping center when Texas was a part of Mexico. It
became the seat of the government of the Republic of
Texas in March 22nd to April 13th, 1836, and it was
attacked on April 16th by General Santa Ana and
burned to the ground on April 17th. Santa Ana was
defeated at San Jacinto on April 21st, and the town
was rebuilt.1 Harrisburg?s location at the head of the
Buffalo Bayou is shown below.
N
The Quartermaster Column No. 39
by Michael McNeil
The faint endorsement reads: ?Issued at / Harrisburg,
Texas / Feby 26th ?63?
Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
Location of Harrisburg, Texas Image: Google Maps
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CSS Bayou City captures USS Harriet Lane, ca. 1898, Courtesy of Naval
History and Heritage Command, #NH 42911.3
CSS Neptune (left) heads towards USS Harriet Lane,
engraving, Harper?s Weekly.3
Harrisburg in the Civil War
The town was originally named ?Harrisburgh?
and later shortened to Harrisburg. The town became a
rail center in the Civil War. The Buffalo Bayou,
Brazos, and Colorado Railway, B. B. B. & C., was
the first railroad in Texas in 1853, and Harrisburg
was the starting point of the line.2 The endorsement
on the treasury note reads ?Harrisburg,? the later
spelling.
General John Bankhead Magruder arrived in
Texas on November 29th, 1862, and made
preparations to retake Galveston from Union forces.
The naval force was organized at Harrisburg
comprising the Bayou City and Neptune, both called
?cottonclads,? as bales of cotton were stacked to
protect the crews and machinery from sharpshooters.
The Confederates were victorious and routed the
Union Navy from Galveston on December 31st,
1862.3 The treasury note endorsed at Harrisburg,
Texas, is dated February 26th, 1863. We do not know
who issued the note or for what it was paid, but its
date of issue is tantalizingly close to the date of that
historic battle.
Postscript A fire in the 1870s destroyed the rail
yards, which were rebuilt in Houston. The population
of Harrisburg declined after the loss of the railroad,
and in 1926 it was annexed by Houston.2
Carpe diem
References:
1. earlytexashistory.com, accessed 10 April 2024.
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisburg,_Houston, accessed 10 April 2024.
3. marinersmuseum.org/2020/10/battle-of-galveston/, accessed 10 April 2024. This superb website contains a detailed history
of the Confederate victory at Galveston along with biographies of the combatants on both sides of the war.
SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2024 * Whole No. 354
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Back to the Future
With the ?Bocade?
This July, the Argentine province of La Rioja took a
step that wrenched a recent bit of Argentina?s turbulent
monetary history back into a resonating present: it once
again began issuing its own provincial currency, the
?Bocade,? to circulate alongside the Argentine national peso.
An abbreviation of the phrase Bono de Cancelaci?n de
Deuda, La Rioja?s introduction of the Bocade (informally
known as ?Chachos?, after the fellow depicted on them)
marks the third time in forty years that this impoverished
northern province has issued its own money. Like the
previous two episodes, La Rioja is responding to austerity
measures implemented by the national government, now
headed by a feisty libertarian economist, Javier Milei. As the
national government reduces fiscal transfers to the province,
La Rioja has resurrected a distinctive, Argentine solution to
its chronic economic problems: the resort to a provincial
currency. If the past is any guide, Argentina?s other provinces
may soon follow suit.
How does a modern, relatively developed country like
Argentina accommodate multiple currencies? To put it
bluntly, Argentina has never been an economically well-
governed place and its monetary history reflects that.
Throughout the twentieth century, policy mismanagement
produced bouts of severe inflation, followed by economic
collapse and austerity. The period from 1970 to the present
has witnessed four different episodes where the national
currency, the peso, was redefined, redenominated and, in one
case, even given a new name (the Austral, 1985-1991).
