Ofϐicial Journal of Plan to Participate in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ NOVEMBER 2026 U.S. CURRENCY SHOWCASE AUCTION LEGENDARY COLLECTIONS | LEGENDARY RESULTS | A LEGENDARY AUCTION FIRM America’s Oldest and Most Accomplished Rare Coin AuctioneerCosta Mesa • New York • Boston • Miami • Philadelphia • San Francisco New Hampshire • Oklahoma • Hong Kong • Copenhagen • Paris • Vancouver 1550 Scenic Avenue, Suite. 150, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 949.253.0916 • Info@StacksBowers.com 470 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 212.582.2580 • NYC@StacksBowers.com Visit Us Online at StacksBowers.com SBG PapMon NovGS26 HLs 261101 Auction Dates: November 16-20 Costa Mesa, CA Whitman Expo Lot Viewing: November 10-13 Baltimore, MD Peter A. Treglia Vice President & Managing Director of Currency PTreglia@ StacksBowers.com Tel: 949.748.4828 Michael Moczalla Currency Specialist MMoczalla@ StacksBowers.com Tel: 949.503.6244 Contact Us For More Information: 800.458.4646 California 800.566.2580 New York Info@StacksBowers.com Fr. 127. 1869 $20 Legal Tender Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Fr. 248. 1896 $2 Silver Certificate. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ. Fr. 378. 1891 $100 Treasury Note. PMG Very Fine 25. Fr. 2404*. 1928 $50 Gold Certificate Star Note. PCGS Banknote Uncirculated 62. Official Auctioneer of the Whitman Expos Memphis, Tennessee. $100 1882 Brown Back. Fr. 527. The NB of Commerce. Charter #5056. PMG Choice Very Fine 35. Breckenridge, Texas. $10 1929 Ty. 2. Fr. 1801-2. First NB. Charter #14027. PMG Extremely Fine 40. Fr. 1960-J. 1934D $5/$10 Federal Reserve Note. Kansas City. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64. Double Denomination Error. 354 For the Benefit of Trade--Alexander Georgiades 361 Provenances of the First Federal Notes--Peter Huntoon 374 Worrel Sisters Ad Notes--Rick Melamed 386 John Reck-Juneau, AK Banker--Frank Clark 388 R. D. Mann--Charles Derby 373 Todays Treasured Collectibles--Jim Simek SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 349 396 P. T. Barnum--David Lewis 404 Nellie Cashman: The Angel of Tombstone--Rick Melamed 397 Elusive Ohio Obsolete--David Lewis 392 National Bank Traveler--Marshall Mallory 377 Series of 1882 $5 NB Replacement Notes--Ken Fritsch 416 Statement of Ownership and Operations Columns From Your President Robert Calderman 351 Benny Bolin 352 Frank Clark 353 Editor Sez New Members Uncoupled Joe Boling & Fred Schwan 398 Chump Change Loren Gatch 402 Cherry Pickers Corner Robert Calderman 405 Small Notes Jamie Yakes 409 Foreign Affairs Dennis Hengeveld 410 Postal Notes Bob Laub 412 Quartermaster Michael McNeil 414 Advertisers Stacks Bowers Galleries IFC Pierre Fricke 349 Polar Currency 359 Bill Lorman 360 Executive Currency 371 FCCB 376 Higgins Museum 385 Souvenir Card Soc. 387 PCDA IBC Heritage Auctions OBC SPMC Hall of Fame The SPMC Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the society over the span of many years. Charles Affleck Walter Allan Mark Anderson Tom Bain Doug Ball Aubrey & Adeline Bebee Hank Bieciuk George Blake Joseph Boling Q.David Bowers F.C.C. Boyd Wm. Bradbeer Amon Carter, Jr Forrest Daniel C. John Ferreri Milt Friedberg Robert Friedberg Len Glazer Nathan Gold Nathan Goldstein Albert Grinnell James Haxby John Herzog Gene Hessler John Hickman William Higgins Ruth Hill Peter Huntoon Brent Hughes Glenn Jackson Glen Jorde Don Kelly Lyn Knight Chet Krause Robert Medlar Allen Mincho Clifford Mishler Barbara Mueller Judith Murphy Eric Newman Dean Oakes Chuck O'Donnell Albert Pick Fred Reed Matt Rothert John Rowe III Fred Schwan Neil Shafer Herb& Martha Schingoethe Austin Sheheen, Jr. Hugh Shull Glenn Smedley Raphael Thian Daniel Valentine Louis Van Belkum George Wait John & Nancy Wilson D.C. Wismer SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 Roy Pennell Michael Crabb Martin Delger William Donlon Roger Durand Officers & Appointees ELECTED OFFICERS PRESIDENT Robert Calderman gacoins@earthlink.net VICE-PRES William Litt TREASURER Robert Moon robertmoon@aol.com BOARD OF GOVERNORS APPOINTEES PUBLISHER-EDITOR-ADVERTISING MANAGER Benny Bolin smcbb@sbcglobal.net MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Frank Clark frank_clark@yahoo.com IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Robert Vandevender WISMER BOOK PROJECT COORDINATOR Pierre Fricke From Your President Robert CaldermanFrom Your President Shawn Hewitt We’re excited to announce the details of our second annual Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Speakers Forum. In the fashion of our inaugural seminar last year, we’ll again have a total of five speakers making presentations, and close out the forum with our SPMC membership meeting on Saturday morning. The dates of the FUN convention are January 9-12, 2020 at the Orange County Convention Center, West Building WA1 & WA2, in Orlando, Florida. The first four talks are on Friday, January 10 in Room 304F (same as last year). Here is the lineup… - "The Current Status of the U. S. Small Size Paper Money Market". – Mr. Calderman, a specialist and dealer in U. S. small-size type notes will discuss the current trends in small size notes and the future of this paper money specialty. - "A Behind the Scenes Look at the Paper Money Auction Process"–Mr. Johnston, the Vice- President and Managing Director of the Currency Division at Heritage Auctions will discuss the nuts- and-bolts of conducting a major Paper Money auction. "An Overview of the Confederate Paper Money Market" . Mr. Fricke has been a long-time dealer in Confederate Paper Money and is the author of the standard reference on Confederate Paper Money "Collecting Confederate Paper Money: The Standard Guide to Confederate Money". "The good, the bad, and the ugly of antebellum bank note fraud" – Various types of pre-Civil War bank note fraud will be explored and illustrated. In addition, at the SPMC Membership