official journal of The Society of Paper Money Collectors Announcing The Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes America’s Oldest and Most Accomplished Rare Coin Auctioneer 1550 Scenic Avenue, Suite 150, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 • 800.458.4646 • 949.253.0916 470 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 • 800.566.2580 • 212.582.2580 1735 Market Street, Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19103 • 800.840.1913 • Philly@StacksBowers.com Info@StacksBowers.com • StacksBowers.com California • New York • Philadelphia • New Hampshire • Oklahoma • Hong Kong • Paris SBG PM Nov22Consign PR 220801 Stack’s Bowers Galleries Currency Continues to Break Records Consign now to the November 2022 Baltimore Showcase Auction LEGENDARY COLLECTIONS | LEGENDARY RESULTS | A LEGENDARY AUCTION FIRM Auction: November 1-4 & 7-10, 2022 • Costa Mesa, CA West Coast: 800.458.4646 • East Coast: 800.566.2580 • Consign@StacksBowers.com Fr. 260. 1886 $5 Silver Certificate. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000 – Realized $50,400 Fr. 355. 1890 $2 Treasury Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000 – Realized $93,000 Fr. 375. 1891 $20 Treasury Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Estimate $12,500-$17,500 – Realized $20,400 Fr. 1200am. 1922 $50 Gold Certificate Mule Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64. Estimate $8,000-$12,000 – Realized $24,000 Fr. 2200-Idgs. 1928 $500 Federal Reserve Note. Minneapolis. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ. Estimate $15,000-$25,000 – Realized $31,200 Fr. 2407. 1928 $500 Gold Certificate. PMG Choice Very Fine 35 EPQ. Estimate $15,000-$25,000 – Realized $19,200 T-3. Confederate Currency. 1861 $100. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000 – Realized $36,000 Fr. 2211-Glgs. 1934 $1000 Federal Reserve Note. Chicago. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Estimate $15,000-$25,000 – Realized: $36,000 312 Introduction to the Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia In the Beginning--Wendell Wolka Origin of Type 2 Numbers--Peter Huntoon Unreported Nebraska NBN--Matt Hansen Ransom At the Border--Lee Lofthus 335 310 315 330 349 Southern Printers-Keating & Ball-Pt. 2--Charles Derby 359 Not Just About Vignettes--Tony Chibbaro 370 Fractional Currency Wallet--Rick Melamed SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 305 1862 & 63 Legal Type Classification Chart-Rebised--Peter Huntoon 338 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 Doug Ball Hank Bieciuk Joseph Boling F.C.C. Boyd Michael Crabb Forrest Daniel Martin Delger William Donlon Roger 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 Don Kelly Lyn Knight Chet Krause Allen Mincho Clifford Mishler Judith Murphy Dean Oakes Chuck O’Donnell Roy Pennell Albert Pick Fred Reed Matt Rothert Herb & Martha Schingoethe Hugh Shull Glenn Smedley Raphael Thian Daniel Valentine Louis Van Belkum George Wait D.C. Wismer From Your President Editor Sez New Members Quartermaster Uncoupled Cherry Picker Obsolete Corner Small Notes Chump Change Robert Vandevender 307 Benny Bolin 308 Frank Clark 309 Michael McNeil 362 Joe Boling & Fred Schwan 365 Robert Calderman 372 Robert Gill 374 Jamie Yakes 376 Loren Gatch 378 Stacks Bowers Galleries IF C Pierre Fricke 305 Higgins Museum 328 Bob Laub 328 Lyn Knight 329 Tampa Paper Expo 337 PCGS-C 348 Evangelisti 358 Tom Denly 358 Tony Chibbaro 361 Fred Bart 377 FCCB 377 ANA 379 PCDA IBC Heritage Auctions OBC Fred Schwan Neil Shafer SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 306 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 Mark Anderson mbamba@aol.com Robert Calderman gacoins@earthlink.net Gary Dobbins g.dobbins@sbcglobal.net Matt Drais stockpicker12@aol.com Mark Drengson markd@step1software.com Pierre Fricke aaaaaaaaaaaapierrefricke@buyvintagemoney.com Loren Gatch lgatch@uco.edu William Litt Billlitt@aol.com J. Fred Maples Cody Regennitter cody.regennitter@gmail.com Wendell Wolka APPOINTEES PUBLISHER-EDITOR Benny Bolin smcbb@sbcglobal.net ADVERTISING MANAGER Wendell Wolka purduenut@aol.com LEGAL COUNSEL Megan Reginnitter mreginnitter@iowafirm.com LIBRAIAN 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 IIFrom Your President Shawn Hewitt Paper Money * July/August 2020 6 maplesf@comcast.net purduenut@aol.com jeff@actioncurrency.com In June, we were very sad to learn of the passing of our Hall of Fame Member Don C. Kelly. As most of you know, Don was a big part of our hobby and made significant contributions in research and literary works. No doubt many of you have notes in your collections that at one time were in a case owned by Don. He will be missed. Recently, I read an article regarding changes in English currency. With those of you owning a wallet full of “paper” Bank of England £20 and £50 banknotes, I trust that by now you have exchanged them for the new polymer notes as the legal tender status will be withdrawn at the end of September. I must admit, the new £50 polymer note featuring the computer scientist Alan Turing is a sharp looking note. I have fantastic news to report. Peter Huntoon and Andrew Shiva have worked hard over several years to create the new “Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes.” I am pleased to announce that this work will be jointly published by the National Currency Foundation and the Society of Paper Money Collectors and available to our members via a link from the SPMC website and our SPMC Wiki Page. Please check it out. In addition to the Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia, we have several new data-related resources in the works and will be rolling them out to the membership and the public in the upcoming months so stay tuned. Some of these upcoming items will be available free to the public while others will be restricted to our membership. Please keep an eye out for announcements in upcoming issues of Paper Money. In July, I made a visit to the Summer FUN show in Orlando. Although the “Summer in Florida” show isn’t quite as large as the Winter FUN show in January, it appeared to have a very good turnout. After dropping off a stack of notes to a third-party grading service in hopes of the grades being returned with favorable results, I walked the floor and was happy to meet with several of our members and friends. During our August routine SPMC Board of Governors meeting, I was happy to welcome our two newest board members, Jerry Fochtman and Andy Timmerman to our group. I am looking forward to their contributions to the Board. Planning for our annual meeting at the Winter FUN is continuing and looking good. We will be providing more details on the SPMC website shortly. Make plans on attending. I hope to see many of you there in January. 307 Terms and Conditions  The Society  of  Paper Money  Collectors  (SPMC)  P.O.   Box 7055,  Gainesville, GA    30504, publishes    PAPER    MONEY (USPS   00‐ 3162)  every  other  month  beginning  in  January.  Periodical  postage  is  paid  at  Hanover,  PA.  Postmaster  send  address  changes  to  Secretary  Robert  Calderman,  Box  7055, Gainesville,  GA  30504. ©Society  of  Paper Money  Collectors, Inc.  2020.  All  rights  reserved.  Reproduction  of  any  article  in whole  or  part  without written approval  is prohibited.  Individual copies of  this  issue of PAPER MONEY are available  from the secretary  for $8  postpaid. Send changes of address, inquiries concerning    non    ‐    delivery    and    requests    for    additional copies of this issue to  the secretary.  MANUSCRIPTS  Manuscripts     not     under      consideration      elsewhere and  publications  for  review should be sent  to  the editor. Accepted  manuscripts  will  be  published  as  soon  as  possible,  however  publication  in  a  specific  issue  cannot  be guaranteed. Opinions  expressed  by  authors  do  not necessarily  reflect those  of  the  SPMC.   Manuscripts should be  submitted  in WORD  format  via  email (smcbb@sbcglobal.net)  or  by  sending memory stick/disk  to  the  editor.  Scans  should  be  grayscale  or  color  JPEGs  at  300 dpi. Color  illustrations may be changed to grayscale at  the  discretion  of  the  editor.  Do  not  send  items  of  value.  Manuscripts are  submitted with copyright release of the author  to  the  editor  for  duplication  and  printing as needed.  ADVERTISING  All advertising on space available basis. Copy/correspondence  should be sent to editor.  All advertising is pay in advance.  Ads are on a “good faith”  basis.  Terms are “Until Forbid.”  Ads  are  Run  of  Press  (ROP)  unless  accepted  on  a  premium  contract basis. Limited premium space/rates available.  To keep rates to a minimum, all advertising must be prepaid  according to the schedule below.  In exceptional cases where  special  artwork  or  additional  production  is  required,  the  advertiser  will be notified  and  billed accordingly.  Rates  are  not commissionable; proofs are not  supplied.  SPMC  does not  endorse any company, dealer,  or  auction  house.  Advertising  Deadline: Subject to space availability, copy must be received  by  the  editor  no  later  than  the  first  day  of  the  month  preceding  the  cover date  of  the  issue  (i.e.  Feb.  1  for  the  March/April  issue). Camera‐ready art or electronic ads  in pdf  format are required.  ADVERTISING RATES  Editor Sez Benny Bolin Required file    submission format    is    composite    PDF v1.3  (Acrobat 4.0   compatible).   If   possible, submitted files should  conform to ISO 15930‐1: 2001 PDF/X‐1a file format standard.  Non‐  standard,  application,  or  native  file  formats  are  not  acceptable. Page  size: must  conform to specified publication  trim  size.  Page  bleed:  must  extend minimum  1/8”  beyond  trim for page head, foot, and front.  Safety margin:  type  and  other  non‐bleed  content must  clear  trim by minimum 1/2”.   Advertising c o p y   shall be restricted to paper currency, allied  numismatic material, publications,   and   related   accessories.    The SPMC  does  not  guarantee advertisements,  but  accepts  copy  in good faith,  reserving  the right  to  reject objectionable  or  inappropriate  material  or  edit      copy.  The          SPMC   assumes      no      financial       responsibility for  typographical  errors  in  ads  but  agrees  to  reprint  that portion of an ad  in  which a typographical error occurs.  Benny Space  Full color covers  1 Time  $1500  3 Times  $2600  6 Times $4900 B&W covers  500  1400  2500 Full page color  500  1500  3000 Full page B&W  360  1000  1800 Half‐page B&W  180  500  900 Quarter‐page B&W  90  250  450 Eighth‐page B&W  45  125  225 Dog Days Were Dogged This Year Yes, in Big D, we were fortunate enough to not break the record for the hottest summer of record, just made it to #2! Over 40 days of over 100 days and all 31 days in July were over 100. We are now seeing some respite with lower temps (98 or so) and some rain. Soon it will be over! the whole country seems to have crazy weather this summer. Hope you all stayed safe. Summer shows seemed to be a hit. I unfortunately was not able to attend any but reports were that Summer FUN, ANA, BRNA, etc were all good shows and the public is coming back with a vengeance. The only downsides I have heard are some lack of material and “optimistic” pricing. But it is good to get back to the show circuit to see old friends, make new acquaintances and overall enjoy the commaraderie that shows bring. I hope you all will make plans now to attend the FUN ’23 in early January. The SPMC will be having our normal IPMS activities of old, including the breakfast, Tom Bain raffle and award presentations. Speaking of awards, please go to the SPMC website, SPMC.org and vote on the literary awards and reward our fine authors for their diligence and hard work. This is a very special issue of PM. It introduces the Shiva- Huntoon Encyclopedia of U. S. National Bank Notes. This is a monumental work that will benefit collectors for years to come. This encyclopedia covers every aspect of U.S. national bank notes issued from 1863 to 1935. It contains over 1,500 pages in 144 chapters, and is designed to be a dynamic work in progress. It is truly a monumental work and is enjoyable and informative for all paper collectors, not just those into nationals. I only have one national--a South Carolina to go with my collection of that state and I really enjoyed going through this work. No, it did not convert this fractional guy to nationals but, well, maybe..... The SPMC thanks Peter and Andrew for allowing us to be a part of this project. It is simply incredible. There is a link to the book on the website. Go to it and enjoy. 308 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 07/05/2022 15445 Nick Hamze, Website 15446 Cody Quintana, Website 15447 Larry Schuffman, Frank Clark 15448 Justin McClureWebsite 15449 Bob Pearson, Frank Clark 15450 Lyndra Spor, Website 15451 William Ripley, Website REINSTATEMENTS None LIFE MEMBERSHIPS None NEW MEMBERS 08/05/2022 15452 Joseph Smith, Website 15453 Bryan Harrison, Don Kelly 15454 Clifford Cooper, Website 15455 Robert Anderson, Frank Clark 15456 Mark Borckardt, Website 15457 Douglas Doonan, Website 15458 Ronald Pettie, Website 15459 Bob Reed, Robert Calderman 15460 Jonathan Kukk, ANA Ad 15461 Robert Laird, Whitman Pub. 15462 Stan Clark, Website 15463 Josh Colon, Website 15464 John Salviani, Robert Calderman 15465 David Dixon, Website 15466 Ray Oshinski, Website 15467 Mark Ellingson, Website 15468 Timothy Anderson, Rbt Calderman 15469 Bryan Kastleman, ANA Ad 15470 Josephine Ellsworth, Webiste REINSTATEMENTS None LIFE MEMBERSHIPS None Dues Remittal Process Send dues directly to Robert Moon SPMC Treasurer 104 Chipping Ct Greenwood, SC 29649 Refer to your mailing label for when your dues are due. You may also pay your dues online at www.spmc.org. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 309 The Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia of U. S. National Bank Notes It is with excitement that Andrew Shiva announces the release of the Encyclopedia of U. S. National Bank Notes published jointly by his National Currency Foundation and the Society of Paper Money Collectors. The encyclopedia is huge, currently containing some 1,500 pages, 1,400 illustrations and 210 tables divided into 144 chapters organized into 17 topical sections. The encyclopedia is too large and would be too costly to publish in print form so it is being made available in digital form through both the National Currency Foundation and Society of Paper Money websites. Both the NCF and SPMC have educational commitments to disseminate information that promotes the research and collecting of paper money; thus, publication of the encyclopedia affords a natural collaboration that furthers this objective for both organizations. Preparation of the encyclopedia has been largely sponsored by the NCF and details of maintaining it on line have been assumed by the SPMC. It is presented free of charge as a service to not only numismatists but the public at large. The encyclopedia covers every aspect of national bank notes from why they originated during the Civil war to why they were phased out 72 years later. As for the notes themselves, an explanation is provided for why there were different series and backs. The protocols are explained that governed how every other design element on the notes functioned and evolved over time. Much of this was dictated by Congressional legislation, the rest by decisions made by Treasury officials as the national bank note era unfolded. The encyclopedia represents a significant part of the life work of U. S. currency researcher Peter Huntoon, who has been writing about national bank notes since 1966. Over the intervening decades, he has collaborated with the leading national bank note researchers and collectors to coauthor this treatise. The core of most of the encyclopedia represents original research that Huntoon and his colleagues have conducted using primary Treasury documents now preserved in the National Archives and at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A major resource that they used were the certified proofs lifted from the printing plates that were used to print national bank notes now housed in the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution. A significant fraction of the information in the encyclopedia builds on material already published elsewhere, primarily in the SPMC journal Paper Money. However, much has never been released before. All of it has been reworked, updated and corrected based on the most recent research available. One major value of the encyclopedia is that it conveniently assembles all of this material in one place. The arrangement of the subject matter into chapters within topical sections allows for the addition of new chapters as they are written. Equally significant is that by making it available digitally, updates and corrections can be made in real time as new information and insights are developed and mistakes—even typos— are discovered. To this end, a version date is provided at the bottom of the first page of each chapter. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 310 The encyclopedia is designed to be a dynamic work in progress. This link will take you to the encyclopedia. https://content.spmc.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_U.S._National_Bank_Notes Click on “Search the Table of Contents, read or download chapters” Click on any chapter of interest to read or down load it. A few chapters have internal hot links to large tables or photo files. A link can also be found on the SPMC.org website page. Original series Series 1875 Series 1882 Brown Back 1902 Red Seal 1929 Small Size SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 311 In The Beginning…. by Wendell Wolka Most collectors have a fairly vague idea of how National Bank Notes came into being. The nation was at war, needed to develop a stable national approach to banks of issue and set up national banks to replace the existing state banks of issue that had served the nation’s needs since independence. End of story; nothing else to see here; move along. With a bit more digging, and a chance encounter with research done by Richard T. Erb some fifty years ago, the story is far more intriguing and interesting than one might imagine. For starters, the federal legislation that ultimately became known as the National Bank Act, whose foundations have traditionally been attributed to the 1838 New York banking legislation, was, in fact, heavily influenced by the 1845 Ohio banking legislation that created the State Bank of Ohio and the state’s so-called “Independent Banks.” But first, let’s pick up the story in late 1861… By then it had become obvious that the Civil War was not going to be a short war and was not going to be an inexpensive war either. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, former Governor and United States Senator from Ohio was faced with the prospect of needing to sell ever increasing amounts of bonds to keep the war effort moving forward. Continuing Union defeats on the battlefield had not helped this effort at all and Chase finally came up with a concept to address the issues. He would create a class of “national banks” whose circulation would be secured wholly by United States Bonds. This would create a huge new market for the sale of bonds. As an added benefit, these bonds could be paid for with the new federal “greenbacks” which would help keep a lid on the amount of currency in circulation and therefore inflation. The concept of using common designs for each denomination for all national bank notes was also factored into Chase’s thinking. His experience with Ohio banks during his terms as Governor and Senator was that common or very similar designs were used for all branches of the State Bank of Ohio and for the other Ohio state-chartered banks of issue as well. Once the basic planks of the plan were in place, Chase went looking for a salesman for the plan in the halls of Congress. His first choice was Representative Elbridge G. Spaulding of New York. Spaulding had spearheaded the drive to create Legal Tender notes in 1862 and also wrote up a bill to create national banks but soon abandoned his support for the latter, feeling that simply issuing more Legal Tender notes to fund the war effort was more expedient. Chase then turned to Congressman Samuel Hooper of Massachusetts who was ineffectual in two efforts to get the bill through the House Ways and Means Committee during the course of 1862-63. Chase now enlisted another Ohioan, Senator John Sherman, brother of highly regarded Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, who rammed the 1863 national bank legislation through the Senate. The bill made it through the House Ways and Means Committee and passed on a subsequent floor vote. President Lincoln signed the bill into law on February 25, 1863. Why was the third time the charm? The staggering Union Most of the national bank legislation of 1863 found its roots in the 1845 Ohio legislation creating the State Bank of Ohio and other state banks. All of the branches issuing this denomination in the 1850s-60s shared a common design. Most branches became national banks beginning in 1863. Salmon Chase John Sherman SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 312 defeat at Fredericksburg in mid-December, 1862 had provided vivid proof that the war was going to be a long one and Chase made it very clear to all who would listen that the financial situation faced by the Treasury Department could ultimately lead to defeat if the national bank legislation was not passed. In short, a no vote would be courting national disaster. The antebellum New York banking legislation has usually been given credit for being the source of the banking principles embraced by this new legislation. But research done in 1973 by Richard T. Erb, Acting Deputy Comptroller and Licensing Manager in the Comptroller of the Currency’s Office, substantially rebuts that claim. Erb made side- by-side comparisons between the New York, Ohio, and federal legislation and came to a clear conclusion. By in large, the federal law was largely based on the 1845 Ohio legislation that created the State Bank of Ohio branch network and the state’s Independent Banks.   The federal legislation contained 43 sections. Of these, seventeen sections are not even mentioned or addressed in the New York legislation while only six sections from that legislation are included verbatim. Their inclusion was probably the handiwork of Representative Spaulding when he produced a first draft of a national bank bill in 1862 as Spaulding served as New York State Treasurer for a year before the war. By contrast, 22 sections from Ohio’s 1845 Banking Law were included in the federal legislation verbatim and another seven sections, only found in the Ohio legislation, were also included covering the same areas in the same manner. In aggregate, 67% of the 1863 national banking legislation is clearly of Ohio origin while only 14% can be tied to New York law. Given the Ohio backgrounds of both Chase and Sherman, this should probably not be much of a surprise. Another Midwesterner, Hugh McCulloch, was drafted by Chase to serve as the first Comptroller of the Currency and tasked with turning the legislation into action. McCulloch was a well-respected banker from Indiana who had served with distinction with the State Bank of Indiana and as President of the Bank of the State of Indiana; two of the strongest bank networks in the nation. Ironically McCulloch had come to Washington in 1862 to lobby against the new national banking legislation, representing the Bank of the State of Indiana. His opposition was based on the fact that the new federal law would effectively drive state banks of issue out of business (which was essentially true.) McCulloch was not offered the Comptroller of the Currency position until after the passage of the new 1863 national banking law, but once in office, was unwavering and tireless in his efforts to get banks on board with the National Bank concept. McCulloch found the initial reception to this new class of banks by the nation’s existing commercial banks to be “underwhelming.” While western and middle state banks tended to be more open to converting to national banks, the same could not be said for money center banks in the east. For example, after chartering three national banks in New York City, it would be until February, 1864 before any more came on board. As McCulloch mentions in his memoirs, Men and Measures of Half A Century, there were four common reasons for the hesitancy of many bankers.  The new system was something completely different than anything that had been done before. Therefore, the chances of success or failure were an unknown.  Because United States bonds were to be the sole source of security for national bank circulations, the banks would be ruined if the Union lost the war. This was a legitimate concern in early 1863, before the victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg solidified Union prospects, and, of course, is exactly what happened to Southern Banks in 1865. Hugh McCulloch (right) appeared on $100 issues of the Bank of the State of Indiana, most of whose branches became national banks. Hugh McCulloch SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 313  National Banks would likely be exposed to increased federal oversight and regulations.  