To paraphrase Tolstoy, all well-run monetary systems
are alike for the same reasons, while badly-run systems are
bad in their own ways. Argentina?s is noteworthy for
enabling the use of regional currencies, even though its
constitution does, in principle, limit money provision to the
national government. In Argentina, the use of so-called
cuasimonedas was enabled by the peculiar features of its
political federalism. Although Argentina has twenty-three
provinces with robust powers and traditions of
independence, the power to tax largely remains in the hands
of the national government. With revenues centralized yet
spending decentralized, Argentina?s provinces depend
heavily on fiscal transfers from the national government.
Thus, any retrenchment at the national level immediately
reverberates to the provinces. Faced with sharp spending
cuts and mass layoffs from their large public sectors, the
provinces instead cushion the blow by issuing what is
basically tax anticipation scrip. While not legal tender
currency, people receiving the scrip in payments can use it
to pay taxes and fees to the provinces.
La Rioja and a few other provinces had resorted to scrip
back in the 1980s, when Argentine money was denominated
in Australes. However, the real explosion in cuasimonedas
took place between 2001 and 2003. In an attempt to tame
inflation, Argentina adopted a scheme in 1992 that pegged
its currency, now styled as the Peso Convertible, one-to-one
with the U.S. dollar. At first, the success of this plan
stimulated growth and sucked in a flood of foreign capital.
Inevitably, though, the public sector took on too much dollar-
denominated debt and bondholders got nervous. When the
credibility of the currency peg came into question, investors
rushed for the exits, precipitating an economic collapse and
forcing budgetary austerity upon the government.
For their part, starting in 2001 more than half of
Argentina?s provinces issued their own currencies to make
up for declining fiscal transfers from the central government.
Each provincial currency varied in their issuing details and
names?Quebracho, Petrom, Patac?n, Bocanfor?but all
were denominated in pesos and gained their acceptability
from their use in payments to provincial authorities for taxes
and fees. Indeed, the Argentine national government itself,
although formally restricted in its ability to create new pesos
by the U.S. dollar peg, played the same game by issuing
?Lecops? (short for Letras de Cancelaci?n de Obligaciones
Provinciales). Lecops functioned as a kind of inter-
provincial scrip which the national government used for
transfers to the provinces. Like their provincial counterparts,
Lecops were acceptable for certain obligations to the
national government.
This monetary experimentation was not happening at
the margins. Taken together, Lecops, Bocades, and all the
rest amounted to nearly half of Argentina?s monetary base at
the greatest extent of their use. Invariably, these
cuasimonedas were treated as inferior to the peso (which
was quickly becoming inferior to the dollar). Gresham?s Law
ensured that they traded at varying discounts, depending
upon how difficult it was to pass them on to someone else.
In January 2002 Argentina abandoned the peso-dollar
peg, removing the constraint upon fiscal transfers and thus
the incentive for provinces to issue scrip. Most were retired
from circulation by the end of 2003. This being Argentina,
an entirely different scrip phenomenon was simultaneously
staking place at the street level, in the form of thousands of
barter clubs, or ?Redes de Trueque?. But that is a subject for
a different column!
Chump Change
Loren Gatch
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The Intriguing Postal Notes of Spokane, Washington.
by Bob Laub
Spokane is the second largest city in the Northwestern state of Washington. It is located along the Spokane
River, west of the Rocky Mountain foothills in the eastern portion of the state. It is only 92 miles south of the
Canada-US border and approximately 20 miles west of the state line between Washington and Idaho.
In the early 1880?s, the population was only 350 people. By 1890 however, census records had soared to
20,000. The massive increase in the city?s size was due to the discovery of gold and silver in nearby Idaho, as well
as the expansion of the areas railroads.
Spokane was originally established as Spokane Falls, July 5th, 1872. By October 1880, the name changed to
Spokane County. On April 24th, 1891, the city name was finally changed to Spokane.