Banks would be required to change their names. This was a showstopper with a large number of state banks who had worked for years to make their name a strong and recognizable brand and marketing tool. Chase’s original intent was to simply number all of the national banks in any given location based on when their charter numbers were assigned. So, if there were four applying banks in, say, Evansville, IN, the banks would be titled as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth National Banks of Evansville. Not many bankers, particularly in big cities, wanted to go from maybe The Bank of the Republic to The Eleventh National Bank. Hugh McCulloch used his background as a well-known and nationally respected state bank officer to his advantage in addressing these concerns. Responding to the first concern, he told wary bankers that the probability of success for national banks was quite high because the capital to start each national bank was real and actually paid in unlike many state banks. The security for each national bank comprised solely United States bonds with a 10% margin and notes of any failed national banks would be promptly redeemed by the United States Treasury. Finally, all national banks would be regularly audited. Next McCulloch reminded prospective bankers that if the Union lost the war, it would not make any difference what bonds were being held to secure their circulations. The banks’ futures were tied to the Union cause whether they were state or national banks. Most bankers had to agree with this pragmatic observation. McCulloch argued that federal regulation would probably not be significantly greater or different than most banks were dealing with on the state level by 1863 and his Indiana banking experience gave credibility to his observation. He also pointed out that national banks, as a class of bank that encompassed the entire nation, would surely have more lobbying impact in Washington than they had as individual state banks. The final sticking point required all of McCulloch’s persuasive skills to resolve. Chase was initially adamant that the banks would be numbered as described above. After an extended bit of wrangling, McCulloch finally got Chase to agree to a compromise whereby the word National had to appear someplace in the bank title. So, for example, the Bank of Commerce could become the National Bank of Commerce or the Merchants and Planters Bank could take the name Merchants and Planters National Bank. The sole exception to this was the Bank of North America in Philadelphia. Because of its stature as the first bank chartered in the United States by Congress in 1781, it was allowed to become a national bank without changing its name or adding National to its title. The bank’s officers had argued that the bank’s name was granted by Congress as part of the original charter and should therefore be grandfathered in. Even with all of McCulloch’s handholding and reasoning, things were still a slow go in terms of conversions, and in early 1865, Congress provided the coup de grace by adding a provision to the Amendatory Act of March 3, 1865 (Section 6) which stated: “And be it further enacted, That every national banking association, State bank, or state banking association, shall pay a tax of ten per centum on the amount of notes of any person, State bank, or State banking association, used for circulation and paid out by them after the first day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-six and such tax shall be assessed and paid in such manner as shall be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.” This 10% tax, which was part of the federal tax revenue rather than bank legislation, was the stick that finally got the foot-draggers moving since it essentially wiped out the profitability of issuing state bank notes. There were all sorts of other taxes levied on banks, but this was the crowning blow that brought the era of note-issuing state banks to a close. Interestingly, it appears that this provision has never been repealed. So, there you have it. America’s national banks, still prevalent on the American scene even today, improbably owe their existence to three men from the Midwest; Salmon Chase, John Sherman, and Hugh McCulloch. Gentlemen, we salute you for a job well done! SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 314 Serial Numbering the Series of 1929 National Bank Notes & Origin of Type 2 Numbers PURPOSE This chapter will explain how the Series of 1929 national bank notes were serial numbered and why the numbering system was changed to the type 2 variety in 1933. It is appropriate to explain the special cases when B suffix letters were used on type 1 sheets, and when B prefix letters were used on type 2 notes in this chapter. Two situations found in the issuance data for the individual banks are explained; specifically, the shipment of partial sheets and gaps in the serial number sequences. SERIAL NUMBERING Series of 1929 national bank notes were serial numbered and sealed in 6-subject sheet form. Two distinctly different serial numbering systems were used on the Series of 1929. The first, called type 1, involved sheet numbers wherein all the notes bore the same number. The numbers had a suffix letter, and the prefix varied from A to F depending on the position of the note on the 6-subject sheet. The type 2 serials were note numbers ordered consecutively down the sheet with a prefix, but no suffix letter. In addition, a brown charter number was overprinted next to each serial number adjacent to the central portrait. Three serial numbering conventions were common to both the type 1 and 2 issues. Serial numbering started at 1 for each different denomination for each bank. Serial numbering started over when bank titles were changed. However, serial numbering did not start over when bank signatures changed. The delivery of uncut sheets to bankers was an established tradition dating from long before the Bureau of Engraving and Printing came into existence. Sheets were convenient when bankers had to hand sign their notes, but that convenience vanished once the signatures were printed. A second inherited tradition was that of using the same serial number on all the notes on a given sheet. Different plate letters were used to distinguish between like subjects on the sheet. Sheet numbering of national bank notes originated with the bank note companies in 1863 and was passed forward to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1875. The tradition of issuing the notes in sheet form and using the same serials on all the subjects on a sheet was carried forward during the conversion to small size Series of 1929 type 1 nationals, but with a small twist. Figure 1. A note from the last sheet of $10s issued by the bank that was obviously saved by a banker. The Paper Column Peter Huntoon Lee Lofthus James Simek SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 315 The source for the 6-subject sheets was 12-subject plates whereon the subjects were lettered A through L. Once the sheets were cut in half, the G through L plate letters on right halves served no purpose. Instead, prefix letters A through F in the serial numbers were used to indicate the position of the notes on the half sheets regardless of which half of the 12-subject sheet was being numbered. The plate letters were ignored. This is a wonderful example of human inertia. Everyone simply kept moving in the same direction, creating whatever convolution was necessary to stay the course. The problem with adopting the type 1 sheet serial numbering style was that those who handled and issued the sheets found themselves locked into an archaic format that quickly forced them to do their accounting in units of six notes, instead of individual notes. Initially, in 1929, the Comptroller’s clerks would receive notification from the National Bank Redemption Agency that some dollar amount of notes had been redeemed for a given bank, and the clerks would issue notes, which commonly involved cutting notes from the sheets to make up the correct total. This led to cumbersome entries in the ledgers and greatly complicated the rectification of the accounts. In short order, the Comptroller requested that the National Bank Redemption Agency certify redemptions in 6-note multiples so that the Comptroller’s office could issue whole sheets to the banks. This complicated the bookkeeping in the Redemption Agency, which added to their costs and forced them to hold odd numbers of notes for varying periods at the expense of expeditiously processing the all the notes on behalf of the issuing banks. Figure 2. Type 1 sheet where the serial numbers are sheet numbers. Notice that all the notes have the same serial number, and their positions in the sheet are revealed by the prefix letters in the serial numbers. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 316 ORIGIN OF TYPE 2 NUMBERING The following discussion on the conversion to type 2 numbering is synthesized from memos and letters in the Bureau of the Public Debt files (various dates), supplemented by correspondence in the central correspondence files of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1913-1939), both of which are in the National Archives. At first, the primary incentive to convert to the type 2 numbering style was annoyance on the part of bankers that they still had to cut the notes from their sheets. Needed were notes numbered in numerical order that could be separated and packaged like other currency. Requests for deliveries in note form from bankers across the country were reaching all the agencies involved with the national bank issues. Important was a lobbying effort in late March, 1930, by a Mr. Mountjoy of the American Bankers Association requesting that serious consideration be given to the matter (Broughton, Mar 23, 1930). By 1930 the agency people already were converging on the idea of delivering the notes to the banks in 100-note packages. There were proposals for the Comptroller’s office to purchase cutting machines so operatives there could cut the sheets before shipping them to the banks. An alternative proposal was for the Comptroller to return the 4.5 million sheets in his inventory to the Bureau to have them cut and packaged over there. However, the problem of multiple notes with the same serial number on the type 1 sheets loomed large in the deliberations for change. The problem was that the repetitious serials would confounded bookkeeping after the notes were separated because like numbers would cause confusion in packaging the notes and the accounting for them. The agency people were facing another problem that was even worse. From the outset of the 1929 issues, the Redemption Agency was receiving mutilated notes where the bank information was completely washed off making identification by bank of issue difficult to impossible. However, sorters often could read the serial numbers because the brown ink penetrated more deeply into the paper than the black ink used to overprint the bank information. Furthermore, if a badly eroded note was sent in for redemption, the core of the note surrounding the portrait usually was intact, whereas the borders containing the black charter numbers might be totally missing. The plan quickly evolved that if new numbering blocks had to be purchased to allow for consecutive numbering down the sheet, they could also be designed to add charter numbers adjacent to the respective sides of the portrait. The advantage of the extra charter numbers was that they would be printed with the deeper penetrating brown ink and they would be placed in the critical core of the note. Figure 3. This is the very first type 2 $50 that was printed. The number 1 type 2 sheets for all five denominations for this new Chicago bank were part of a printing order for $600,000 placed with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 31, 1933. This order happened to contain the first request for type 2 $50s and $100s. They were delivered from the BEP to the Comptroller on June 24th. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 317 Thus, the type 2 concept would kill two birds with one stone: (1) consecutively number the notes, and (2) add two charter numbers to facilitate identification of mutilated notes. The idea for including the two charter numbers in brown came from William S. Broughton, Commissioner of the Public Debt Service in a memo to Bureau Director Alvin W. Hall dated April 2, 1930. Broughton suggested that the charter and serial numbers be stacked on the respective sides of the notes. Putting the numbers in-line with the charter numbers adjacent to the portrait was the suggestion of Director Hall in a response dated April 22, 1930. Hall was concerned about potential crowding and overlap of design elements on the notes if the numbers were stacked. Besides, having the numbering discs for the two numbers on the same axle within the numbering blocks was far easier to accommodate mechanically. The fact is that the discussions leading to the adoption of the type 2 numbering style progressively focused more on the additional brown charter numbers than on providing pre-cut notes for the bankers! Leading the charge for the additional brown charter numbers was the Redemption Agency staff. The agency people dithered even though there was consensus on the merits of the type 2 concept in early 1930, so implementation stalled. But time marched on. On April 28, 1931, Mr. Broughton signaled the frustration of Treasury officials when he wrote to BEP Director Hall: “Something should be done about National bank notes. Everyone has agreed (1) that the notes should be separated before shipment, and (2) that additional means of identifying the bank of issue should be provided. * * * Moreover, the Secretary has promised the banks in due course that the notes will be delivered separated. * * * Several plans have been considered and at least one has been approved but misunderstandings or complications have invariably arisen which have prevented the proposal being carried out” (Broughton, Apr 28, 1931). Broughton’s memo was designed to light a fire under the agencies, the BEP in particular. Instead the issue smoldered and weakly at that. An interagency Currency Committee was formed and recommended on July 18, 1932, that the BEP be authorized to purchase new numbering blocks to print the type 2 notes. The committee went on to explain “It has been the purpose of the Department to furnish the banks with separated notes but the difficulties are so great that it is deemed wise to give no further consideration to the matter at this time” (Broughton and others, Jul 18, 1932). Broughton, a member of the Currency Committee, wrote lamely two days later to Assistant Secretary of the Treasury James H. Douglas Jr. (Broughton, Jul 20, 1932): National bank notes are produced as job orders. It is not practicable to separate and exactly collate National bank notes at the Bureau. It would add many times to the cost. It is possible to separate the notes without undue expense, but not to collate them. If a change from sheet to separated notes were made the Comptroller=s vault equipment would be wholly obsolete. A complete change in vault control and shipping procedure would be necessary at considerable expense and reduced security. The present is considered a bad time to make a change, and so the proposal to separate notes before shipment is being abandoned for the time-being. Figure 4. $50 and $100 type 2 notes are highly prized because they were issued in small quantities by a limited number of banks. Only 288 of these $100s were printed for and issued by this bank. Photo courtesy of William Herzog. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 318 The recommendations of the committee were approved August 1, 1932 by Douglas. All the agency people agreed that the addition of the extra charter numbers printed in the deeper penetrating brown ink next to the portraits was sufficient justification on its own merits to make the change. Deputy Comptroller of the Currency Frank Awalt sent a memo to Broughton on November 21, 1932 stating “. . . it is requested that each denomination for each bank start with A000001 as it will greatly facilitate the keeping of records of this office (Awalt, Nov 21, 1932).” Orders were then placed for the new numbering blocks. The first order for type 2 notes was requisition number 1099 sent from the Comptroller’s office to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 13, 1933 (CofC, 1929-1935). The instructions on how to set up the presses to do this work were finalized in the serial numbering section on May 24, 1933 (BEP, undated). The first of the type 2 sheets was sent from the Bureau to the Comptroller’s office on May 27, 1933, with $5s for Demopolis, Alabama (10035), $10s for Denver, Colorado (1651) and $20s for Williamstown, New Jersey (7265) leading the pack. The last type 1 sheets were sent two days later (BEP, 1924-1935). Separation of the notes never did occur. Delays were caused by deciding whether the Bureau of Engraving and Printing or the Comptroller’s office should separate the notes. The favored option was to have the Bureau do the cutting. If the Bureau was to separate and handle the notes, suitable vault space with furnishings and equipment had to be arranged, additional counters had to be hired, and new procedures had to be developed for distributing the notes directly to banks without the notes having to pass through the Comptroller’s office. Also, it was desirable to wait until the stocks of type 1 sheets could be depleted because handling them in separated form was undesirable for accounting purposes. No progress was made on cutting the sheets by the time the series was phased out in 1935. The long-sought desire of bankers to receive their notes in individual form had been a topic of discussion since the inception of the series, yet the only progress in that direction was to start numbering the notes consecutively down the sheets beginning belatedly in 1933. The fact is, the bankers lost out because it was inconvenient for the agencies to separate the notes. Besides, there remained large numbers of type 1 sheets in the Comptroller’s inventory that would be a pain Figure 6. The numbering wheels for the brown charter numbers turned on the same axle as the adjacent serial number. In this case, the wrong charter number was dialed in for $5 serials 1501-3264, received at the Comptroller’s office September 23, 1933. Figure 5. This Mount Olive bank had the highest charter number to appear on a type 2 $100. The entire issuance from the bank consisted of 250 of these 100s. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 319 to deal with thanks to the repetitious sheet serial numbers on them. There was momentary consideration of simultaneously shipping type 1 notes to the banks in sheet form and the type 2s in cut form, but this idea was quickly dropped because the bankers receiving the type 1s would feel discriminated against and probably would howl loudly. Ironically, there was a bookkeeping benefit to both the Comptroller’s office and the Redemption Agency attending the use of the type 2 sheets. No longer was the Redemption Agency bound to certifying redemptions in 6-note increments. Instead they could report and clear all redemptions exactly as they came through, and the Comptroller’s clerks could issue new notes in serial number order to those exact amounts by cutting the necessary numbers of notes from sheets if need be. The practice of cutting one or more notes from sheets to make up deliveries to offset redemptions closed out the type 2 era and explains why the final type 2 serials issued to many banks are not evenly divisible by 6. The irony in all of this is that the primary incentive to adopt type 2 numbering was so that individual notes could be delivered at great convenience to the bankers. The actual reason that type 2 numbering was adopted was to take advantage of the duplicate charter numbers that were applied incidentally in the process in order to facilitate identification of mutilated notes turned in for redemption. Banker constituency: strikeout! Agency personnel: homerun! B-SUFFIX TYPE 1, B-PREFIX TYPE 2 SERIAL NUMBERS A bank had to issue 999,999 sheets of one denomination, for a total of 5,999,994 notes, before B- suffix serial numbers could appear on a type 1 note. The Chase National Bank of the City of New York (2370) was the only bank in the country to achieve this distinction. The feat was realized in their $5 issues in 1933. The first B-suffix notes arrived at the Comptroller’s office in a printing delivered March 9, consisting of sheets 1 through 11,140. The shipment to the bank containing the first B-suffix notes went out December 11 in a group numbered 905141A through 651B. Fortunately, someone at the bank saved the top notes off the 999999A-1B rollover sheets. The last type 1 $5 printed for the Chase bank was F057756B and it was issued, yielding a total issuance of 6,346,530 $5 type 1 notes having a face value of $31,732,650! Getting to the B prefix in the type 2 issues was six times easier. Only 999,996 notes of the same denomination had to be consumed first. Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, San Francisco (13044), was the only bank to earn this distinction, and it was done with their $5s. However, reaching the B-prefix was just part of the story. The printing containing the B000001 note Figure 7. Sensational rollover pair of notes from A- to B-suffix serials numbers, a feat attained only by The Chase National Bank of the City of New York. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 320 was enormous, consisting of notes A371997 through C074856. It arrived at the Comptroller’s office on November 24, 1933. The A999996-B000001 pair was shipped to the bank December 7, 1934, in a group numbered A917635-B000938. The clock ran out on the Series of 1929 before the C-prefix notes were reached. Consequently, the highest serial sent to the bank was B172602. By then the bank had received $5,862,990 in type 2 $5s. The highest serial numbers printed on the two types of nationals were as follows according to a journal maintained by someone in the numbering division (BEP, undated). The dates listed are when the last were numbered. The serials followed by # were issued. Type 1: $5 A-F057756B# Chase National Bank of New York $10 A-F750580A# Chase National Bank of New York $20 A-F129054A# Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco $50 A-F011178A# Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco $100 A-F008554A Union Planters NB&TC of Memphis Type 2: $5 C074856 Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco Nov 11, 1933 $10 A762420# Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco Apr 27, 1934 $20 A435444# Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco Nov 3, 1934 $50 A064548 Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco Nov 3, 1934 $100 A043032 Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco Nov 3, 1934 PART SHEETS IN BANK SHIPMENTS The published listings of issued Series of 1929 serial numbers contain numerous entries where part sheets of type 1 and type 2 sheets were sent to banks. Early during the type 1 issues, it was the practice of the clerks who were making up shipments to cut sheets in order to round up the dollar totals to exactly offset the value of redemptions. This produced a bookkeeping headache, so the practice ceased in short order, probably before 1930, and from then on, the redemption agency reported redemptions in quantities that exactly equaled values that could be covered by full sheets. In this way, the Comptroller’s clerks Figure 8. Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, San Francisco, was the only bank to issue type 2 notes with a B prefix. Figure 9. There is no photo of the unique $20 Series of 1929 Type 2 note with serial A000193 from this bank with president M. D. Pond’s signature. We have no idea if it was saved. A photo of this $10 with Rhoades’ signature will have to do! Photo courtesy of Gerome Walton. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 321 avoided the bother of cutting sheets and the laborious ledger work needed to keep track of them. The advantage of type 2 serial numbers was that they were numbered down the sheet. If a sheet had to be cut to make a shipment, it caused no bookkeeping headache, so the practice of cutting sheets resumed during the type 2 era. There is one tale involving the type 2 issues for The First National Bank of Lyons, Nebraska (6221), that involved cutting sheets to make up shipments that is so good, it has to be told. The facts here were discovered many years ago when Gerome Walton asked Huntoon to identify the changeover serial numbers between signature combinations for several Nebraska banks. A new president was appointed for the Lyons bank in February 1935. Specifically, M. D. Pond replaced Herbert Rhoades. A new type 2 printing consisting of $10 and $20 sheets was made with Pond's signature. However, the Comptroller’s clerks continued to send notes to the bank with Rhoades’ signature until stocks of them ran out. Thus, Pond=s sheets waited in inventory. As fate would have it, the very last shipment to the bank to offset redemptions before the Series of 1929 was discontinued involved an amount that required one $20 note be cut from the next sheet. You guessed it, that single $20 was the only 1929 note shipped to the bank with president Pond’s signature! The note was $20 serial A000193 sent April 29, 1935, along with some sheets with Rhoades’ signature. No $10s with Pond's signature were sent. Of all the notes sent to the bank, that one was the most likely to have been saved by Pond. I wonder if he saved it! It has not been reported. Probably it is hanging on the wall of his grandson’s office. Or maybe his great grandson liberated it in order to go out and buy some weed! SERIAL NUMBER GAPS IN BANK SHIPMENTS It was the policy of the Comptroller’s office to consume stocks of sheets having obsolete signatures before notes with new signatures were shipped. The same was true for new titles. Despite this policy, gaps consisting of sizable groups of unissued serial numbers have been recognized for 44 different banks in the 1929 issues. The gaps usually affected all the denominations being issued by the bank at the time. The gaps occurred in one of two ways. It is clear that bankers could request that unissued sheets with obsolete titles or signatures be canceled because this occasionally happened. Such cancellations explain most of the gaps. The few others represent canceled misprint runs discovered after the sheets had been delivered to the Comptroller of the Currency. Not all the canceled runs of obsolete signatures have been identified. There are two reasons they were missed. First, many signature changes happened to occur between the type 1 and 2 issues. Canceled sheets from the ends of type 1 printings can be detected only by determining if, in fact, the last type 1 sheets printed were actually issued. This requires an examination of the appropriate National Currency and Bond Ledger for every affected bank in the National Archives, a detail that wasn’t consistently undertaken. Second, and even more obscure, is that in many cases, Louis Van Belkum, the compiler of the issued national bank note serial numbers, calculated the last serial numbers issued by using summary dollar totals from the last ledger page, rather than examining the ledger page that showed the actual high serial numbers issued. He would thus miss the fact that there was a group of canceled sheets, and inadvertently calculate ending serial numbers that were correspondingly too low. Occasionally we find such missed gaps when collectors report out of range serial numbers. Three examples of gaps resulting from misprinted orders follow. Jamaica Errors The Series of 1929 type 1 printings for The Jamaica National Bank of New York (12550) were jinxed by a succession of two consecutive typesetting errors. The first involved a stopgap 6-subject electrotype plate made by the Government Printing Office came with Jamaica in the F-position misspelled Jamacia. This typo was made by a BEP linotype operator as he was making the type for a 6-subject form that was used by the GPO as a mold for the plate. In the meantime, Barnhart Brothers & Spindler, the Chicago contractors awarded the contract for providing sets SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 322 of six 1-subject logotype plates, had received their order for the bank’s plates, but that order omitted the “of” from the bank title. In due course, the BBS logotypes arrived. The first printing for the bank was made from the GPO plate and some sheets were sent to the bank with the misspelling in the F-position before it was discovered. The remainder of that printing was canceled, and followed by printings from the finally arrived BBS logotypes. The omitted “of” wasn’t detected until a new plate was ordered by the bankers to reflect a new president in 1933. Table 1 summarizes the salient facts surrounding this comedy of mistakes. The discovery of the Jamacia misspelling and cancelation of the remaining stock of those sheets in the Comptroller’s inventory explains the gap in the issued serial numbers. This gap is particularly interesting because the issuance of the error sheets was terminated mid-sheet. At the time the Comptroller’s clerks cut sheets to make up desired dollar amounts in their Figure 10. Three notes from The Jamaica National Bank of New York. Top: John Hickman’s photocopy of the F-note with misspelled Jamacia from the GPO plate. Middle: note from the BBS logotypes with omitted of in the title. Bottom: note from a new set of BBS logotypes made in 1933 with the correct title when the president=s signature was changed. Table 1. Receipts of key serial numbers for The Jamaica National Bank of New York (12550) at the Comptroller of the Currency's office. Data from Comptroller of the Currency, 1863-1935. Date Den Serials Delivery Type 1: 6-subject GRO plate containing misspelling in the F-position Sep 7, 1929 5 1-208 1st type 1 delivery 10 1-406 1st set of six 1-subject BBS logotypes missing "of" Nov 25, 1929 5 209-410 2nd type 1 delivery 10 407-824 Dec 2, 1932 5 4021-4544 last type 1 delivery 10 4371-5196 Type 2: 2nd set of six 1-subject BBS logotypes with new president Aug 19, 1933 5 1-4956 1st type 2 delivery 10 1-6792 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 323 shipments. Louis Van Belkum had recorded the gap from the National Currency and Bond Ledgers, but, of course, we had no idea what had caused it. John Hickman provided the vital clue decades ago. One day he excitedly showed me a photocopy someone had sent him of the bottom four notes from the $10 number 2 sheet from the first printing sporting the misspelled Jamacia in the F-position. The National Currency and Bond Ledgers revealed that the Comptroller’s clerks sent the unissued error sheets to the redemption division for cancellation as soon as the error was discovered Bartlett, Texas, Misspelling The first two printing of Series of 1929 notes for The First National Bank of Bartlett, Texas (5422), had the town misspelled Barlett. This spectacular error, the first to be reported from the bank, came in a lot of Texas notes consigned to Heritage Auctions and offered through their January 5-8, 2011 Fun sale. Heritage cataloguer Frank Clark, spotted the error. He sent a scan of it to Huntoon, not knowing that Huntoon had discovered the error in Treasury records several years ago, already had researched it, and been looking for a specimen ever since. Huntoon first ran into the misspelling in a Bureau of Engraving and Printing billing ledger for Series of 1929 overprinting plates. The entry for The First National Bank of Bartlett was written during September 1929, and shows the spelling as Barlett. It appears that the misspelling was transmitted to the BEP on the order form that they received from the Comptroller of the Currency. The September entry is followed by an undated second that states “new plate[s] made without charge to bank.” Both sets of plates were made by Barnhart Brothers & Spindler in Chicago. The rest of the story appears in the National Currency and Bond Ledgers. The first delivery of 1929 sheets for the bank arrived at the Comptroller’s office on September 25, 1929, and contained $10 sheets 1-616 Figure 11. Bartlett is misspelled in the top note of this pair. Table 1, continued. Dates when key notes were shipped to the bank. Type 1: 6-subject GRO plate containing misspelling in the F-position Sep 17, 1929 10 A1-B4 Sep 27, 1929 5 A1-B14 Oct 5, 1929 10 C4-D7 Oct 15, 1929 10 E7-B14 Oct 30, 1929 10 C14-B19 (rest of first printing canceled) 1st set of six 1-subject BBS logotypes missing "of" Nov 25, 1929 5 209- Nov 26, 1929 10 407- Aug 4, 1933 10 -5196 Aug 11, 1933 5 -4544 Type 2: 2nd set of six 1-subject BBS logotypes with new president Aug 19, 1933 5 1- Aug 19, 1933 10 1- SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 324 and $20s 1-210. Error sheets began to be shipped to the bank beginning with $10s on October 4, followed by $20s on October 12. These were replacements for worn large size notes that had been redeemed. Periodic shipments followed. The cryptic notation “printed wrong” appears in the column showing shipments to the bank, so it is clear that the clerks spotted the misspelling. A second printing arrived at the Comptroller’s office four and a half months later on February 8, 1930. Ironically, it was printed from the plates with the misspelling and included $10s 617-1234 and $20s 211-422. Obviously, an order for more sheets had been sent to the BEP, but failed to mention the misspelling. The last shipment of sheets with the misspelling was sent to the bank February 4, 1930, four days before the second printing arrived. The arrival of the second printing stirred the Comptroller’s office into remedial action. They ordered a third printing with the proper spelling. It arrived at the Comptroller’s office on February 26th, and contained sheets $10s 1235-1836 and $20s 423-832, so now the clerks finally could stop shipping errors! The first shipment to the bank without the misspelling went out that same day. The unissued sheets with the misspelling were canceled May 12, 1930, and included serials $10 460-1234 and $20 116-422. Notice that the cancellations involved the last sheets in the first printing and all the sheets from the second printing. This is another case where a typographical error on the layout used to make Series of 1929 overprinting plates resulted in canceled sheets and resulting gaps in issued serial numbers. The part of this tale that is interesting is that even though the error was spotted in September 1929, the Comptroller’s office continued to ship the misprints until a corrected printing arrived. Misprints, when found, always caused some type of response. Procedures varied, but a primary consideration involved weighing the degree of the problem against an inconvenient wait imposed on the bankers. Delays were obviously considered worse than the misspelling in the Bartlett case! A key step in making the Series of 1929 logotype plates that were produced by Barnhart Brothers & Spindler involved a photo etching process. This required a photo positive of the overprint. A photo positive of Bartlett was spliced into the original positive in place of Barlett. All else on the layout was left as it was. The new set of plates was made from the corrected positive. Another misspelling of a town is flagged in the 1929 billing ledger. This occurred on the plates made for The First National Bank of Maquoketa, Iowa, charter 999. The July 1929 billing entry states “misspelled Maquoleta.” In this case, the BEP ordered a new set of overprinting plates before the first printing. Notes from the first printing came out correctly as Maquoketa, including most notably the $20 E000001A note that appeared in a CAA 1/97 sale. Indianapolis Preposition Error A general policy had been adopted at the Comptroller’s office not to accepted titles that duplicated one used previously in the same town. They could be avoided by substituting in or at for of in titles, or by dropping those prepositions altogether. This resulted in a glitch for an Indianapolis bank. The American National Bank at Indianapolis was the third in a string of related banks. The first was The American National Bank (5672), chartered in 1901, which was liquidated and reorganized as The Fletcher American National Bank (9829) in 1910. The Fletcher American was in turn liquidated January 24, 1934, and succeeded by The American National Bank at Indianapolis (13759), which had been organized August 19, 1933. In the case of charter 13759, at was substituted for of The officers of the new bank arranged for a deposit of $1 million worth of bonds to secure a like circulation on February 28, 1934. A set of Series of 1929 overprinting logotypes was made, and the first deliveries from them arrived at the Comptroller’s office in October 1933. A subsequent printing was delivered in February 1934. $1 million was shipped to the bank March 1st from the Comptroller’s office. What everyone failed to notice was that the title on the first two printings used the traditional of SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 325 instead of at! The error was spotted once the $1 million worth of errors arrived at the bank. The notes were desperately needed, so they were pressed rapidly into circulation. In the meantime, the unissued remainders in the Comptroller’s office from the second printing were canceled March 15th. A third shipment with the corrected title arrived at the Comptroller’s office March 26-27, 1934. Another followed in September. Consequently, there were gaps in the issued serial number ranges for all five type 2 denominations between the two titles. Regular shipments to the bank of error-free notes from the new plates were used to offset redemptions of worn notes from circulation beginning April 12, 1934. In this interesting case, $286,770 worth of error-free notes were sent to the bank, in contrast to a million dollars’ worth of the errors. Consequently, the errors represented about three and a half times the dollar value of the non-errors! The fact is that the error-free notes proved to be fairly difficult to find. MATCHED CHARTER AND SERIAL NUMBERS Occasionally someone finds a note where the serial number matches the charter number. Just that happened to Dan Freeland with the circulated note from Bay City, Michigan, shown here. Lucky find! PARTING COMMENTS The great advantage to bankers with the adoption of small size national bank notes was that the notes would arrive in totally completed form; specifically, they already would bear the bank signatures. However, in reality the conversion to small size got off on the wrong foot because the notes were still Figure 13. Notice that the charter number and serial number match on this Bay City, Michigan, note. . Figure 12. The official title for this Indianapolis bank utilized the preposition at, not of. The first two printings used of by mistake. Notes with the error are more easily obtained than the corrected title. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 326 printed in sheets where every note on the sheet had the same number, a tradition inherited from the large note era, which in turn had been inherited from the numbering of obsolete bank currency before that by the bank note companies. As before, the notes were sent to the bankers in sheet form when what the bankers really wanted was separated notes. These comprised the type 1 varieties printed from 1929 to 1933. All relevant Treasury officials undertook deliberations to remedy this shortcoming and the concept of consecutively numbered notes gained serious traction. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing could readily handle consecutively numbered notes because that is how all Treasury and Federal Reserve bank currency was being numbered. The Bureau was using small size numbering presses that not only applied the numbers consecutively down the sheet, but also separated and collated the notes in consecutive order. Consecutively numbering down the sheets was adopted for nationals in 1933 giving rise to the type 2 varieties. However, the primary internal motivation for moving in this direction was that the new numbering heads were designed to also apply the bank charter numbers next to the serial numbers, yielding two additional charter numbers that were printed using brown ink. That ink penetrated the paper better than the black ink used for the two black charter numbers along the outside edges of the notes that were part of the bank overprint. The reality was that the National Bank Redemption Agency was facing two serious problems. Often the black overprints on worn notes had washed off making it difficult or impossible to assign those redeemed notes to the proper bank. On other severely worn notes, the ends were eroded to the point that the black charter numbers along the edges were missing. The more durable brown charter numbers bracketing the portraits at the centers of the notes solved both problems! Once they began to produce the type 2 notes, they continued to send them to the banks in uncut form. The decision turned on convenience. The Comptroller’s vault was set up to handle sheets, not individual notes. Besides, there was a huge inventory of type 1 sheets still in stock. In order to convert to notes, everything involved with handling including the design of the vault itself would have to be changed. Not the least of the problems was that the type 1 sheets in inventory would have to be separated into individual notes, which would bear duplicate numbers that would create an accounting headache. The solution was simply to defer dealing with the problem. If they waited long enough, the stock of all the type 1 sheets would finally be consumed. Also, on the horizon was the happy prospect that serious minds in the Treasury Department were working on doing away with the nuisance national currency altogether. Waiting things out deferred costly intervention! And that is how the type 2 era played out. There was one benefit to the type 2 issues from the perspective of the Comptroller’s office. Bookkeeping could be simplified because replacements for worn notes redeemed from circulation could be handled when necessary by cutting sheets to supply exact balances rather than juggling redemption balances to match the dollar value of full sheets as was the practice going into the type 2 era. As for the bankers, whose howls fueled the move to consecutively number the notes, they were stuck with having to deal with annoying sheets right up to the end! REFERENCES CITED AND SOURCES OF DATA Awalt, F. G., Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, Nov 21, 1932, Memorandum to William S. Broughton, Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, requesting that Series of 1929 type 2 serial numbering start at A000001: Bureau of the Public Debt, Series K Currency, Record Group 53, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Broughton, William S., Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, Mar 23, 1930, Memorandum to Alvin W. Hall, Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, pertaining to a request from Mr. Mountjoy of the American Bankers Association to consider separating Series of 1929 national bank notes prior to delivery to the banks: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Central Correspondence Files, Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Broughton, William S., Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, Apr 2, 1930, Memorandum to Alvin W. Hall, Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, recommending the addition of two brown charter numbers to Series of 1929 overprints: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Central Correspondence Files, Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Broughton, William S., Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, Apr 28, 1931, Letter to Alvin W. Hall, Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, addressing dismay over agency delays in implementing the adoption of Series of 1929 type 2 serial numbering and separating the notes for delivery: Bureau of the Public Debt, Series K Currency, Record Group 53, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Broughton, William S, Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, Jul 20, 1932, Letter to James H. Douglas Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, advising him of the status of proposals to adopt Series of 1929 type 2 serial numbering and the separation of the notes prior to delivery: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Central Correspondence Files, Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 327 Broughton, William S, A. W. Hall, W. H. Moran and M. E. Slidee, Jul 18, 1932, Currency Committee recommendations with regard to adoption of Series of 1929 type 2 serial numbering and separation of notes prior to delivery: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Central Correspondence Files, Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1913-1939, Bureau of Engraving and Printing Central Correspondence Files: Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1924-1935, Schedules of the delivery of national bank currency: Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1929-1935, Ledger showing billing dates for national bank overprinting plates: Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, undated, Serial numbering division journal: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Historical Resource Center, Washington, DC. Bureau of the Public Debt, various dates, Series K Currency: Record Group 53, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Comptroller of the Currency, 1863-1935, National currency and bond ledgers: Record Group 101, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Comptroller of the Currency, 1929-1935, Requests to print currency: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Historical Resource Center, Washington, DC. Duncan, George W., Superintendent of the Surface Printing Division, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, October 14, 1930, Memorandum to the Assistant Director of Production explaining how make-up replacement sheets were made for the Series of 1929 national bank notes: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Central Correspondence Files: Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. Hall, Alvin W., Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Apr 22, 1930, Letter to William Broughton, Commissioner of the Public Debt Service, outlining the advantages of placing duplicate charter numbers on Series of 1929 type 2 national bank notes in-line with the serial numbers: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Central Correspondence Files, Record Group 318, U. S. National Archives, College Park, MD. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 328 Lyn Knight Currency Auct ions If you are buying notes... You’ll find a spectacular selection of rare and unusual currency offered for sale in each and every auction presented by Lyn Knight Currency Auctions. Our auctions are conducted throughout the year on a quarterly basis and each auction is supported by a beautiful “grand format” catalog, featuring lavish descriptions and high quality photography of the lots. Annual Catalog Subscription (4 catalogs) $50 Call today to order your subscription! 800-243-5211 If you are selling notes... Lyn Knight Currency Auctions has handled virtually every great United States currency rarity. We can sell all of your notes! Colonial Currency... Obsolete Currency... Fractional Currency... Encased Postage... Confederate Currency... United States Large and Small Size Currency... National Bank Notes... Error Notes... Military Payment Certificates (MPC)... as well as Canadian Bank Notes and scarce Foreign Bank Notes. We offer: Great Commission Rates Cash Advances Expert Cataloging Beautiful Catalogs Call or send your notes today! If your collection warrants, we will be happy to travel to your location and review your notes. 800-243-5211 Mail notes to: Lyn Knight Currency Auctions P.O. Box 7364, Overland Park, KS 66207-0364 We strongly recommend that you send your material via USPS Registered Mail insured for its full value. Prior to mailing material, please make a complete listing, including photocopies of the note(s), for your records. We will acknowledge receipt of your material upon its arrival. If you have a question about currency, call Lyn Knight. He looks forward to assisting you. 800-243-5211 - 913-338-3779 - Fax 913-338-4754 Email: lyn@lynknight.com - support@lynknight.c om Whether you’re buying or selling, visit our website: www.lynknight.com Fr. 379a $1,000 1890 T.N. Grand Watermelon Sold for $1,092,500 Fr. 183c $500 1863 L.T. Sold for $621,000 Fr. 328 $50 1880 S.C. Sold for $287,500 Lyn Knight Currency Auctions Deal with the Leading Auction Company in United States Currency Ransom at the Border When The Marfa National Bank helped rescue U.S. airmen held for ransom Lee Lofthus Figure 1. Vice President H. M. Fennell of The Marfa National Bank, Marfa, Texas, aided authorities on Monday, August 18, 1919, when Mexican “Villista” bandits demanded a ransom for two captured American airmen. Fennell holds a package containing $15,000 in cash. At center is Major C. C. Smith, Commanding 2nd Air Squadron, 8th Cavalry, with Elmer Donnell of the American Red Cross at right. Library of Congress photograph LCN 2017669979. Headlines were booming with controversies over Southwest Border security, human trafficking, illegal aliens, drug smuggling, kidnappings, and gun running. If this sounds like today’s paper, it was over 100 years ago. U.S./Mexico Hostilities 1913-1920 Strife on the U.S./Mexico border was widespread from 1913 to 1920. The Mexican revolution had sowed internal upheaval and violence that spilled across the border into the United States, especially after Mexican general Pancho Villa was ousted by his former revolutionary comrades. Hunted by his old brothers-in-arms and abandoned by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, Villa became a guerrilla, at one point crossing into the U.S. and attacking the 13th Calvary on the way to seize horses and supplies at the town of Columbus, New Mexico. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 330 The town was burned, 18 Americans died, and reports said between 65 to 80 “Villista’s” died. In March 1916, the U.S. Army sent General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing into Mexico to find the bandit and pressure the Mexican government to subdue Villa. The presence of the U.S. forces on Mexican soil understandably fueled Mexican anger, and when the expedition failed to corner Villa after months of chase, the U.S. forces withdrew in February 1917. The violence continued, with illegal drug smuggling, alien smuggling, kidnappings, and general violence as gangs of Mexican bandits roved the border areas. Bandits would cross into the U.S. when supplies were needed, raiding ranches and rustling cattle. Violent armed conflict was not unusual, with a particularly large battle occurring between roughly 600 bandits and 800 U.S. soldiers near Nogales, Arizona, in August 1918. Figure 2. The 12th Aero Squadron, one of several squadrons, flew surveillance missions and conducted liaison operations with the U.S. Calvary on the United States/Mexico border. Army Border Air patrol operations continued from 1919 to 1921. United States Army - Air Service, U.S. Army photograph January 1, 1920. The U.S. Army Border Air Patrol In June 1919, a large force of Villistas was on the move towards Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, near El Paso, Texas. The U.S. government placed military units nearby on the American side of the border. Over 1,600 of Villa’s guerrilla’s attacked Juarez on the night of June 14, 1919, with stray fire coming into the U.S, killing two and wounding several others. The Army sent 3,600 troops into Mexico to disperse the Villista force and then returned to base. As a result of this incident, the Army moved Air Service units to the border for surveillance and patrol duty, eventually numbering over five dozen airplanes and 600 officers and men. In July 1919, three squadrons were organized and stationed at Kelly Field outside San Antonio. Flights soon began from several air fields – literally, hastily prepared fields and pastures – including Marfa field. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 331 The Marfa Ransom Incident On August 10, 1919, two Americans got lost while on a routine patrol flight along the Rio Grande in the Big Bend area of Texas. During their flight, Lts. Harold G. Peterson, pilot, and Paul H. Davis, observer-gunner from Marfa Field, Texas, mistook the Conches River for the Rio Grande and flew several miles into Mexico before having engine trouble. They picked what they believed was a safe spot on the “American” side of the river and crash landed. They buried the machine guns and ammunition to keep them out of the hands of bandits, and began the trek back to what they thought would be the U.S. Cavalry post at Candelaria, Texas. When the two men did not return to base, a search was begun. Planes were unsuccessful in their search, although at one point the flyers saw a plane overhead but could not attract its attention. The search continued for a week, when Capt. Leonard F. Matlack, commanding Troop K, 8th Cavalry, at Candelaria, received word Peterson and Davis were being held for ransom. From here the story is told verbatim from the “The United States Army Border Air Patrol:” The flyers had been taken prisoner on Wednesday, 13 August by a Villista desperado named Jesus Renteria. The bandit sent the ransom note to a rancher at Candelaria, along with telegrams which he forced the airmen to write to their fathers and the Secretary of War, the Commanding General of the Southern Department, and the commanding officer of U.S. forces in the Big Bend District. Renteria demanded $15,000 not later than Monday, 18 August, or the two Americans would be killed. The War Department authorized payment of the ransom, but there remained the matter of getting $15,000 in cash for delivery before the deadline. Ranchers in the area quickly subscribed the full amount, which came from the Marfa National Bank. Negotiation through intermediaries resulted in a plan for Captain Matlack to cross the border Monday night with half of the ransom money for the release of one of the Americans. The meeting took place on schedule, and within forty- five minutes Matlack came back with Lieutenant Peterson. Matlack then took the remaining $7,500 to get Lieutenant Davis. On the way to the rendezvous, he overheard two of Renteria’s men talking about killing him and Davis as soon as the rest of the ransom money was paid. At the rendezvous, Matlack pulled a gun, told the Mexicans to tell Renteria to “go to hell,” and rode off with Davis and the money. Avoiding the ambush, Matlack and Davis safely crossed into the United States. The bandit Renteria and some of his men were spotted two days later by Air Patrol planes flying in Mexican territory, and he was reported killed as one of the planes strafed the bandits. The search for other bandits from his gang was suspended on August 23 after the Mexican government protested the invasion of its territory. Figure 3: The U.S. Army 8th Machine Gun Cavalry in action on the Mexican border, Villa campaign, 1916. LCN 96509207. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 332 Figure 4. Marfa, Texas, 1918. The Marfa National Bank is at left. Note the entryway where bank vice president H. M. Fennell was standing in Figure 1 as he left with the $15,000 ransom package. Postcard by Arnold’s Art Studio, image courtesy Marfa Public Library. The Marfa National Bank The rescue of the two Army Air Border Patrol flyers was an Army operation, but the funds came from local ranchers around Marfa and Presidio County. This was remote west Texas hill country, only 60 miles from the border with Mexico. The Marfa National Bank was the sole national bank in a town of roughly 3,500 people, and it was also the only national bank in the entire county. It was ready to help it neighbors and the military. Longtime cashier Harold M. Fennell had been recently promoted to vice president of the bank, and Fennell was on hand when the ransom plan came into action. Fennell had been cashier of the bank from 1908 to 1918, and lived in Marfa with his wife and two daughters. Fennell helped get the $15,000 cash together and provided it to the Army officers. As seen in Figure 1, Fennell, at 43 years old, was a tall lean Texan who looked as much the part of a lawman as banker. We don’t know the cash composition of the notes involved with the ransom, but The Marfa National Bank did issue national bank notes, and Fennell’s cashier signature did appear on notes for many years given his decade-plus as cashier. See Figure 5. The Marfa National Bank was open from 1907 through the close of the national bank note era in 1935. The bank maintained a fairly consistent circulation of $70,000 or thereabouts for most of its existence. The Marfa National Bank issued Series 1902 Red Seals, Date Backs, and Plain Backs in the $10 and $20 denominations, and Series 1929 small size notes in the same denominations. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 333 Figure 5. 1902 $10 Date Back note showing the signature of cashier H. M. Fennell. Many surviving Marfa NB large size notes have no signatures left on them, so this Date Back is a nice exception. Image courtesy Lyn Knight Auction Archives. Postscript The Marfa ransom incident was not the only occasion Army Air Border Patrol personnel got lost and/or captured in Mexico, to the repeated irritation of both governments. In one awful episode, two pilots were murdered by bandits after being downed in Mexico near Baja California. But concerns over the Mexican diplomatic protests, coupled with a diminishment of bandit problems affecting the U.S. side of the border, eventually allowed the patrol flights to taper off. The flights ended in June 1921 when the prescient Brig. General Billy Mitchell had other priorities for the Army Air Service and assigned the personnel and planes back east to train on how to attack naval vessels at sea. The Army Air Service returned to Marfa prior to World War II, with an expanded Marfa Field serving as a training ground for thousands of U.S. pilots during the war. Numismatically, a Marfa national bank note with Fennell’s signature is a tie back to a time when small town national banks and their bankers served the everyday routines of life, but also met some extraordinary circumstances. Sources Air Force Historical Research Agency website: http://www.afhra.af.mil/. Air Patrol background and ransom story from United States Army Border Air Patrol wiki at https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/United_States_Army_Border_Air_Patrol Kelly, Don C. National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices, 4th Ed. 2004. The Paper Money Institute, Oxford, OH. Pollock, Andrew. Tabular Guide to United States National Bank Notes, based on Comptroller of the Currency annual reports of condition, 1863-1935. (2018). University of North Texas Libraries. Marfa, Texas, photograph 1918. University of North Texas; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth40210/: accessed July 2, 2022), Univ. of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; credit Marfa Public Library. United States Census, 1910 and 1920. U.S. Government. Washington, D.C. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 334 Unreported Nebraska National Bank Discovery Note …well…sort of! by Matt Hansen Figure 1. The First National Bank of Wilber, Nebraska, 4/26/1886. History Nebraska, photo [RG2491-11-32]. The discovery of a note from a previously unreported national bank from any state sends ripples through our community. But when that rare survivor is only a fragment of its former self, does it still count as a discovery note? This question had to be contemplated by Gerome Walton. From 1965 until his death in 2021, Gerome worked tirelessly to amass the most comprehensive collection of Nebraska nationals by charter and title ever attempted. Nebraska had 349 note-issuing national banks, of which 64 remain unreported. Or should that number be 63? Gerome obtained notes from 260 of the 285 banks that are currently reported. Gerome acquired a Nebraska seal that had been snipped from a Series of 1882 $5 brown back [Figure 2]. Tantalizingly visible along the right side of its face are remnants of the first three digits of a charter number; specifically, 299. Nebraska had two national banks that fit. 2991 was assigned to The First National Bank of Wilber and 2994 goes with The First National Bank of Fairbury. Both were $5 brown back issuers. Wilber is unreported. Plenty of notes are known from Fairbury. The astonishing thing is that after the seal was chopped from the note, the scavenger carefully trimmed the excess selvage from around the seal but didn’t throw the trimming away! It holds the fourth digit, revealing that the note was from The First National Bank of Wilber [Figures 3 and 4]. Wilber is located in Saline County in the southeast part of the state, being a community founded by Czech immigrants. The bank was organized June 20, 1883, and chartered July 3rd. It was capitalized at $50,000.00 and the bankers elected to issue only $5s. The bank was liquidated March 22, 1892, and converted into The State Bank of Wilber. That bank nationalized in 1902 to become Charter 6415 The National Bank of Wilber. The bankers utilized only 2,129 sheets of $5s during the less than 9-year existence of their bank. The building that housed the bank on the southwest corner of W. 3rd and S. Wilson Streets in Wilber is long gone and was replaced by another building now occupied by a branch of First State Bank Nebraska. Does the fragment constitute a discovery note? Would you be as proud to own it as the sole surviving “note” from the bank as did Gerome? It grades at least extra fine! SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 335 Figure 5. Face of the seal fragment overlain on the proof from The First National Bank of Wilber, Nebraska. National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution photo. Sources of Data Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 1875-1929. Certified proofs of national bank note face and back plates: National Numismatic Collections. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington D.C. Library of Congress. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Wilber, Saline County, Nebraska. November 1892. Sanborn-Perris Map Company, New York, NY. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C. Walton, Gerome. A History of Nebraska Banking and Paper Money. Lincoln, NE: Centennial Press (1978). Wilber Republican. 4/7/1892, 6/2/1892, and 8/29/1902. Wilber, NE. www.Newspapers.com Figure 3. Selvage trimmed from around the Nebraska seal. Figure 2. Nebraska seal cut from a Series of 1882 $5 brown back  Figure 4. Reconstructed fragment revealing the full charter number. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 336 TAMPA PAPER MONEY EXPO October 20 - 22, 2022 Tampa Fairgrounds - Florida Center Building Public Hours: Thursday, Oct 20: 10AM - 6PM / Friday, Oct 21: 10AM - 6PM Saturday, Oct 22: 10AM - 4PM $5 Adult Admission - Covers All Three Days Dealer Setup on Wednesday, Oct 19: 2PM - 7PM Early Bird Badges available for $125. For Bourse Application, please contact Jim Fitzgerald 817- 688-6994 or JFitzShows@Gmail.com SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 337 1862-1863 Legal Tender Classification Chart Revised Purpose We published a comprehensive classification guide for the 1862-3 legal tender notes in the March- April 2019 issue of Paper Money. The purpose of this update is to include two newly recognized varieties involving overprinted instead of engraved signatures on the $1 and $2 notes and to revise selected data for other entries in the chart provided in the earlier article. Signing the 1862-3 LT Notes We have identified two new signature varieties; specifically, overprinted signatures on the $1 and $2 denominations tentatively assigned Friedberg numbers $1 16d and $2 41e. Consequently, it is appropriate that we explain the evolution of how signatures were placed on the notes. The following is a verbatim transcript of an item that appeared in the July, 1875, issue of the Banker’s Magazine. A writer in the Indianapolis Journal says: “The law requires all notes, bonds and interest coupons issued by the Government to bear the signature of the Treasurer. In former times, before the invention of greenbacks, and when the bond issues of the Government were comparatively insignificant, the Treasurer used to affix his personal signatures to them. When General Spinner came into office in 1861 he still pursued this practice for awhile, and nearly killed himself in the monotonous manual labor of writing his name. It soon became evident that the work was greater than any man could do, and left him no time whatever for other more important duties. So when the first issue of Government notes was made in the summer of 1861, a different arrangement was made. These notes were receivable for customs duties, and being payable on demand were called demand notes. The whole amount of them issued was $60,000,000. This is before the Government began to print its own notes. These demand notes were engraved and printed in New The Paper Column Peter Huntoon Doug Murray Figure 1. Pair of deputy hand-signed demand notes where the top note is the earlier variety with handwritten “for the” before the title of the officers, whereas “for the” was engraved on the later notes. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 338 York, and sent to the Treasury Department at Washington to be signed by the Treasurer and Register. As the theory still prevailed that they must be signed by hand, a force of about eighty clerks was organized to do the work by deputy, one-half acting as Deputy Treasurers and the other as Deputy Registers. At first the words ‘for the’ had to be written in, making the signature read, ‘John Jones, for the Treasurer,’ or for the Register, as the case might be. Afterwards the words “for the” were engraved, and only the signature had to be written. The signing of the $60,000,000 of demand notes occupied this force of eighty men about six months—from August, 1861, to February, 1862. Although the Government credit was good at that time, it was even then sorely pressed for ready money to meet the heavy expenses of organizing and equipping the Army. Thus the demand notes were called for faster than they could be signed, and it often occurred that the whole force of clerks was kept at work till nearly midnight signing bills which would be cut and trimmed early the next morning, and in some paymaster’s chest before night. It happened to the writer to have charge of the work, and he well remembers the high degree of gratification evidenced by the then Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Chase, on learning that the last sheet of demand notes had been signed without the loss of a dollar. These were the last Government notes signed by hand.” The handling of signatures always presented a nuisance to all involved. The volume of the Federal currency issues forced rapid innovation and those changes added interesting varieties to those first notes. The top note on Figure 1 reveals that the deputy signers not only hand signed the notes, but due to lack of foresight, they even were required to write “for the” in front of the official’s titles. In short order, as shown on the bottom note in Figure 1, the Treasury requested the bank note companies to engrave “for the” onto the plates. This halved the work of the deputy signers. After the last of the demand notes were finished in early 1862, and the legal tender notes were on their way, the officials in the Treasury Department sprang for a major innovation. They ordered the bank note companies to overprint the Treasury official’s signatures on the legal tenders. See Figures 2 and 3. Simultaneously, they also decided to have Treasury seals printed on the notes wherein the seals became the monetizing instrument that turned the notes into money rather than the signatures of the Treasury officials. Thus, the American Bank Note Company was commissioned to design and produce seals, which were purchased by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Figure 2. Pair of 1862-3 legal tender notes where the top note is the earlier variety with overprinted Treasury signatures and the bottom has engraved signatures. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 339 The bank note companies provided uncut sheets complete with Treasury signatures to the Treasury, and the seals were overprinted in the Treasury as a security safeguard. Then the Treasury cut the notes from the sheets. In due course, as the 1862-3 legal tender series wore on, another bright light went off. Treasury had the bank note companies roll engraved facsimiles of the Treasury signatures onto the plates, which saved an additional printing step. See Figure 2 and 3. New Friedberg Numbers The job of distinguishing between overprinted and engraved signatures is most difficult on the $1 and $2 1862-3 legal tender notes because the signatures are obscured by the green tint that underlies them. Consequently, the varieties were not recognized. The result is that separate Friedberg numbers were not assigned to the $1s and $2s whereas they were for the other denominations. Both were lumped under the $1 Fr.16b and $2 Fr.41 labels. The engraved signatures are readily distinguished from the overprinted signatures in a number of ways. Most significant is that there are minor stylistic differences in the shapes of the punctuation marks within Spinner’s signature and the shapes of various loops in both signatures. Chittenden’s engraved signature exhibits a noticeably finer line weight than the overprinted signatures. Many of the overprinted signatures appear a bit bolder and sometimes the tighter loops in Chittenden’s signature are partially filled whereas the engraved signatures are more crisply formed. The overprinted signatures wander quite a bit in the spaces provided for them when several of the notes are compared whereas the engraved signatures generally occupy fairly fixed positions. However, there is minor wandering of the engraved signatures as well, a finding that demonstrates that the signatures Figure 3. Details of $1 and $2 1862-3 legal tender notes where the left images have overprinting Treasury signatures and the right are engraved. Usually the overprinted signatures appear bolder and some of the loops in the signatures are partially filled or totally filled. There are minor differences in the shapes of the dots associated with Spinners signatures between the overprinted and engraved signatures. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 340 were added to the plates as a separated roll transfer after the generic face images had been laid in rather than being engraved on the master die. The engraved signatures simply wander much less than the overprinted signatures. Fr.16b and Fr.41 will continue to represent the common engraved variety, and the new numbers Fr.16d and Fr.41e, will be attached to the scarcer overprinted varieties. The series number printed on the notes will help greatly to distinguish between the overprinted and engraved varieties. The overprinted $1s are Series 166-170 and $2s series are 88-101 whereas the engraved $1s are 170-174 and $2s 101-171. Only $1 series 170 and $2 101 will require careful analysis because the engraved signatures were added to those plates while those series were being printed. Doug Murray has calculated the number of each variety made using the timing of the change and available serial number information spanning the change. Those data appear on the chart. The overprinted varieties will prove to be far more difficult to find. Using the Chart The following sections identify, illustrate and in some cases explain the elements that vary on the 1862-3 legal tender notes in order to aid you in classifying the notes. Obligations – backs Figure 4. First obligations on left, second on right. The distinction is that the first provides for the exchange of the notes for U. S. bonds. Figure 5. Variable elements labeled on a typical 1862-3 note. This is a Fr.95 note with March 3, 1863 act date, American & National bank note company imprints, March 10, 1863 plate date, series = 18 New Series, and 30 JUNE 1857 patent date. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 341 Series Numbers The serial numbering system used on these notes is coupled with the series. Each denomination began with Series 1. The numbering heads used by the bank note companies had five number wheels so the highest number they could print was 99999. However, they hand set 100000 to round out a series. They then advanced the series and printed the next 100000 and so on. In order to change the series on still serviceable plates, which was a number etched into the surface of the plates, they burnish off the old number and etched in the next. Once a plate wore out, a duplicate with the same plate position letters was made and the series etching sequence was continued. They did not etch in a 1 for the first series of 100,000 notes in some cases. See $5 Fr.61, $20 124a, $100 165, $500 183, 183a, $1000 186, 186a. Bank Note Company Imprints The contracts for engraving the master dies for the various denominations were spread among the American and National bank note companies as follows: National $1, $2, $50, $100, American $5, $10, $20, $500, $1000, so their respective imprints were placed on the dies. However, a second imprint occurs on most notes, some being duplicates, others being the other company. We have not found an official explanation for the second imprint or discerned a pattern that explains every instance. We simply don’t understand how the imprint system worked. Patent Dates The green ink used to print the green tints on the faces of the notes were patented anti-counterfeiting inks. The patent holders claimed the green couldn’t be removed without damaging the black intaglio printing and the paper, which would prevent counterfeiters from obtaining a sharp photographic image of the black overlay. The Treasury paid a royalty for the use of the inks, first for the Matthews and next for the Eaton formulas; however, neither worked. The patented inks were then dropped from use. The patent dates were incorporated into the designs of the intaglio plates used to print the green tints. They were June 30, 1857 for Matthews and April 28, 1863 for Eaton. The locations of the dates varied depending on denomination, but they are found free-standing under some part of the tint. They can be difficult to see on well-circulated specimens. The Eaton ink is decidedly bluish. Monograms Corporate monograms were added to a few of the face plates, probably to reveal who printed them. See ABC for $1 Fr.16a, 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d, $100 Fr.165 and N for $10 Fr.95b. Figure 6. George Matthews’ June 30, 1857, and Asahel K. Eaton’s April 28, 1863, patent dates on 1862 and 1863 Legal Tender Notes were for anti-photographic green inks used in the green underprint tints. Figure 7. Bank note company monograms: ABC on Fr.17a (left) and N on Fr.95b (right). SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 342 Seals Starburst on some $10s The first six $10 1862-3 legal tender plates were altered demand note plates. They have no starburst in the center of the lower border. Successive plates made exclusively for the legal tender issues incorporate the starburst. This detail applies only to the $10 notes and is listed in the column labeled “Special Characteristics.” Closing Statement The 1862-3 legal tender notes are by far the most difficult to classify by Friedberg number by collectors, dealers and auction cataloguers. The accompanying chart is designed to eliminate the ambiguities associated with that job. Acknowledgment All photos are from the Heritage auction archives. Sources Cited Banker’s Magazine, July, 1875, Mr. Spinner’s signature: third series, vol. x, no. 1, p. 68. Huntoon, Peter, and Doug Murray, Mar-Apr, 2019, 1862-3 Legal Tender classification chart: Paper Money, v. 58, p. 85-90. Edmunds, George F., Mar. 3, 1869, United States Securities: Joint Select Committee on Retrenchment, 40th Congress, 3rd Session, Senate Committee Report 273, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 436 p. Copies of Chart Those of you who work with the 1862-3 LTs will find it far more convenient to have your own copy of the Classification Guide that you can enlarge for easy use. The original is an Excel spreadsheet. Contact Huntoon by email and he will send a digital copy. peterhuntoon@outlook.com Figure 8. The background behind the shield was solid on the first seal (left). Figure 9. The bottom border of the $10s come without (top) and with (bottom) a starburst in the center. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 343 Classification guide for assigning Friedberg numbers to 1862 and 1863 Legal Tender Notes. Additions and updates to Huntoon and Murray (2019) appear in holdface. Series No. Fr. No. Act Plate Date Series Number Placement Imprints Monogram Seal Serial Numbers $1 1862 17 Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1 left National-American none 1st seal on left serial 17d Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1 left National-American ABC 1st seal on left serial 17b Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1 left National-American ABC 2nd seal on left serial 17a Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1-166 left National-American ABC 2nd left serial on green counter 16d Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 166-170 left National-National none 2nd left serial on green counter 16b Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 170-174 left National-National none 2nd left serial on green counter 16 Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 174-234 left National-National none 2nd left serial on green counter 17c Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 199-204 left National-American ABC 2nd left serial on green counter 16a Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 204-219 left National-National ABC 2nd left serial on green counter 16c Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 235-284 right National-National none 2nd left serial on green counter $2 1862 41b Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1 right American-National none 1st no face plate number left of portrait 41c Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1-2 right American-National none 2nd no face plate number left of portrait 41d Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 1 right American-National none 2nd inverted no face plate number left of portrait 41a Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 3-88 right American-National none 2nd face plate number left of portrait 41e Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 88-101 right National-National none 2nd face plate number left of portrait 41 Jul 11, 1862 Aug 1, 1862 101-171 right National-National none 2nd face plate number left of portrait $5 1862/1863 61 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 1st one serial number 61a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 2-59 upper left American none 1st one serial number 61b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 59-70 upper left American none 2nd one serial number 61c Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 71-119 lower left American none 2nd one serial number 62 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 New 1-23 lower right American-National none 2nd one serial number 63 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 24-65 lower right American-National none 2nd one serial number 63a Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 65-75 lower right American-American none 2nd one serial number 63b Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 75-83 lower right American-American none 2nd two serial numbers $10 1862/1863 93a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 1 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st upper right corner one serial number 93a-I Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 1 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st upper right corner one serial number 93b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 1-9 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st right center one serial number 93c Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 1-25 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st right center one serial number 93e Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 5-7 census upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st right center one serial number 93f Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 5 census upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st right center one serial number 93d Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 26-27 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 1st right center one serial number 93 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 28-63 upper right American-Ptd by Nat none 2nd right center one serial number 94 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 New 1-15 upper right American-National none 2nd right center one serial number 95 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 16-40 upper right American-National none 2nd right center one serial number 95c Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 40-44 upper right American-National none 2nd right center one serial number 95a Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 44-48 upper right American-American none 2nd right center one serial number 95b Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 48-56 upper right American-American N 2nd right center two serial numbers $20 1862/1863 124a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 1st one serial number 124b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 2-12 top center American none 1st one serial number 124 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 12-24 top center American none 2nd one serial number 125 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 New 1-8 top center National-American none 2nd one serial number 126 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 9-18 top center National-American none 2nd one serial number 126a Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 18-20 top center American none 2nd one serial number 126c Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 20-21 top center American none 2nd two serial numbers in line with each other 126b Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 21-28 top center American none 2nd two serial numbers, left in lower left corner $50 1862/1863 148 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 1-3 upper right National none 1st one serial number 148a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 3-5 upper right National none 2nd one serial number 150 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1 upper right National none 2nd one serial number 150b Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1-2 upper right National-American none 2nd one serial number 150a Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 2 upper right National-American none 2nd one serial number $100 1862/1863 165 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none National ABC 1st one serial number 165b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 2 lower right National none 1st one serial number 165a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 2-3 lower right National none 2nd one serial number 167b Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1 lower right National none 2nd one serial number 167 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1 lower right National-American none 2nd one serial number 167a Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1-2 lower right National none 2nd two serial numbers $500 1862/1863 183 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 1st one serial number 183a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 2nd one serial number 183b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 New 1 left American-National none 2nd one serial number 183e Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1862 New 1 left American-National none 2nd one serial number 183c Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1862 New 1 left American none 2nd one serial number 183f Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1 left American none 2nd one serial number 183d Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 1 left American none 2nd two serials with left in brackets with different font $1000 1862/1863 186 Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 1st one serial number 186a Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 no series none American none 2nd one serial number 186b Feb 25, 1862 Mar 10, 1862 New no series lower left American-National none 2nd one serial number 186c Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1862 New no series lower left American-National none 2nd one serial number 186e-1 Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1862 New no series lower left American none 2nd one serial number 186d Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New no series & 2 lower left American none 2nd one serial number 186e Mar 3, 1863 Mar 10, 1863 New 2 lower left American none 2nd two serials with left in brackets with different font Compiled by Peter Huntoon and Doug Murray, 2022. If you discover a new variety, send a 300 dpi color scan of both the face and back to peterhuntoon@outlook.com. The entries for each denomination are arranged in approximate chronological order. The number of reported notes is listed only if there are fewer than 10 of them. Fr. 149 & 166 listed in old catalogs were not printed SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 344 Huntoon and Murray (2019) appear in boldface. Green Underprinted Number Treasury Signatures Patent Date Back Number Printed Special Characteristic Reported Fr. No. $1 1862 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 5,000 est 4 17 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 7,000 est 6 17d overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 12,000 est 1 17b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 16,512,000 est 17a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 410,000 new Friedberg number 16d engraved 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 400,000 16b engraved none 2nd obligation 5,854,000 16 engraved none 2nd obligation 50,000 est with Fr.16 plates 17, 19, 20, 22, 24 17c engraved none 2nd obligation 150,000 est with Fr.16 plates 17, 19, 20, 22, 24 16a engraved none 2nd obligation 4,946,000 16c $2 1862 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 10,000 est error - plate number omitted 6 41b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 178,000 est error - plate number omitted 6 41c overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 12,000 est error - seal inverted & no plate no. 3 41d overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 8,511,160 est 41a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 1,368,840 new Friedberg number 41e engraved 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 6,950,000 41 $5 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 100,000 61 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 5,750,000 est 61a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 1,150,000 est 61b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 4,900,000 61c overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 2,300,000 62 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 4,132,764 63 overprinted none 2nd obligation 1,000,000 63a engraved none 2nd obligation 867,236 63b $10 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 60,000 est no starburst bottom 5 93a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 20,000 est with Fr.93a starburst bottom 2 93a-I overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 120,000 est with Fr.93c no starburst bottom 93b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 2,220,000 est starburst bottom 93c overprinted none (error) 1st obligation 60,000 est with Fr.93b no starburst bottom 5 93e overprinted none (error) 1st obligation 20,000 est with Fr.93c starburst bottom 3 93f overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 200,000 est starburst bottom 7 93d overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 3,600,000 est starburst bottom 93 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 1,500,000 starburst bottom 94 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 2,430,504 starburst bottom 95 overprinted April 28, 1863 2nd obligation 370,000 starburst bottom 95c overprinted April 28, 1863 2nd obligation 400,000 starburst bottom 95a engraved April 28, 1863 2nd obligation 800,496 starburst bottom 95b $20 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 100,000 2 124a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 1,050,000 est 124b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 1,250,000 est 124 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 800,000 125 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 920,984 126 overprinted none 2nd obligation 225,000 126a engraved none 2nd obligation 66,016 est error - left serial number was misplaced 9 126c engraved none 2nd obligation 734,000 est 126b $50 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 260,000 est 148 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 173,600 est 6 148a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 32,000 150 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 70,504 1 150b overprinted April 28, 1863 2nd obligation 65,000 150a $100 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 100,000 1 165 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 35,000 est 2 165b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 155,000 est 6 165a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 24,000 2 167b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 29,440 2 167 engraved 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 56,560 167a $500 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 26,000 1 183 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 12,000 possibly printed 183a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 5,000 possibly printed 183b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 22,828 error - plate date should be Mar 10, 1863 183e overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 22,000 error - plate date should be Mar 10, 1863 3 183c engraved none 2nd obligation 8,000 1 183f engraved none 2nd obligation 20,000 1 183d $1000 1862/1863 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 12,000 186 overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 1st obligation 10,000 possibly printed 186a overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 2,500 possibly printed 186b overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 24,904 error - plate date should be Mar 10, 1863 1 186c overprinted 30 JUNE 1857 2nd obligation 22,000 error - plate date should be Mar 10, 1863 186e-1 engraved none 2nd obligation 64,000 2 186d engraved none 2nd obligation 20,000 1 186e SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 345 Don Kelly Remembered (August 18, 1933-June 23, 2022) by Peter Huntoon Don Kelly was a stalwart retail mail- order currency dealer for decades who agilely moved where the action was. He was an early adopter of web-based internet retail selling. In recent years he moved aggressively into foreign currency where he found the pace and margins to be particularly attractive. Don’s major contributions to currency collecting came in the form of price guides, first his various editions of his national bank note catalog and more recently his catalog of obsolete currency. Both were major undertakings. In the case of his national bank catalog, he employed at least one of his sons to help with that arduous typing endeavor. Don was a popular and accomplished professor of physics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, which also was his undergraduate alma mater. He earned his advanced degrees at Yale. His tenure at Miami University spanned 33 years. He capitalized on his scientific expertise and teaching experience by authoring a best-selling undergraduate physics text book. He was a fit individual and in his younger years was an accomplished athlete who competed in discus throwing. He had a great sense of humor and a bit of panache. When he retired from his long stint at Miami, the story I heard was that he rented a topless white chauffeur-driven limo at the end of the academic year, gathered up his wife, both in regale attire, and paraded around the Miami campus and Oxford throwing waves like royalty to startled folks along their route. If my memory serves me well, this farewell excursion also involved a bottle of champaign and toasts. Early on, he avidly collected Ohio national bank notes wherein his collection ranked among the most comprehensive being formed. The national bug bit him hard and he dug into the history of the Ohio national banks and bankers. Being a quantitative scientist, he was one of the early compilers of national bank note census data. It was natural that when John Hickman was looking for a successor to carry on his nation-wide census before his death that he turned to Don to carry on that work. Don masterfully complied and in time during the early 2000s sold that burdensome mantle to Andrew Shiva and his National Currency Foundation where it continues to grow. That census now has well over a half million entries. Don served as the curator at the William Higgins National Bank Note Museum for at least a couple of summers before Larry Adams accepted those reigns. He enjoyed his time in that capacity in Okoboji, Iowa, because it afforded him an opportunity to work on his national bank note catalog and the census he incorporated into it. My dealings with Don primarily were in the realm of his national bank note census work. For years we collaborated on compiling the data for Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and the large size territorials. In contrast, I could count the number of notes I bought from him on one hand. However, in the national bank note game, as in all numismatics, when a rarity comes up, the big deal is to be on the receiving end of the phone call announcing its discovery. The seller can place a good item with any number of people. I was a collector of Arizona nationals and Don had a complete listing of my notes with his census so he knew what I had. He chanced upon a Series of 1929 type 2 $20 from The First National Bank of Tempe, the smallest issuer of that variety in the state. It was otherwise unknown and remains so to this day. Furthermore, he noticed that it was the only type 2 $20 from the state that I didn’t have. He averred that it had to be high on my want list. Not the biggest deal in history, but I got that call. Sure, he extracted a pound of flesh in the form of a trade, but as I said, I got the call. You don’t forget those. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 346 Don was a devoted family man of the first order. His wife Jane was a wonderful and supportive spouse. He wanted his investment in his collection to benefit his four children and knew it was worth far more and would net more in his hands while alive. Thus, as his children reached young adulthood and could best benefit from a financial boost to launch their lives, he knew it was time to sell. This he did, splitting the proceeds into equal shares among them, never looking back. Don was a savvy businessman. One incident always stuck with me in this regard. One day he was perusing eBay and happened upon a lot that Amanda Sheheen had just listed. The note was a Series of 1929 $5 from a rather unremarkable bank; specifically, The First National Bank of Ashland, Virginia. However, Don noticed that the charter numbers on it were mismatched. The correct number 11978 in black had come out as 11878 in the duplicates printed in brown adjacent to the serial numbers. Small size national bank note errors were particularly hot at the time, and this one should be worth at least a couple of thousand. Sheheen hadn’t spotted the error so it wasn’t noted in the lot description. Don could wait until the lot played out, wagering that no one else would notice and he could steal it. But what if it was noticed? He then would find himself in a bidding war with no room for a big profit when the smoke cleared. Don didn’t need it all. All he wanted was to be a player and to get a good piece of the action. Without any hesitation whatsoever, he was on the phone to Amanda, told her exactly what she had, and she, of course, cut him in as a 50-50 partner. They went on to handle it together to excellent advantage. Good business, good ethics and a lasting friendship. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 347 You Collect. We Protect. Learn more at: www.PCGS.com/Banknote PCGS.COM | THE STANDARD FOR THE RARE COIN INDUSTRY | FOLLOW @PCGSCOIN | ©2021 PROFESSIONAL COIN GRADING SERVICE | A DIVISION OF COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. PCGS Banknote is the premier third-party certification service for paper currency. All banknotes graded and encapsulated by PCGS feature revolutionary Near-Field Communication (NFC) Anti-Counterfeiting Technology that enables collectors and dealers to instantly verify every holder and banknote within. VERIFY YOUR BANKNOTE WITH THE PCGS CERT VERIFICATION APP Southern Printers Who Printed Currency for Themselves in the Civil War: Part 2 Charles Derby Southern printers during the Civil War produced thousands of varieties of paper money for their clients, which included banks, businesses, private individuals, and local, state, and Confederate governments. However, some printers went beyond this and printed money for their own businesses. One of these was Keatinge & Ball from Columbia, South Carolina, who printed money for their employees as described in the first article in this series (Derby 2022). This second and final article in this series discusses other Southern printers who also printed their own currency from their print job offices: F. L. Cooper and A. N. Kimball of The Mississippian newspaper in Jackson; E. L. Jewell of The Port Hudson News Office in Louisiana; T. O. Wise for his Periodical and News Depot in Norfolk, Virginia; and C. C. Danley for his Arkansas State Gazette newspaper in Little Rock. Cooper & Kimball and their The Mississippian Job Office in Jackson This 10-cent note, issued by Cooper & Kimball in Jackson, Mississippi, with the printed date of July 10, 1862, promised that it was “Payable at the Counting Room of the MISSISSIPPI OFFICE in Current Funds.” This note is listed as two varieties in Kraus (2003): K-53855 with a plain reverse, and K-53855B with a red “TEN” on the reverse. Shown here are two varieties with the red “TEN” reverse: one with a red border around “TEN” and another without the red border. Cooper & Kimball was the partnership of Fleet Taylor Cooper and Aaron Newton Kimball, who printed these notes in the capital city of Jackson from their Mississippian Job Office associated with their Mississippian newspaper. From their news and job office, Cooper & Kimball printed not only their newspaper and currency but also as the official state printers in Mississippi many documents and records, hundreds of documents for the Confederate Army, books, and anything else people needed printed. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 349 Cooper & Kimball purchased The Mississippian in early 1861 before the start of the war from Ethelbert Barksdale when he was elected to the Confederate Congress. It was a prize, being a state-wide Democratic newspaper founded in 1832 and with a history of its owners being state printers. After the war began, Cooper & Kimball continued to print The Mississippian but only with great difficulty. In May 1863, as Union troops of Generals James McPherson and William Sherman approached Jackson and the Confederate forces of Gen. Joseph Johnston, Cooper & Kimball moved most of their printing equipment to Selma, Alabama, where they continued to print. An example is a voucher from The Daily Mississippian Office, printed as being issued from “Jackson” but with hand-written changes to “Selma,” to Surgeon B. H. Thomas for a newspaper subscription from April 18 to August 4, 1864,“for the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers” at the Shelby Springs Hospital. They also sold printed documents in June 1864 from Selma to Captain William Gabbett, Superintendent of the Confederate States District 9 Nitre and Mining Service. Cooper & Kimball moved back to Jackson in 1864, but by then the state government had moved elsewhere and Cooper & Kimball had lost their state printing contract. After the war, in August 1865, Cooper & Kimball dissolved their partnership, with Kimball retaining control of The Mississippian but he published it for only a few SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 350 months before selling it. Its new owner merged The Mississippian with the Weekly Herald, a major paper in Vicksburg, and the Mississippian name was dropped by 1869, ending its four-decade history. Fleet Taylor Cooper. F. L. Cooper was born and bred a Mississippian who became a leader in Mississippi journalism. Born in 1835 in Lawrence County to John and Rebecca Taylor Cooper, he started in the business early, becoming publisher and editor of The Southern Journal in Monticello. He and Kimball bought The Mississippian in early 1861. [1861 was a big year for him: he married Mary “Mollie” Vivian Stone (1840 - 1929) in July 6, 1861, in Copiah County, MS, and they eventually had a daughter later that year Elizabeth Cooper (1861-1936) and another daughter 14 years later Mabel Lee Cooper (1875-1945)]. Cooper’s editorials before the war showed that he supported secession but not through military action. But when war came, he indicated his support for the war by enlisting in the military on April 3, 1861, in the Mississippi Grays, which eventually became Co. A, 22nd Miss. Infantry with the rank of sergeant. However, after mustering into the army in July, his name was not found on any rolls of this company for the remainder of the war, suggesting that he never actually joined The Grays. Other evidence for this is that Cooper also sold two horses to the Confederate government in Jackson in May 1863, and his printing business activities in Selma, Alabama, in the summer of 1864 (see figure), when The Mississippian was temporarily located there. Soon after the war, Cooper sold his share of The Mississippian to Kimball, though he stayed in the newspaper business. He was editor of The Comet which was started in Brookhaven on June 28, 1876, and moved to Jackson the next year. He was editor until his death in 1881, after which his nephew and namesake, Fleet Taylor Cooper, took over the paper. (His nephew was the son of his older brother, Lieut. John Daniel Cooper [1828-1864], 7th Mississippi, Co. C, who was wounded in Georgia on August 31, 1864, by a bullet that passed through both of his shoulders, was transferred to a hospital at Jonesboro, Georgia, and died on October 4, 1864.) The elder F. T. Cooper died August 18, 1881, in Jackson, at the age of 46 years old, where he is buried in an unmarked grave in Greenwood Cemetery. Aaron Newton Kimball Sr. Unlike F. T. Cooper, who was a Mississippian through and through, A. N. Newton was a Northerner who came to Mississippi as an adult. Ten years senior to Cooper, Kimball was born March 25, 1825, in Hopkinton, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, to Aaron and Eleanor Campbell Kimball. He moved to Nashua, New Hampshire, in the 1840s where he learned the printing and newspaper trade from his older brother, Horatio Kimball (1821-1894), at the Gazette and the Oasis. He moved to Mississippi in the mid-1840s, where he taught school and worked at the Mississippi Free-Trader in Natchez. Around 1850, he returned to New Hampshire, this time to Manchester, where he worked for several newspapers. Then, he returned for good to Mississippi, supposedly to avoid the cold winters. He soon partnered with Cooper in Jackson at The Mississippian. He married Mary Caroline Reddin (1843–1923) on March 11, 1862, in Jackson, and they had seven children: Walter Dudley Kimball (1863-1901), Newton Hunter Kimball (1865–1867), Carrie May Kimball Buckley (1869–1936), Abbie Drucilla Kimball (1870), Horatio Kimball (1872–1937), Le Roy Gaston Kimball (1874–), and Aaron Newton Kimball Jr. (1876–1938). After the war and after he sold The Mississippian, Kimball continued in the printing and newspaper business in Jackson, including as a senior member of the Pilot Publishing Company and of Kimball, Raymond & Co., which were State printers for years. Kimball served as alderman of Jackson and as president of the board of supervisors of Hinds County. At the age of 65, A. N. Kimball was murdered near his residence on May 27, 1890, shocking the community since the identity and motive of his unidentified assailant was never learned. He lies buried, as was his business partner F. T. Cooper, in Jackson’s Greenwood Cemetery. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 351 E. L. Jewell and his Port Hudson News Office in Louisiana A set of notes was issued from The Port Hudson New Office, from Port Hudson, Louisiana, signed by E. L. Jewell, all with the printed date of January 1st, 1863. At least four different notes are known, of 10, 25, and 50 cent denominations. Three simply say that “The Port Hudson News Office will pay the Bearer,” but one specifies that it is as payable in Confederate notes. The Port Hudson News Office was the print/business office associated with the Port Hudson News, a short-lived (1863) newspaper owned and edited by Edwin Lewis Jewell. Notes from The Port Hudson News Office (courtesy of Heritage).  SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 352 Edwin Lewis Jewell was a life-long journalist and printing innovator. He was born in Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana, in 1836. Being recognized early on as a bright and creative child, he received private tutoring and then two years of college at Andover, Massachusetts. His father was the editor and proprietor of the Pointe Coupée Echo newspaper, and he taught Edwin the printing and newspaper trade. When Edwin was just 18 years old, his father died and Edwin became proprietor Pointe Coupée Echo. In 1862, when Union troops invaded Pointe Coupée, Jewell fled to the Confederate fortification at Port Hudson. Port Hudson was strategically placed in a bend of the Mississippi River, 200 miles south of Vicksburg. At its zenith in March 1863, it held 16,000 troops. There, Jewell published the Port Hudson News, under authorization from General Franklin Kitchell Gardner, who was in command of the fort. He also printed documents for the Confederacy while in Port Hudson. In 1863, Union forces laid siege to the fort, and Gardner valiantly held out until July 9, 1863, less than a week after the fall of Vicksburg. Upon the fort’s surrender, Jewell returned to Pointe Coupee where he continued editing the Echo until after the war when in 1865 he moved to New Orleans. There, he published the Southern Star for one year, then the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin (later called simply The Bulletin), edited The Sunday Delta (1875), founded the The City Item, and was employed by the The New Orleans States. He was involved in politics, serving as state senator for the 4th District. Shortly before his death, he became an index clerk of Congress and served in that position for two sessions. But was best known for his “Jewell's Crescent City Illustrated” which is well described by its subtitle: “The commercial, social, political and general history of New Orleans: including biographical sketches of its distinguished citizens, together with a map and a general strangers' guide.” Nine editions published between 1873 and 2005. He married Mary Ann Farrar (1837-1878) and they had two children: Lillian Jewell Oliver (1867–1929) and Rosa Farrar Jewell Ivens (1869–1911). Jewell died of consumption, on November 29, 1887, aged 51, and is buried in New Orleans’ Greenwood Cemetery. C. C. Danley and his Arkansas State Gazette in Little Rock C. C. Danley issued five notes of denominations 50¢, 75¢, $1, $2, and $3, designated R-411-1 to 411-5 in Rothert (1985). These notes were issued from Little Rock, Arkansas, with the printed date of 1862 and handwritten month and day (July and August), and were “Payable to bearer, at my office in Little Rock, in Treasury notes of the Confederate State of America.” Danley attempted to inspire confidence in his notes by adding the message: “The SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 353 Confederate money, upon which this note is based, was deposited before it was issued; the deposit will be held for its redemption according to the terms on its face, and not used, under any circumstances, for any other purpose.” Christopher Columbus Danley led quite a life on the American frontier in the early to mid 1800s. He was born in Missouri territory on June 5, 1818, to pioneer Col. James and Mary Ann Dooley Danley, and they later moved to Arkansas territory’s Pulaski county. C. C. Danley appears have been accepted into the United States Military Academy but did not enroll. Nonetheless, he served in both the Texas Revolution of 1836 and the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. In the latter, Danley enlisted in June 1846 as a captain under Colonel Archibald Yell, who had already been Arkansas’ second governor. Danley was captured by the Mexican army in January 1847 at Encarnación and imprisoned, but he escaped in August and renewed fighting for the U.S. cause. As Aide-de-Camp to Major General John A Quitman, on September 13th, he fought at the Battle of Chapultepec, in which the American army captured the Chapultepec Castle, strategically located outside of Mexico City for its defense. Though the American troops captured the castle, Danley was severely wounded, and though he survived to return to Arkansas in May 1848, his injury left him crippled for life. Back in Arkansas, Danley upset the Little Rock power structure by being elected in 1849 as State Auditor, which he held for three terms (1849-1854). His opponents included “The Family,” a Democratic stronghold that dominated Arkansas antebellum politics. Using his growing political power and wealth, in 1853, Danley bought the Little Rock newspaper, the Arkansas State Gazette and Democrat, from William Woodruff, and Danley remained its owner and publisher until his death. The world of newspapers in the early days of Arkansas could be wild, dangerous, and even deadly, where Southern honor encouraged or demanded that differences be settled by fighting if not dueling, even if outlawed. And so it was with Danley (Ross 1969). In 1851 as state auditor, Danley believed that Lambert Reardon, editor of the Arkansas Banner, was overcharging for a printing contract that he had with the state, to the tune of $1,532. Danley made public charges with his political ally, William Woodruff, who was editor of the Arkansas State Gazette and Democrat and competitor with Reardon and his Banner. The editorial back-and-forth bickering between the Gazette and the Banner escalated to the point that Reardon and his junior editor at the Banner, Lambert Whitely, laid a trap for Danley at the alley by The Anthony House, where Danley and his brother, Sheriff Benjamin Franklin Danley, were boarders. When C. C. saw Whitely with a pistol, he used his cane to effect, resulting in the discharge of Whitely's gun. Alerted by the sound of gunfire, two others joined in the fray to support the Danley brothers: Solon Borland, a friend of and fellow boarder with Danley (and future U.S. Senator from Arkansas), and another of C. C.’s brothers, William, a steamboat engineer. Borland disarmed and incapacitated Reardon, and Ben Danley caught a fleeing Whitely. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 354 Gen. John Quitman (ca. 1846), the Battle of Chapultepec (Sept 1847). After he acquired the newspaper, Danley’s political leaning began to shift away from the Democratic Party to the new Know-Nothing Party, reflected in his dropping the last bit of his newspaper’s name, leaving it simply as the Arkansas State Gazette. But as the Know-Nothing Party disintegrated almost as quickly as it appeared, Danley’s political base shifted, and without clear party support, he lost his bid in 1859 for a state Senate seat. In his search for a political party that supported his political views, and rejecting the conventional Democratic candidates for the 1860 presidential election, he served as a delegate to the 1860 convention in Baltimore, Maryland, that nominated the Constitutional Union Party’s ticket of John Bell for president. Still, he was not without power and influence, and in 1861, C. C. was elected as one of the three members of the new Arkansas Military Board, which was created to supersede the state militia system with the responsibility of coordinating the state’s military operations. When war came, Danley continued publishing his Gazette, though with difficulty, not the least of which was the disappearance of currency. This undoubtedly led Danley to print his own paper money in 1862. The war also brought an all-to-common dilemma to C. C. and his brothers: which cause to support. The Danleys chose differently: brother William chose the Union side, and enlisted in 1862 in the Missouri 8th Cavalry, Company C. William died two years later, on March 23, 1864, in a regimental hospital at Little Rock of typhoid fever, and lies buried in the Little Rock National Cemetery. When Federal troops captured Little Rock in September 1863, Danley and partner William Holtzman were forced to cease publication of the Gazette. Upon the war’s end, they resumed its publication, with the first post-war Gazette appearing on May 10, 1865, and with Danley writing his support of allegiance to the Union. But Danley died just five months later, having never married, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Van Buren, Crawford County. Politics being his life, he left the Gazette to Holtzman and future proprietors and editors. T. O. Wise and his Periodical and News Depot in Norfolk, Virginia Five cent note to T. O. Wise’s Periodical and News Depot, in Norfolk, Virginia. This note is PN60-98 (from Jones & Littlefield) December 14th, 1861, signed by T. O. Wise, and “Good for one Paper.” The note lists four papers that can be purchased for this price: Richmond Daily (Weekly) Dispatch, Richmond Examiner, Richmond Enquirer, and Petersburg Express. No imprint, but must have been printed by this T. O. Wise. Why? Thomas Oliver Wise was in the printing and publishing business, including newspapers, in Norfolk [Publishing/Printing by Thomas Oliver Wise (from Chronicling America)]. [He was not on the editing side of things, but rather printing/publishing.] Born in 1837, he started in the printing business in the 1850s at the Norfolk Herald, run by Thomas Greene Broughton. Wise published the Norfolk Day Book, beginning in 1857 for a few years until J. R. Hathaway, the founding editor, took over the publishing. He co-published the Richmond Enquirer, first as Ritchie, SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 355 Dunnavant, Tyler & Wise (1858-1860), and then as Tyler, Wise & Allegre (1860-1863). In 1864, he was publisher of Norfolk Bulletin. So, when these notes were printed in December 1861, he was co-publisher of the Richmond Enquirer – which is one of the newspapers that his notes could be used to purchase. There are several other currencies from Norfolk that are similar to T.O. Wise notes, and these were probably also printed by Wise. Before the war, he married Susan Cornelia Veale (Wise) (1838-1918), and they eventually had five daughters and one son [Mary “Mollie” Carter Wise Winston 1859–1935, Thomas Oliver Wise Jr. 1865–1899, Elizabeth “Bettie” C. Wise (1867-?), Nellie Wise Brooke 1869–1950, Bertha Rawles Wise Lassiter 1876–1936, Alleine Wise Curran 1879–1950]. During the war, Wise enlisted as private in Company H, Virginia 6th Infantry Regiment on April 19, 1861. But it appears that he did not serve: a military document from December 1, 1861, says that he was “Absent without leave, believe not to have joined Company at any time,” and he was dropped from Company rolls (mustered out) on January 10, 1862. After the war, he continued in the newspaper business, as editor of the Richmond Popular Messenger (1883). He was City Printer for Norfolk during 1877-1891 – he printed city documents, such as the 1885 “Report of the investigating committee of the Common and Select Councils, concerning the charges of Mayor Lamb, in his annual message, against the Police Commissioners and police force of the city of Norfolk, Va.” All during this time, he had a job print business, and he published many documents. T. O. Wise, Sr. had a rise and fall of printing partnership with his only son, T. O. Wise Jr. Thomas Jr. learned the business from Thomas Sr, and they formed a co-partnership, T. O. Wise & Son, on May 18, 1885. But a notice in the Norfolk Virginia, February 6, 1894, announced that “The firm of T. O. Wise & Son is this day dissolved. T. O. Wise, Sr., will continue the Job Printing business in all its brances under the style of “Wise’s Job Printing House, and respectfully solicits the patronage of the public , promising good work at low prices.” T. O. Sr. died one month later, on March 7, 1894, of heart failure, and is buried in Norfolk’s Elmwood Cemetery. The business was liquidated, not assumed by anyone else, not even Thomas Jr. Notes similar to T. O. Wise’s notes, possibly printed by him (courtesy of Heritage).  SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 356 Ezra Griswold, Jr. An honorable mention for printers who printed their own money goes out to a Northerner, Ezra Griswold Jr., because while he did not print money for himself, he did print money for h is fa ther , Ezra Griswold Sr . Two of Griswold's notes are shown here. The Griswold notes are series 2875 (Wolka 2004). He printed these under two imprints: “S. & G. Prs.” and “E. Griswold, jr’s print.” In S. & G. Prs., he teamed with David Smith, formed in 1816 to publish the Ohio Monitor newspaper in Columbus, as well as running their job office in which they printed the “S. & G. Prs.” notes for Ezra’s father. Griswold soon sold out his interest to Smith and established his own print office, in which he printed the “E. Griswold, jr.’s print” notes. The Griswold Inn (image ca. 1910) was built in 1811 by Ezra Griswold Sr. The currency printed by Ezra Jr. for his father was used for his father’s inn and other business. Conclusion As shown in the two articles of this series, printers in the South were an industrious and entrepreneurial lot, printing just about anything and everything that could make a buck. Some used their job print offices to print currency for banks, businesses, private individuals, and local, state, and Confederate governments. Some even printed currency for their own business interests, including Keatinge & Ball in Columbia, South Carolina; Cooper & Kimball in Jackson, Mississippi; E. L. Jewell in Port Hudson, Louisiana; T. O. Wise in Norfolk, Virginia; and C. C. Danley in Little Rock, Arkansas. These printers were often among the best educated and with some financial means, so they were also often publishers and even editors of their local newspapers – examples including Jewell’s The Port Hudson News, Wise’s Richmond Enquirer; and Danley Arkansas State Gazette. Through their currency and their newspapers, their legacies live on. Acknowledgments: I thank Bill Gunther for commenting on a draft of the manuscript References Ancestry.com Chronicling America. Historic American Newspapers. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Daily Commercial Herald, Vicksburg, Miss. “Obituary of A. N. Kimball,” May 28, 1890. Derby, Charles. Southern printers who printed currency for themselves in the Civil War. Part 1: Keatinge & Ball. Paper Money Whole No. 340, July/Aug 2022, pp. 257-262. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-gazette-2344/ Find-a-Grave.com Jones, Richard, and Littlefield, Keith. 1982. Virginia Obsolete Paper Money. Virginia Numismatic Association. Kraus, Guy Carleton. 2003 Mississippi Obsolete Notes and Scrip. Society of Professional Currency Dealers. Notes (courtesy of Heritage) printed by Ezra Griswold Jr., whose portrait is show here as is The Griswold Inn (bottom right).  SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 357 Lord, Charles Chase. 1890. Life and Times in Hopkinton, N.H. Republican Press Association, Concord, N.H. Martin, William T. 1858. History of Franklin County. A Collection of Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of the County: with Biographical Sketches and a Complete History of the County to the Present Time. Follett, Foster & Co., Columbus, Ohio. Moore, Opha. 1930. History of Franklin County, Ohio. Historical Publishing Co.: Topeka-Indianapolis. Morrison, Leonard Allison, and Sharples, Stephen Paschall. 1897. History of the Kimball Family in America from 1634 to 1897. Damrell & Upham, Boston. National Archives, accessed through fold3.com Parker, Edward Everett, editor.1897. History of the City of Nashua, N.H. Telegraph Publishing Company, Nashua, N.H. Ross, Margaret Deane Smith. 1969. Arkansas Gazette: The Early Years, 1819-1866, A History. Arkansas Gazette Foundation, Little Rock. Rothert, Matt, Sr. 1985. Arkansas Obsolete Notes and Scrip. Society of Paper Money Collectors. Storey, Celia. 2019. “Newspaper wars of past packed punches: Respectable men were expected to defend their reputations to the death in the 19th century.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. https://www.arkansasonline.com/200/specialsection/4/ Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La. “Obituary of Edwin Lewis Jewell.” November 30, 1887. Weekly Virginian and Carolinian, Norfolk, Virginia. “Obituary of T. O. Wise.” March 8, 1894. Wolka, Wendell. 2004. A History of Nineteenth Century Ohio Obsolete Bank Notes and Scrip. Society of Paper Money Collectors. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 358 It’s Not Just About the Vignettes: Obsolete $5 Note of the Bank of Camden, South Carolina by Tony Chibbaro Last year, after three and a half decades of collecting tokens and medals, I decided to venture into the world of paper money. Initially, I bought a few inexpensive and colorful foreign notes, but soon settled on large-size U.S. type notes and obsolete currency. It was the latter’s beautiful and intriguing vignettes which hooked me, and I daresay that I am not the only one so smitten. But it’s not really just the vignettes which have captured my attention - it’s also the tantalizing tidbits of history which these relics of the past can provide us if we will only take the time to study and decipher their messages. Such is the case with a recent acquisition, an obsolete $5 note issued by the Bank of Camden, South Carolina, in the decade just prior to the Civil War. The note pictured above carries the hand-written issue date of 18 July, 1856, in two separate places on its front, but the plate which was used to print it was likely engraved sometime in the late 1830s or early 1840s. (The red overprint of the “lazy 5” can be used to loosely date the actual printing of the note itself to the 1850s.) Two printer’s imprints appear on the note. “Danforth, Underwood & Co. New York” appears on the left side of the note, just to the left of a portrait labeled “Manning,” while “Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty, Philada” appears on the right side, just to the right of a portrait labeled “De Saussure.” Two other varieties of this note exist - an earlier printing without the “lazy 5” and a later variety with a pink cycloidal overprint embodying the word “FIVE” in large block letters. Examples of the earlier variety can be found with issue dates in the 1840s, while specimens of the latter are usually seen with dates in the late 1850s. The Bank of Camden was chartered on December 19, 1835 and issued banknotes in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 during its thirty-year lifespan. Its founding president and cashier were William McWillie and William J. Grant, respectively. By 1856, the date of the issuance of the note pictured above, William E. Johnson and W.H.K. Workman were holding those positions and it is their signatures which appear upon the note. The bank was profitable through most of its lifespan, but, like all except one bank in the state, it became insolvent by the end of the Civil War and was forced into receivership. An obsolete $5 note of the Bank of Camden, South Carolina, dated 18 July, 1856, cataloged as Sheheen 28 in South Carolina Obsolete Notes & Scrip (2003) by Austin M. Sheheen, Jr. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 359 The note’s central vignette (at right) features a four- columned building constructed in Neoclassical style, in front of which sits a small monument with the name “De Kalb” inscribed upon it. These two structures still stand near downtown Camden, both them erected in the 1820s. The building is the Bethesda Presbyterian Church and was designed by the renowned 19th- century architect Robert Mills. The monument was also designed by Mills and marks the grave of Baron Johann DeKalb, who died after being mortally wounded in the Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780). The church was constructed first and was finished in 1822, exactly 200 years ago. Robert Mills (1781-1855), the aforementioned architect, was a native South Carolinian born in Charleston at the end of the Revolutionary War. Mills is best known as the designer of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, even though it was not finished until three decades after his death. He is also responsible for designing many important buildings along the Eastern Seaboard, including two multistory office complexes for the U.S. Treasury in Washington, which now serve as the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Other of his works include a series of U.S. Custom Houses (including one I recently visited in Newburyport, Massachusetts), the Washington Monument in Baltimore, several county court houses in South Carolina, and many more public and private structures spread across several states. A drawing of the church and monument executed by Mills still exists and is in the collection of the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia, SC. Reproduced at left, one can clearly see the similarities between it and the vignette on the banknote, right down to the man gesturing toward the monument with his right arm. Interestingly, the finished monument, not completed until 1825, is slightly different from its depiction in both Mills’ illustration and the vignette, but still resembles a squat version of Mills’ most famous work. The monument depicted on the note marks the grave of Baron Johann DeKalb (1721-1780), a French military officer who came to America with the Marquis de Lafayette in 1777 to offer his services to the fledgling Continental Army. In early 1780, DeKalb was given command of a division of troops from Maryland and Delaware and was ordered to march South to offer resistance to British troops in control of Charleston. In North Carolina, DeKalb’s forces were joined by General Horatio Gates, who took over command of the troops. Gates, the hero of the 1777 Saratoga Campaign, led his army towards Camden where it was engaged by a large contingent of British forces. Unprepared, the American forces were routed and Baron DeKalb was wounded on the battlefield. He died three days later and was buried in Camden, his grave now marked by the monument pictured on the note. The note’s central vignette features a small church and an accompanying monument, both designed by architect Robert Mills. This circa-1820 drawing of Camden’s Bethesda Presbyterian Church and its accompanying DeKalb monument was rendered by architect Robert Mills. Baron Johann DeKalb was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1870. He was buried in Camden and the monument pictured on the banknote marks his grave. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 360  The final two items of interest on this note are the pair of portraits which appear to each side of the central vignette. Both are men of some renown in South Carolina history and both were deceased within three years of the issuance of the Bank of Camden’s charter (probably not long before the plate for this note was engraved). Richard I. Manning (1789-1836) was the first to die. Manning had served two years as Governor of South Carolina, from 1824 to 1826, and was in the midst of his second term as a U.S. Congressman when, during a trip to Philadelphia in 1836, he suddenly collapsed and died. He had earlier held political office in the South Carolina General Assembly, serving both in the State Senate and State House of Representatives. Manning’s son, John L. Manning, would later be elected Governor also, as would his grandson, Richard I. Manning III. Henry W. DeSaussure (1763-1839) was a lawyer and a jurist, but is perhaps best known for serving as the Director of the U.S. Mint under George Washington. DeSaussure’s stint there was short - less than six months - but he ran the Mint when our country’s first gold coins were produced. He was also elected as Intendant (Mayor) of Charleston in 1797. Both Manning and DeSaussure held Unionist views and were opposed to the Ordinance of Nullification when it was adopted by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1832. I find it interesting that this note, and its two varieties described in paragraph three, are the only pieces of obsolete currency known from South Carolina which feature portraits of Manning or DeSaussure. I believe that in the few years immediately following their deaths they were held in high regard by their peers, but as the South moved closer to Secession, they fell out of favor and portraits of political leaders such as John C. Calhoun, who espoused more radical views towards the North, began appearing more frequently on the state’s obsolete notes. Both Richard I. Manning (left) and Henry W. DeSaussure (right) were recently deceased when their likenesses first appeared on the Bank of Camden $5 note. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 361 The front of the Type-40 Treasury note endorsed by Maj. John J. Murphy, Commissary of Subsistence. image: Roger Adamek Maj. John J. Murphy Chief Commissary of Subsistence A Confederate Commissary of Subsistence was responsible for supplying food to Confederate soldiers, and while this may seem less interesting than the duties of a quartermaster, we can find important history in the files of John J. Murphy, a Commissary of Subsistence who reported to the fiery Episcopal minister, Lt. Gen’l Leonidas Polk. The late Dr. Douglas Ball maintained that poor economic policy contributed to the defeat of the Confederacy, and we find solid evidence to support that theory in Murphy’s files. More interestingly, Murphy was also a spy. The National Archives have eighty-five documents for Murphy in the files for Officers, which can be accessed on the website Fold3.com. The illustrated Treasury note was endorsed in late January of 1863, and a report dated February 13th placed Murphy in Shelbyville, Tennessee. The endorsement reads: “Issued Jany 28/ 63 J J Murphy Maj & CS” 1861 John J. Murphy of Tennessee was appointed on October 22nd as a Major & Commissary of Subsistence reporting to Gen’l Leonidas Polk. On November 1st at Columbus, Kentucky, Murphy supplied estimates to Maj. Gen’l Polk of the cost to feed fifty thousand men for twelve months, amounting to $8,125,725.00. Murphy added this note: The above estimates are made at the present Wholesale Market prices, which as is well The Quartermaster Column No. 26 by Michael McNeil The endorsement of John J. Murphy, Major and Commissary of Subsistence. image: Roger Adamek SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 362 known to the Commanding Gen’l are exorbitant. But in the present attitude of our country cannot say when they will be any lower. Governments in wartime will enact price controls to prevent market demand from inflating prices. The South was a great proponent of State’s Rights and a weak central government. The militias were raised by the states, not the government in Richmond. The Conscription Act was later passed in 1862 to put the state militias and market pricing under central Richmond control. In 1861 Murphy had no choice but to purchase food at prevailing market prices. To give you an idea of the scope of supplies needed to feed troops, here is Murphy’s voucher signed on November 14th at Columbus, Kentucky, for rations for twenty thousand men for one month: 125,000 pounds bacon 140,000 pounds pork 350,000 pounds flour 100,000 pounds rice 41,200 pounds coffee 100,000 pounds sugar 4,200 gallons vinegar 22,800 pounds candles 20,000 pounds soap 800 bushels salt 210,000 pounds of live cattle (712) It is clear that Murphy dealt with Subsistence Stores on a scale much larger than those issued by the typical commissaries who supplied a regiment; he was dealing with the supply of an entire division in Polk’s Corps. His endorsement on Treasury notes is relatively rare (R13, four known at the time of this writing), perhaps because he served at a very high administrative level and delegated the chores of issuance of Treasury notes to subordinates in his staff. 1862 While the North quickly established a single and central government money supply, the South’s staunch defense of State’s Rights permitted a complex market of money issued by the states, a multitude of private banks, and the newly-established central Treasury Department. Murphy’s job was made more difficult by this complex Southern money supply as evidenced in his letter of March 24th at Jackson, Tennessee: I would again respectfully call your attention to the subject of making an exchange of at least one hundred thousand dollars of Treasury Notes for the notes or issues of the Tennessee Banks for the purpose of purchasing Commissary & Quarter Master Stores along the Memphis & Ohio RR, and the Mobile & O RR. I find many parties ready & willing to sell to our Agts, but say, they must have such funds as the parties whom they trade with will take. Many of them say to lay by or to keep they would prefer Treasury Notes to any of Memphis issues, but that they cannot pay their debts with the one when they can with the other.... In other words, local farmers would not take government Treasury notes in payment, demanding instead payment in the currency of local Tennessee banks. On March 30th at Corinth, Mississippi, Murphy updated Gen’l Beauregard on the results of his plan to exchange $100,000.00 of Treasury notes for the local bank issues, and his letter bears testament to the problems facing the military with the complexity of the money supply: General, in obedience to your order of the 24th inst. I proceeded to Memphis for the purpose of exchanging one hundred thousand dollars of Confederate notes for the issues of the Banks of Tennessee, called on the officers of the different Banks & now make the following report, viz. I first presented the subject to T. A. Nelson President of the West Bank of Tennessee who said he would cheerfully exchange his proportion $20,000. I next visited the Bank of Tennessee which in the same spirit agreed to the same thing.... I next called upon the President of the Branch of the Planters Bank, who acknowledged the importance of the matter, and said the Bank would do what it could, but was fearful that would not be much, for the reason that when Memphis was supposed to be in danger the Parent Bank at Nashville ordered all of their issues to be sent to that city and all he could give me was $9,000 of its own notes and $6,000 in Virginia Bank notes.... My next call was on the Branch of the Union Bank which exchanged with me $6,000, its issues having been also sent to the Parent Bank at Nashville. I next called on the Cashier of the Bank of Memphis who said he could not exchange as the Bank did not have any funds other than Confederate notes, as all the issues had been returned to Chattanooga, I then wrote him a SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 363 note wishing to know if he would not exchange his checks for Confederate notes a copy of which and his reply is hereunto appended. In all I exchanged $61,000, $55,000 Tenn and $6,000 Virginia, the Tennessee money being in large bills, say $500 & $1,000 each, all of which is most respectfully submitted. Murphy appears to have also been deeply involved in the acquisition of intelligence. In a letter of April 16th from Union City, Tennessee, Murphy wrote these comments to Gen’l Thos. Jordan: I arrived last evening and been to work all morning perfecting an under-ground RR on mail from here to Paducah Ky as I find that they are administering the O[a]th (sic) to every person who goes into Hickman. And the people here are very tender about gowing (sic) into that place. Besides I find that they only receive papers and letters at Hickman only when Boats are passing from Paducah to Island No 10. The Rail Road is running from Paducah to Mayfield Ky, which [is] 34 miles from this place. I will try and get the Papers daily. I learn here that twenty five Transports have left Island No 10 with troops for the Tenn River, and that Gen’l Halleck is in Command.... In a letter of April 25th at an undisclosed location, Murphy again wrote Jordan: I have now completed the arrangement for getting several of the Northern News-Papers. I mailed your letter for Nashville. I learn from a reliable gentlemen that Gen’l Pope and nearly all his command have left for Tenn River. I also had an interview with an old Steam Boat Captain who is all OK, but will make an effort to get employment and be sent on duty on some boat on the Tenn River. He will communicate with you by some means if he can effect the desired object. I will be down on Monday or Tuesday, when we can talk more fully on the subject. National Archives records show that from April 6th to April 30th Thomas Jordan was an Acting Assistant Adjutant-General to Gen’l Beauregard. 1863 In a lighter moment Murphy wrote Capt. G. W. Clark, CS, on January 15th at Head Quarters Subsistence Dept., Polk’s Corps, Shelbyville, Tennessee: You can occasionally furnish the guards and detailed men with you a ration of spirits, when in your judgment they may need it. On a report dated February 13th Murphy was listed as Maj. & Chief Commissary of Cheatham’s Division, Polk’s Corps, Army of Tennessee. Vouchers for subsistence stores located Murphy at Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the months of April, May, and June. Murphy purchased “one grey horse” on August 21st at Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the sum of $300.00 from Maj. R. M. Mason, QM. Documents signed by Murphy after this date are rare; information about him after this date was taken from summary cards. Murphy was relieved of duty in the Department of Tennessee reporting to Gen’l Bragg on November 2nd and ordered to report for duty to Lt. Gen’l Polk at Meridian, Mississippi. 1864 On March 4th Murphy wrote a special requisition at Demopolis, Alabama, for two mules, harness, and an ambulance, and noted “That I have no wagon to transport valuable papers & funds belonging to my department.” Murphy was reported to be with Lt. Gen’l Leonidas Polk at Demopolis, Alabama, on April 10th. On May 7th Murphy was announced as Maj. & Chief Commissary of Subsistence on the staff of Lt. Gen’l Polk, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, & East Louisiana. After the death of Gen’l Polk, Murphy was reported during August as a Chief CS to Lt. Gen’l A. P. Stewart’s Corps at Atlanta, Georgia. After the fall of Atlanta Murphy was located at Tuscumbia, Alabama, on November 8th. 1865 Murphy was surrendered by Gen’l Joseph E. Johnston on April 26th and paroled by Maj. Gen’l W. T. Sherman on May 1st at Greensboro, North Carolina. Murphy did his best to perform his duties and rose to the challenge of acquiring supplies in an unregulated economy, he actively acquired military intelligence, and his endorsement is a prize for collectors. ◘ Carpe diem SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 364 U N C O U P L E D : PAPER MONEY’S ODD COUPLE Joseph E. Boling Fred Schwan Editor’s note—due to the need for larger illustrations, I have done this column with a two-column format for this page and then went to a one-page format. [O1] An Unusual Snorter This column is about the very unusual short snorter illustrated in figures 1 and 2. For starters, it is on a $20 note; I do not recall seeing another of this high face value. Next, it is on a pre-1929 note. Further, it is on a piece of national currency. Finally, there is not a hint of any military connection— no apparent soldier or sailor signers, no wartime locations or dates. This piece was apparently carried for decades by an individual who traveled in social circles that afforded chances to meet many well-known individuals, and who was successful in having them sign the note. The signers include musicians, professional sports figures, and entertainers. No politicians. And among the names I have identified, there are even more whom I have not been able to identify (yet). In almost all cases, if I have listed an individual below, I have been able to confirm the autograph online. Where I have not been able to do that, I will mention it. See Boling page 368 More Military and WWII Fancies A few issues ago we looked at some really interesting low number sets. I have a few more of those to show you today. These are all from the collection of the late, great collector and World War II veteran Tom Warburton. But first, I am most excited to show you a great MPC. It is the Series 481 5 cent with serial number D14783967D (shown above). I can almost feel you scratching your head. Does the position number have anything to do with it? You might recall that 84 is the highest position on a sheet of MPC fractional notes. By now you might have guessed that this has something to do with multiple printings. This is particularly likely because Series 481 had four (!) printings. You are getting close. Here is a clue. This certificate is from the third printing. The third printing serial number range for five cent certificates is: D09408001D to D14784000D. Now you have it. Yes, this serial is only 33 places from the very end! How cool is that?! If you saw a serial number 33 for sale would you buy it? Of course you would. If you saw D14783967D would you buy it? Probably not. I wish that I could say that I spotted this beauty, but I cannot. Bragging rights for that go to Donn Cuson. My only claim to fame on this note is that Donn sent it to me to share here. If you receive the MPCGram, you have seen it before. 365 It is easy to collect the low numbers. Well, it is easy to look for them! It takes much more skill and patience to even look for the highest numbers. To watch for the high numbers you must own the catalog and you must have it with you. Then you must take the time to look, look, and look. The idea of looking for the high numbers is not entirely new. Harold Kroll took on the ultimate project. He collected the highest number that he could find for each of the ninety MPC regular issues. To make it into his collection the note did not have to be all that high, just the highest that Harold (or his many scouts) could find. He did a great job, but the moving target aspect of the project wore him out. I asked him how close he had ever come to the highest for any issue. He said that he had never gotten closer than 50 from the top. Tom Warburton was a great collector. I do not know what else he collected, but he collected World War II very seriously. Our collections were dead overlaps, so we sometimes had to compete, but we did it in a friendly way. We shared our collecting passions from the 1970s into the 2000s, when he passed. To complete this series of articles on numbers, I dug out the folder on my computer with scans from Tom’s collection. I did not actually remember what, if any, special numbers he had. I was confident that he had some interesting things, and I was not disappointed, as I am sure you will not be.  Tom had a partial set similar to the AM lire and Victory note sets that we considered last time. Tom’s set is of the 1941 emergency Government of Ceylon issues. He had the number one piece of the 25 cents small change issue (not issued until 1942) and three denominations of the legal tender issues dated 1 February 1941. The “legal tender” clause was not added to the design until the second issue date for this series, 1 December 1941. As you have likely seen by now, the three early-1941 pieces are all serial number three!  Malta had an interesting emergency issue. Never-used 1918 two-shilling notes were overprinted one shilling for use in 1941. But look at these two numbers—1 and 5. Those were the top notes in the first strap of the unissued WWI notes. Somebody overprinted them in black and red and then made the decision to not use the black version. Only red are known as issued notes. But The Banknote Book illustrates serial number 3 from this same strap, with NO overprint. One wonders how it became separated from its experimental siblings. Good on Tom for landing the pair that he had! SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 366 There is one more unusual piece with an interesting number that was in Tom’s collection. It is in a category that we have not previously considered. It is a proof or an essay of an emergency 1000 franc note for Djibouti with the serial number data entered in pen or pencil, and with gibberish signatures. The purpose of the boxes around the numerals in the corners and center is not clear, but to be consistent with the French numbering system, the number in the center should have been 000747 to match the alphabet number (A1) and the serials (747). The illegible imprint at bottom center is Government Printer Palestine, but it is hard to be sure where this piece was prepared. Speaking of the French numbering system brings to mind this note, using the same system correctly. This 1000-franc Guadeloupe E. A. Wright note is another piece that did not come from the Warburton collection. It is the ultimate number one note! Look at all of those ones! The true serial number is the one at top center, with no leading zeros. Unfortunately, I have only this black and white image. I first learned of this note in the early 1970s and chased it into the 1990s. The darn thing changed hands several times ahead of me. Ultimately, I was able to obtain it, but can I find it? No. It is somewhere here in the black hole. I hope that you like it nonetheless. Assuming that I find it one of these days, I will fit a color image into a future column. The Tom Warburton collection was a treasure trove of such material. We are fortunate that it was recycled into collector hands instead of being buried in a museum someplace. In passing through an auction house, we all were able to see notes that we did not know existed. Tom was generous in sharing his material, but there was so much of it that nobody could have appreciated it all. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 367 Boling Continued Let’s start at the upper left corner of the face (figure 3). Ben Hogan,  champion golfer in the 1940s and 50s. There is a street named for him near where I live in Indianapolis, which happens to be where the note was issued. Immediately under Hogan is Dolph Camilli, the 1941 National League MVP. These may give us a clue in dating this document. Moving down across McCulloch’s portrait (fig 4), we find “Babe” D. Zaharias, a double gold medalist in the 1932 Olympics and later also a famous golfer. There is a 1981 US postage stamp commemorating her achievements. She is in many halls of fame and high on the lists (when not on top) of the greatest female athletes of all time. Moving to the front middle left (fig 5) we find Bob Strong, a 1940s band leader. Below his signature is Glenn Miller, an even more prominent band leader. He disappeared in 1944 over the English Channel. At the top center (fig 6) is another Zaharias—George, a professional wrestler and sports promoter, who was Babe’s husband. They met at a golf tournament. Below his signature is one for Hilda Clark. She was an actress and the advertising model for Coca Cola (I can’t confirm the autograph). Moving to the right end vertically (fig 7), Joe Medwick, a Hall of Fame ball player with the Cardinals and Dodgers in the 1930s and 40s, signed the note. Babe Zaharias did some exhibition major league pitching; in one of those games Medwick, a ten-time all-star, caught the final out of her inning. Immediately below his name is Johnny Allen, another ball player, who compiled one of the best career win-loss records in history (1930s-40s). Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 368 Turning the note over, in the left margin (fig 8) is Ellis Wilson, perhaps the African American artist (this is not the way he signed his paintings and I cannot verify this signature). Under that name is Clyde McCoy, yet another band leader. Note that he uses a treble clef in place of the two capital “C”s in his name—a musician with imagination. He was most active in the 1930s and 40s but did not retire until 1986. At lower left center, to the right of the vignette (fig 9) is Phil Levant, another band leader of this same period. The owner of this note (who obviously carried it a long time) must have attended every concert that came to town—or perhaps was also a musician, who had many opportunities to meet others. In the center of the back, a nice open space where it is easier to read the signatures (fig 10) is comedian Joe E. Brown. Brown signed more WWII short snorters than anyone else I know, usually about 50% larger than his signature here. I propose that this was signed before his USO tours, when his signature was more modest than later. Immediately below Brown is Dizzy Dean! Talk about famous folks. Dean is another Hall of Fame player, who won thirty games and the MVP title in 1934. Two signatures below Dean is Bert Wheeler, an actor and comedian from the 1920s to the 60s. Near the right end of the back, on the 1/4 fold line (fig 11), is Woody English, another baseball player, active in the 1920s and 30s, and an all-star in 1933. From 1952-54 he coached the Grand Rapids Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (remember A League of Their Own?). They were league champions in 1953. There are many more names that I can at least partially read, but I cannot link to specific personalities (like Paul Gray, right below English’s name). The name is too common. Finally, we get to the far-right end (fig 12). Here is a name that, if I have identified it correctly (it is another signature that I cannot verify), places a latest start date for this collection of memories. Nicholas J. Barnhardt was a Civil War veteran who died in South Bend, Indiana on 11 April 1917. At that time he was going by Bernhard, but his “Find a Grave” site gives Barnhardt as an alternative spelling. The note is a Series 1902 national, with a plate date of March 15, 1905. That leaves plenty of time for the note to have been in circulation in time for Barnhardt to have signed it before his death. If correct, that makes this the earliest short snorter I have—predating my pair from the Siberian Intervention by at least two years. Even if that dating is not correct, the years of fame for all those I have identified above place this note’s active life no later than the 1950s. I bought it for $40 at the 2014 Central States convention—a bargain for sure. But where was it for the fifty years before that? And my gracious—what a lot of other research is possible on this note. Figure 8 Fig 9 Figure 10 Fig 11 Figure 12 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 369 FRACTIONAL CIVIL WAR WALLET WITH A POIGNANT INSCRIPTION By Rick Melamed A recently discovered relic from the Civil War era is worth bringing to light. It is an inexpensive, functional cardboard fractional wallet with a third issue 3¢ fractional included (Fr. 1226). The wallet has been in the same family continuously since the 1860’s. In 2017, it was consigned to an antique dealer by the family descendants; an elderly couple residing in the Mid-Atlantic region. But what makes this find so special is the timeless inscription. Its poignancy still resonates today. History The dealer shared some minimal background information: The family name is Jordan. They originally settled in Maine in 1638. By 1863 they were in Long Island, New York. The family ran a cargo shipping business after the grandfather worked his way up from entry level to owning the firm. The money belonged to a young female, a gift from her Dad. An independent search has found many instances of The Bower family’s participation in overseas shipping during the 19th century. Detailed shipping logs were kept by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. Contents: The inside of the wallet contains a 3¢ note and a period drawing of a bucolic river scene (albeit in rough shape). The front of the wallet states Uncle Sam’s Wallet – denoting it is a Union made wallet. Inside the wallet, on the left, the inscription reads: L. E. Bower (daughter) from M.B.B 1864. M.B.B. is the father - M.B. Bower. On the right side is another L.E. Bower signature, dated March 31, 1863. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 370 Note Inscription On the face of the note, written in the left margin is: "Pa gave me this in 1865”. On the reverse top is written: ”Last money my father gave me in February 1865”. Underneath that is written: "Then a new issue of which this was some of the first he received.". On the right edge on the back: "Pa gave this to me in Feb - ruary 1865." The February 1865 date on this note coincides with Treasury records. 3rd issue fractionals were first released to the public in January 1865. When the senior Bower received the 3¢ note the following February, he saved it for his daughter. It’s only natural to want to hold onto this unusual note with the odd denomination. Young Ms. Bower wanted to record this last modest gift from her father as a sentimental token. Something she obviously treasured. The note and wallet carries a deeper gravitas with the presumed sudden death of her father. One can only wonder if he died from natural causes or if he was he a Civil War casualty. What’s more powerful than the daughter’s love for her deceased father? She memorialized her grief onto a treasured keepsake, which was to become a family heirloom.  SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 371 by Robert Calderman “Diamonds are Forever!” Collectors with keen eyes and lots of patience are capable of unearthing amazing treasures. Hidden Gems hiding in plain sight are truly what a picker’s dreams are made of. What sparkly jewel has been found recently you ask? Well you likely wouldn’t believe it if I told you. Even now, I cannot decide if I should disclose the incredible bargain that fell into someone’s lap over the summer. Is it fair to fill your hearts with anguish? To underscore the blunders of epic proportion that befell all of the countless dealers and collectors that missed out? So many had their radar completely turned off! Well my friends, it happens far too often and that is what makes collecting paper money so much fun! An exciting mega deal every once in a while keeps collectors on their toes and hungry for more. And it fuels dealers who need a shot in the arm, an extra boost of revenue to cover their expenses and keep them solvent so you will continue to see them set-up regularly at your local shows. Now that, at least a few of you, are waiting with bated breath as to the: what, why, and where of this story, let us dive right in. If you have been reading this column for a while you likely have caught wind that I am a fan of small size five-dollar bills and their countless number of varieties. Here we have another fabulous Lincoln to admire from the mighty King Alpha block. The K-A block comprises a bountiful treasure trove of collecting pleasure for die hard small size enthusiasts. K-A ran the full race from K00000001A – K99999999A and can be found on both the 1934A and 1934B series of five-dollar silver certificates. 1934A features both, the standard blue seals we know and love as well as the famous emergency issue yellow seal North Africa notes. Of the two seals on the 1934A K-A block, there are thirteen serial number ranges to collect as the yellow and blue seals change back and forth through their varying print runs! 1934B features only blue seals toward the tail end and fourteenth group of serial number ranges, with notes typically found starting at K90480001A and above, however 1934B K-A’s have been observed with earlier serial numbers that fall into the 1934A range. Consequently, 1934A K-A notes have been found with SN’s that fall into the 1934B range. If you are paying attention, this makes sixteen varieties to collect on the K-A block! Fourteen SN ranges and two out of range toughies make a total of sixteen notes. Where can you find all of these SN groups in a conveniently organized pocket size printed table? Take a look at the end of this installment in the recommended reading section and dig up the article King Alpha from 1989 it is a tasty treat to be sure! There is more to the story with K-A as bp.637 mules can be found on blue seal 1934A and 1934B notes. The later are SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 372 extremely tough mules to locate, even low-grade tattered rags are special notes. If you find a VG with problems, it is still a keeper! Now with the mules we are up to eighteen notes to collect on the K-A block. However, we are not stopping now. If you can believe it, there is still another major variety to be found on King Alpha! Late finished plate 307 is a treasure that appears only on 1934A blue and yellow seal silver certificates. You will not find an example on the series of 1934B. A total of 569,244 fp.307 notes were printed on both yellow and blue seals combined. This total makes up approximately one half of one percent of the total printing found on the K-A block! Even with such a small overall printing, an example of a yellow seal fp.307 in average circulated condition can be found without much difficulty. On the contrary, blue seals are very tough notes in any condition! In CU both seal varieties of fp.307 are rare birds! PMG has graded a total of only eleven uncirculated yellow seal 307’s and seven uncirculated blue seal 307’s. In Gem and above the numbers become virtually uncollectible with just 5 and 3 notes respectively. Gem 307 notes are very tightly held and seldom appear at auction. On the rare occurrence that one does show up at auction expect a fierce battle to ensue. So now we can add two more notes to make an enormous twenty possible K-A varieties to assemble for a complete set! This does not include trying to collect multiple fp.307 examples from the varying serial number groups. That would be an amazing feat of strength and take an incredible amount of patience. Now that we have a brief overview of what makes the five-dollar silver certificate K-A block so spectacular, you should have a very clear picture of what makes the note featured here such an epic cherry pick! This summer, a very lucky individual managed to score a stunning fp.307 North Africa note in PMG 65EPQ for the bargain price of $552.00!!! How can this even be possible? Surely it was a mistake of epic proportions? Take a very close look at the note pictured. The PMG label displays the correct Friedberg number and the correct serial number. The note is very well centered with little to no distracting handling marks visible. However, as you can clearly see, there is no mention of the late finish plate variety on the holder! The submitter should have notated on their submission form in the variety/attribution column that the note was a coveted fp.307 example. Perhaps they were completely unaware that this key variety even exists. The note was offered on a Tuesday night weekly Heritage auction at no reserve without any mention of the coveted fp.307 in the lot description. An absolutely amazing opportunity for whoever it was that benefited from having eagle eye vision that night! It is up to collectors and dealers to know what they have. Do not expect things to always be perfect and never fall through the cracks at both the grading companies and auction houses. You need to study and do your own homework to get the most out of your collection! So does it really matter in the grand scheme of things whether or not a North Africa five-dollar silver certificate in Gem 65EPQ has fp.307 vs. a plain Jane garden variety face plate number? We have already looked at the miniscule number of PMG fp.307 Gem and higher examples tallying in at just five notes. In stark contrast, the population of regular North Africa examples in 65EPQ or higher add up to a massive three-hundred-eighty-five notes!!! Is there a price disparity between the specialized variety and the non-variety? The most recent sale of a properly attributed 1934A five-dollar silver certificate late finished plate #307 yellow seal example in 65EPQ sold for $1,440.00 just last year in January 2021. I’d say the person who scored the note pictured here at well over a 60% discount should be absolutely over the moon ecstatic! When you are lucky enough to pluck diamonds like this out of the wild, enjoy the moments. Do you have a great Cherry Pick story that you’d like to share? Your note might be featured here in a future article and you can remain anonymous if desired! Email scans of your note with a brief description of what you paid and where it was found to: gacoins@earthlink.net Recommended reading:  The “King Alpha” $5 Silver Certificate by Graeme M. Ton, JR. (Paper Money *Jan/Feb 1987 Whole No. 127)  Late Finished Plates Used to Print Small Notes by Peter Huntoon (May/June 1984 Whole No.111)  The Enduring Allure of $5 Micro Back Plates 629 and 637 by Peter Huntoon (Paper Money *Sep/Oct 2015 * Whole No. 299) SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 373 The Obsolete Corner The Bank of Manchester by Robert Gill As you read this article Fall will almost be upon us. Here in Southern Oklahoma we've had the usual Summer... hot and dry. But I've been able to keep active in the "world of paper", as I've picked up a couple of nice pieces. I hope you have been able to do good for yourself also. 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 to the state of Michigan and look at The Bank of Manchester. In my research, I've been able to find a little history on this institution. And thanks to my good friend / SPMC member, Dr. William R. Hancuff, who has also researched this subject, we have some idea of the goings on of this Bank. Like many other small towns in Michigan, Manchester, with a population of only eight hundred and five, was to receive its share of hardship as a result of a “wildcat” bank. With a capital of $100,000, The Bank of Manchester, being one of seven of these haphazard banks in Washtenaw County, was organized in October of 1837. The sale of stock took place from November 6th thru 9th and sold out immediately. George Howe was seated as Bank President, and Andrew Irwin was put in the position of Cashier. The Bank began operations on November 22nd. Its bank notes had already been printed, and most were signed two days before opening. The location of business was at 107 West Main Street, the home of Cashier Irwin. During this Bank's life it suffered severe problems, many self-inflicted. It did comply with current Michigan banking laws by backing thirty per cent of its capital in gold, and securing the remainder of its circulation in real estate. But there was one catch! It shared its specie with the bank in Sharon, Michigan. As soon as State Bank Commissioner Alpheus Feich had approved Manchester’s bank and headed for his next inspection, which just happened to be at Sharon, the gold was loaded up to be sent back to Sharon. According to reports, it was some race. When the dust cleared, Mr. Feich's coach and four men stood exhausted at the door of the Sharon bank, and there was no gold in the safe. They had made it there in time to expose the fraud. Very soon afterwards The Bank of Manchester had another unsatisfactory visit from the Commissioner. On February 21st, 1838, Feich conducted another check on the Bank. Cashier Irwin told him that only $34,000 of the Bank's bills were put in circulation, within the regulatory backing limit. In actuality, the Bank had issued between $107,000 and $118,000 in bills, exceeding the legal maximum. On March 22nd another Bank Commissioner, Colonel Fitzgerald, published a notice cautioning the public against receiving the bills of The Bank of Manchester. Part of his warning was as follows: The fraud was further publicized on April 19th when the State Journal reported: James Fargo replaced Irwin as Cashier, when on May 18th, a perjury warrant was issued for Irwin's arrest. A second warrant was issued against both Howe and Irwin for fraud. With its officers facing criminal charges, Fargo temporarily saved the Bank by reducing circulation from more than $100,000 to $25,514. Nevertheless, a local newspaper reported that the "stockholders would find it to their advantage to close the institution". Because of the stringency of the times, and very serious self-inflicted problems, The Bank of Manchester struggled thru its short life. And on November 19th, 1839, it was placed into receivership. The people of the small town of Manchester lost much, but they gained, in return for all their losses and trouble, some very valuable experience. So there's the history behind this old bank. And, as it so often happened back then, the innocent public was left with the loss. As I always do, I invite any comments to my cell phone number (580) 221-0898, or my personal email address robertdalegill@gmail.com So, until next time, HAPPY COLLECTING. "I am induced to give this notice in order to prevent designing knaves from imposing upon honest men, and cheating them out of their property, by purchasing it with such worthless trash... No bank of respectability should disgrace itself by receiving and paying out at its counter such worthless rags..." "The Cashier of this institution (Bank of Manchester), we understand, has taken leg bail, having disposed of some fifty thousand dollars without knowledge of the Directors!" SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 374 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 375 Distribution to Fed Banks of 1928 XYZ $1 Experimental Notes The Treasury issued $1 experimental notes in 1933 to test different ratios of cotton and linen in the composition of currency paper.1 The notes were issued as Series of 1928A and 1928B, and carried X- B, Y-B, and Z-B serial numbers. Each block specific to one of three distinct papers, with Z-B serials applied to the standard paper then in use. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing finished 31,224,000 notes, about evenly divided among the three paper types. Starting in June, William Broughton, chief of the Bureau of Public Debt, informed the Federal Reserve banks of the experiment and described how they’d be involved. He instructed each bank, commencing at the start of the next fiscal year (July 1, 1933), to issue the experimental notes to the exclusion of other $1 notes. As the notes were redeemed from circulation, the banks were to report to Public Debt any exceptional wearing qualities. That same month, the Federal Reserve Board apportioned the notes among the federal reserve districts and their branches. The treasurer immediately began distributing the notes to each bank and completed the shipments by mid-July, as follows:2 It’s obvious the notes were apportioned based on each district’s population. It’s also assumed each bank received roughly equal amounts of notes from each block. Nearly two-thirds of the notes went to the large metropolitan areas of the Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago bank districts. Smaller amounts went to the southern and midwestern districts. Minneapolis received the least at $504,000. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 376 Two branches—Detroit and Los Angeles—received more notes than eight federal reserve banks. Salt Lake City, a branch of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, received $24,000, the least of any bank or branch. The U.S. Treasurer received $300,000, presumably for use in the Treasury Cash Room. Undistributed at the time of the letter was $484,000, and it’s unknown when and how those eventually were dispersed. Records of how many notes the Treasury received in redemptions from each district weren’t included in the trove of archived documents about this experiment3—if they were recorded at all. But from where the notes returned wasn’t the point; treasury officials had no control over that. What mattered was distributing the notes as widely as possible across the country to ensure they experienced a variety of circulating conditions. After all, the experiment was to test how the different currency papers would withstand the rigors of circulation compared to standard paper. On that the experiment was inconclusive, and the standard paper, well, remained the standard. *** Correction: In the photo caption to my article in the 2022 July/August issue (1934A Minneapolis $20s), I mistakenly referred to the back plate serial as “macro.” The serial number, 316, is a micro.—JY Sources Cited 1. Yakes, Jamie. “The Experimental X-Y-Z Series of 1928 $1 Silver Certificates.” Paper Money 52, no. 6 (2013, Nov/Dec): 466. 2. Smead, E. L., Division of Bank Operations Chief, Federal Reserve Board, July 11, 1933, letter to William S. Broughton, Bureau of Public Debt Commissioner, discussing experimental currency paper used from 1932–1934: Bureau of Public Debt Files, Series F Currency, Record Group 53/450/54/02/01, box 4, file F330, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. 3. United States Treasury, Bureau of Public Debt, various files discussing experimental currency paper used from 1932-1934: Bureau of Public Debt Files, Series F Currency, Record Group 53/450/54/02/01, box 4, file F330, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Sep/Oct 2022 * Whole Number 341 377 The Cult of TOP POP Of all the changes that have taken place to collecting pursuits in the last generation, perhaps the most transformative has been the grading and encapsulation of collectibles (“slabbing”) by third-party entities. So much has been written about this phenomenon that there remains little new to discuss about the pros and cons of slabbing. To recapitulate the standard views, slabbing is good because it keeps your Cheetos-stained fingers off your collectibles, for posterity’s benefit. Although some people quibble with its grading standards, slabbing settles grading disputes. It roots out numismatic forgeries and creates provenance records. Standardized and transparent grading makes collectibles markets more liquid and efficient. It may also cause some market disintermediation, by encouraging collectors to sell directly to each other without dealers taking their cut. Conversely, slabbing/encapsulation is bad if it keeps your (now washed and clean) fingers from touching your collectibles. Without getting too pervy about it, coin and paper money collecting are tactile experiences which are diminished when plastic holders get in the way—wearing the proverbial raincoat in the shower. Third-party grading may minimize disputes, but it also fosters collectors’ ignorance by absolving them of the responsibility for learning how to grade themselves. The same market liquidity and efficiency touted as beneficial also encourage an investor mindset that hobby purists find off- putting (and expensive). Finally, there is the deadweight loss that comes from collectors spending money to have their items encapsulated in the first place. Many millions of dollars have gone into the pockets of third-party graders. Not one cent of that can ever do anything to actually improve the condition of the items slabbed. Personally, and for the record, I have no problem with owning encapsulating items. However, I do want to devote some space to discussing one other consequence of slabbing that arises from the employment of a highly differentiated, quantified grading system, namely some version of the Sheldon (1-70) scale. This is the phenomenon of what I would call ‘induced scarcity’, or the creation of scarcity as an artifact of the grading scale itself. As everyone knows, paper money prices, especially for certain modern Federal Reserve notes, have recently gone through the roof. If this reflects collector demand, then so be it. But I wonder to what extent these increases are driven instead by the differentiation introduced by the grading system itself, resulting in skyrocketing prices for items in the very highest grades. This has been going on for so long in the American numismatic market that people take it for granted. To explain what I mean I’ll use an example from one of my own collecting interests, Imperial German coins. In the last ten years, slabbing which was once nonexistent in that market has become increasingly commonplace. German collectors and dealers have, of course, their own perfectly good grading system (and wonderful coin albums). While there was some German resentment of the intrusion of what some regarded as an absurd and unnecessary American infatuation, slabbed coins have become fairly common on numismatic websites like MA-Shops. As this has happened, the same pricing dynamic prominent in the American market emerged with German coins as well. Anything slabbed above the grade of MS65 (what Germans would euphoniously call fast Stempelglanz) has experienced a rapid escalation in price (at least in listed prices). The result is that even common date one-mark coins that might go for fifteen or twenty dollars in some generic mint state are now priced five to ten times that amount for examples graded MS66 or above. Some German sellers have even adopted the breathless American expression TOP POP to justify prices for those highest-grade pieces. Whether these are real prices paid or simply aspirational, I don’t know. German coin magazines that routinely publish prices haven’t yet adopted MS designations, with the weird result that published prices seem far lower than the actual prices offered (and maybe even realized) by dealers. If this is the case, then it illustrates vividly the ‘induced scarcity’ effect. By identifying and quantifying ever smaller populations of slight-better examples of even common numismatic collectibles, grading services create the perception and reality of scarcity where none existed before. For any other purchasable good (airplane seats, for example) such pricing would be regarded as routine market segmentation. Yet with collectibles, I think some caution is in order. People will always need to fly in airplanes. They don’t need to collect coins or paper money. A sustainable hobby certainly can’t have prices fall indefinitely, otherwise nobody would take up collecting at all. Yet a hobby where prices continually rise also faces an upside danger. As the economist Irving Fisher once said about the stock market in October 1929, “prices have reached what looks like a permanently higher plateau.” We know how that prediction worked out. Chump Change Loren Gatch 378 SPMC Festivities at ANA and FUN  Make Plans Now to Attend! The SPMC will have a club table #259 at the August ANA. We will also have a meeting and show-and-tell on Saturday August 20. Stop by the table and say hi and then attend the meeting, see great Confederate, Nationals and other paper and join in some paper camaraderie. Our IPMS Activities of the past are now starting back up at WINTER FUN!!! Friday, Jan 6th, we will have a BOG meeting. Saturday, Jan 7th will be our fun activities in the Convention Center.  8a--we will have our Breakfast and Tom Bain Raffle with our Master of Ceremonies—Wendell Wolka.  At this time we will also present our literary and other awards and announce our 2022 Hall of Fame class. As always, our raffle will have Big prizes, surprises, mystery boxes and we will “Mix ‘em Up!” Price of entry includes a newly designed & collectible breakfast ticket. Watch the website on ticket ordering information. We will be finished by 10a so all can go to the bourse. Pierre Fricke will be presenting one of the educational forums, time TBA. We also encourage all to place a Paper Money (or related) exhibit. 379 OUR MEMBERS SPECIALIZE IN LARGE SIZE TYPE NOTES They also specialize in National Currency, Small Size Currency, Obsolete Currency, Colonial and Continental Currency, Fractionals, Error Notes, MPCs, Confederate Currency, Encased Postage, Stocks and Bonds, Autographs and Documents, World Paper Money . . . and numerous other areas. THE PROFESSIONAL CURRENCY DEALERS ASSOCIATION is the leading organization of Dealers in Currency, Stocks and Bonds, Fiscal Documents and related paper items. PCDA To be assured of knowledgeable, professional, and ethical dealings when buying or selling currency, look for dealers who proudly display the PCDA emblem. For further information, please contact: The Professional Currency Dealers Association PCDA • Holds its annual National Currency Convention in conjunction with the Central States Numis- matic Society’s Anniversary Convention. Please visit our Web Site pcda.com for dates and location. • Encourages public awareness and education regarding the hobby of Paper Money Collecting. • Sponsors the John Hickman National Currency Exhibit Award each year, as well as Paper Money classes and scholarships at the A.N.A.’s Summer Seminar series. • Publishes several “How to Collect” booklets regarding currency and related paper items. Availability of these booklets can be found on our Web Site. • Is a proud supporter of the Society of Paper Money Collectors. Or Visit Our Web Site At: www.pcda.com Susan Bremer – Secretary 16 Regents Park • Bedford, TX 76022 (214) 409-1830 • email: susanb@ha.com U.S. CURRENCY SIGNATURE® AUCTION Dallas | October 5-7 Highlights from Our Upcoming Official Long Beach Auction View all lots and bid at HA.com/3589 Paul R. Minshull #16591. BP 20%; see HA.com. 65705 DALLAS  |  NEW YORK  |  BEVERLY HILLS  |  CHICAGO  |  PALM BEACH LONDON  |  PARIS  |  GENEVA  |  BRUSSELS | AMSTERDAM  |  HONG KONG Always Accepting Quality Consignments in 40+ Categories Immediate Cash Advances Available 1.5 Million+ Online Bidder-Members For a free appraisal, or to consign to an upcoming auction, contact a Heritage Consignment Director today. 800-872-6467, Ext. 1001 or Currency@HA.com Fr. 2220-F $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note PMG Choice Very Fine 35 Fr. 2231-G $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PMG Extremely Fine 40 Fr. 1200 $50 1922 Gold Certificate PMG Superb Gem Uncirculated 67 EPQ Fr. 263 $5 1886 Silver Certificate PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ Fr. 1133-F $1,000 1918 Federal Reserve Note PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 EPQ New Orleans, LA - $50 1875 Fr. 444 The Hibernia National Bank Ch. #2086 PMG Very Fine 30