Postmaster Arthur J. Shaw:
Postmaster Shaw was in office during the overlapping period when the city of Spokane went through its final
two-name changes. Official government records show he took office July 24th, 1890. At that time, the number of
postal carriers was increased to 14, and Charles E. Munson was the Assistant Postmaster. Arthur Shaw remained in
the postmaster position until May 8th, 1894. That was 53 days before the 1883-1894 Postal Note series came to an
end. That fact is being mentioned because even though Postmaster Shaw finished his position on May 8th, his name
and title remained on Spokane?s Postal Notes until the series? final day of issue, June 30th, 1894. It is understood
that even after a postmaster leaves office, there may still be a small number of his or her pre-signed postal notes
remaining in stock. The ?Law of Averages? would also dictate smaller, more rural post offices would take longer to
issue any remaining pre-signed notes.
During the 12 years of the series, the Spokane Post Office issued almost 40,000 Postal Notes. The earliest
recorded Spokane note, which coincides with Postmaster Shaw?s term in office ending, was sold six days after he
left office on May 14th. That note, serial number 39,130, clearly bears Arthur Shaw?s signature. During the 1883-
1894-time frame, it was common practice to have multiple postal notes signed several days in advance of sales,
especially in larger post offices. Postmasters were usually very busy with other administrative duties to personally
sign each and every note. That responsibility was often passed along to some of the postal clerks.
Records show the last known Spokane Postal Note, signed by Postmaster Shaw was number 39,729, and was
issued June 30th, 1894. From mid-May, until the final day of June, over 500 postal notes were issued from that
office. With increased newspaper publicity, discussing the approaching final day of the series, many collectors were
clamoring to acquire a few last-minute souvenirs. Most post offices were seeing an increase in the daily sales of
postal notes. This fact is well documented, as Type V Postal Notes have the most abundant survivors.
Even if a considerable number of notes were signed well in advance, more than 500 might be considered
extreme by most standards. Why were so many notes pre-signed so far in advance of sales? When Type I Postal
Notes were issued all books contained 500 notes. With the advent of later postal note type?s, individual post
offices were allowed to order books containing fewer notes. Books with 300, 200, 100, and in some rare cases 50
postal notes were the available options. The larger an individual post office, the more notes would need to be
ordered. Spokane, I?m sure, was considered a larger, busier office. I believe it is safe to assume when the Spokane
Post Office was receiving new books of Postal Notes they would contain 500 notes.
(Speculation) A new supply of postal notebooks containing 500 notes each has just arrived at the Spokane,
Washington Post Office. One of the office clerks is assigned the task of signing some of the notes with Postmaster
Shaw?s name, in advance of future sales. Did that clerk get carried away in their duties by pre-signing the entire
book of 500? They may have forgotten Postmaster Shaw would be vacating his position in a relatively short time.
This could be one scenario why so many postal notes remained with a previous postmasters? signature.
Type V, ?non-filigree? Postal Notes
The third and final printing contract was awarded to the firm of Dunlap and Clarke, (D & C) of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. A generally accepted theory is when the American Bank Note Company finished their four-year
contract, they simply turned over their printing plates to D & C. On the reverse side of all Type IV Postal Notes, the
ABNC logo appears with the firm?s name bracketed by a small amount of ?filigree? (fancy engraved scroll work).
The only modifications to the plates were the removal of the ABNC logo from the plate?s obverse and reverse, and
the adding of Dunlap and Clarke?s name to the obverse. When the ABNC logo was removed by highly polishing
those areas of the master plates, the filigree was left intact, possibly as an extra accent feature. After these plates
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began showing extensive signs of wear, new engraved plates needed to be ordered and produced. Continuing to
apply scroll work on the new plates, added an additional engraving cost, so it was eliminated.
Records, pertaining only to notes in my personal collection, show the first ?non-filigree? notes appearing on
January 12th, 1894, and was issued at Fort Wayne, Indiana. This was five and a half months before the series came
to a close. Many of the older ABNC plates I am sure had been in service since August 15,1887. That was the
beginning of their printing contract and was in effect until August 14,1891. What percentage of the 71 million notes
were accomplished by the use of these plates? Almost two-thirds of all notes during the 12-year series were
completed by these plates. This would mean approximately 59.5 million notes were printed using ABNC plates,
and then as well as D & C with their contract. We understand nothing in life lasts forever, especially given the
amount of notes these plates created. Taking into account the quality of materials used and the craftsmanship
applied by Master Plate Engravers, eventually even the best wears out or breaks.
An interesting spin on Spokane?s ?filigree? vs ?non-filigree? notes is that once non-filigree notes were
produced, there would no longer be filigree notes still appearing. Once again, my assumption was incorrect. I have
personally verified the records of eight Type V Spokane notes. Each of the notes are between the dates of May 14th,
and June 30th, 1894. The serial numbers range from 39,130 issued on May 14th, 1894, and continue through serial
number 39729 issued on June 30th, 1894. That date reflects the official ?last day of issue?.
Serial numbers 39207 and 39,218 were issued May 18 and 19, 1894 and both clearly show the engraved
filigree. While numbers 39,615, 39,616, and 39,617 were issued June 21, 1894, and number 39665, purchased June
25, 1894, all show an absence of the filigree. This clearly shows the difference between the older ABNC plates, and
the newer re-engraved plates provided for D & C.
My research now becomes a little more intriguing. The final two notes I examined, serial numbers 39716 and
39729, issued June 29th and June 30th respectively, both clearly show the reappearance of the filigree lines. The
acceptable conclusion, Type V Postal Notes, at least from Spokane, during the final months of the D & C contract,
were being printed from multiple plates, which is the only logical conclusion as to why the notes flip-flop from
filigree to non-filigree and then back to a filigree variety.
The two Spokane notes pictured in this article show both the ?non-filigree? (#39729), and filigree varieties
(#39617). If Spokane received only books of 500 notes as a much busier post office, then clearly notes #39617, and
#39729 would likely have come from the same book. I realize multiple plates were understandably being used, but
maybe someone reading this can explain why both notes came from plate #17, and both were from the same plate
position letter c?
I have applied a degree of research trying to show two intriguing aspects of Type-V Postal Notes from
Spokane. The first being an extended number of notes showing up after Postmaster Shaw had officially left his
position with his signature still applied as Postmaster. The second aspect is in line with Filigree vs non-filigree, and
vice-a-versa. I leave it to the reader to form their own set of conclusions.
Any questions or comments please direct them to me at briveadus2012@yahoo.com I am also be interested in
hearing about any postal notes you may have.
This image shows the obverse of a Ty. V Postal Note from
Spokane, WA., serial # 39617, issued on June 21, 1894.
This image shows a different obverse of a Ty. V Postal Note (also
Spokane), serial # 39729, issued nine days later on June 30,
1894.The series official ?Last Day of Issue?.
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This is the reverse image of the serial # 39617 which clearly
shows the lack of the ?filigree?.
This is the reverse image of serial # 39729. Notice the ?filigree?
as it appeared throughout the entire time these same plates were
being utilized by the American Bank Note Co.
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United States Postal Service
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(All Periodicals Publications Except Requester Publications)
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f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c. and 15e.) 875 831
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i. (15c. Divided by 15f. Times 100) 99.09% 100.00%
Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 867 831
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Percentage Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies (16b divided bt 16c x 100) 99.09% 100.00%
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Fr. 114 $10 1901 Legal Tender
PCGS Banknote Superb Gem Unc 67 PPQ
From The Dwane Johansen Collection
Fr. 264 $5 1886 Silver Certificate
PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ
From The Dwane Johansen Collection
Fr. 1217 $500 1922 Gold Certificate
PMG Very Fine 25
Fr. 248 $2 1896 Silver Certificate
PCGS Banknote Gem Unc 66 PPQ
From The Dwane Johansen Collection
Fr. 347 $1 1890 Treasury Note
PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ
Fr. 1219e $1,000 1907 Gold Certificate
PMG Very Fine 30
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