Meeting (open to all) on Saturday at 8:30am in Room 303B we have: - "Overview of the SPMC Bank Note History Project" - This project is focused on two of the primary historical aspects of the "Hometown" National Bank Notes - the Banks who issued them and the bankers who signed them. I think we’re onto a good thing in making FUN another major venue for the face of SPMC. Our table will be 867 in the club section of the bourse floor, so please stop by. Again, this year, we are participating in the ANA Treasure Trivia Program, which is a great outreach to the youth of our hobby. We have some very nice world notes to hand out (to young numismatists) as souvenirs for visiting our table. Before I go, I should mention that we have a new Membership Secretary. Robert Calderman, one of our board members, has stepped up to fill the position recently vacated by Jeff Brueggeman. If you frequent the major shows, you may have seen Robert at one of our club tables. Robert is great resource for the Society, and we very much appreciate the work he does for us. Paper Money * July/August 2020 6 Robert Calderman gacoins@earthlink.com Matt Drais stockpicker12@aol.com Mark Drengson markd@step1software.com Loren Gatch lgatch@uco.edu Shawn Hewitt Shawn@north-trek.com Derek Higgins derekhiggins219@gmail.com Raiden Honaker raidenhonaker8@gmail.com William Litt Cody Regennitter billitt@aol.com Andrew Timme Wendell Wolka derekhiggins219@gmail.com SECRETARY Derek Higgins billitt@aol.com purduenut@aol.com cody.regenitter@gmail.com We have now officially surpassed 365 issues of Paper Money Magazine, the official Journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors! How exciting is this! In 1961 during the inception of the SPMC and then beginning in 1962 when our journal was first printed for its inaugural release, I anticipate that the founders of our society never could have imagined we could come so far as to now be offering our 366th issue! Very soon 2027 will begin. Will you commit yourself to downloading the PDF of our very first issue from our SPMC website and reading one full issue per day for the next 365 days? That would be quite the accomplishment! Maybe two issues per week would be more practical? That will only take 3.5 years to complete! Or, how about one issue a week over the next seven years!!! This only goes to show that the incredible volume of history and intriguing paper money content available at your disposal is an outstanding bargain at our current membership rates! Not to mention, the Huntoon-Shiva National Bank Note Encyclopedia, Bank Note History Project, and so many other benefits too numerous to mention here. In fact, a brand new benefit has officially been added to our SPMC educational menagerie. The Paper Money Forum www.papermoneyforum.com has been very generously donated to our organization! John Burris established this platform over ten years ago and he has made the very kind decision to transfer ownership of the website URL, hosting account, and arc ived content to the SPMC. I wholeheartedly want to express my sincere appreciation that J hn’s desire to see the PMF thrive and prosper i to the future by utilizing the SPMC to allow the forum to become bigger than himself is spectacular! Thank you Mr. Burris! While this transition was taking place, quietly behind th scenes, a very special SPMC life member David Helfman made th decision to donate $1,000.00 to the SPMC to provide 1-Year new online memberships to “Fifty” Paper Money Forum members that have not yet become SPMC members! Wow, this is another incredibly generous act of kindness made selflessly with the only goal being a genuine effort to grow our hobby! As I gently butter you up and hopefully make you feel even more proud to be a current member of the SPMC than you already are, let me take a moment to bring something to your attention. It has been over thirteen years since our SPMC membership rates have changed! Substantially longer than 13yrs for our advertising rates! It should come as no surprise to you that both the cost of printing and postage have not stayed anywhere near the same over this lengthy period of time. While we are not focused as a money making enterprise, nor do we desire to be, we cannot be a money losing organization at an unsustainable level! If you are not currently a Life-Member, now is your opportunity to upgrade your membership before we increase our rates! If you have the means and generosity and you are willing to make a donation to the SPMC, this is your call to action. The Society of Paper Money Collectors promotes the study and appreciation of paper money and related financial history. Help us to continue this effort far into the future. Your generous donation large or small will help to ensure both the health and longevity of our educational organization. Please think of the SPMC when evaluating your quarterly, annual, and future estate donation planning. Consider consulting both your financial planner and tax professional and inquire about available: DAF, CRT, and CLT programs! You are very much appreciated in advance! And as always, if you make it to an upcoming show, please stop by my table and say hello. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 351 Terms and Conditions  The Society  of  Paper Money  Collectors  (SPMC)  P.O.   Box 7055,  Gainesville, GA    30504, publishes    PAPER    MONEY (USPS   00‐ 3162)  every  other  month  beginning  in  January.  Periodical  postage  is  paid  at  Hanover,  PA.  Postmaster  send  address  changes  to  Secretary  Robert  Calderman,  Box  7055, Gainesville,  GA  30504. ©Society  of  Paper Money  Collectors, Inc.  2020.  All  rights  reserved.  Reproduction  of  any  article  in whole  or  part  without written approval  is prohibited.  Individual copies of  this  issue of PAPER MONEY are available  from the secretary  for $8  postpaid. Send changes of address, inquiries concerning    non    ‐    delivery    and    requests    for    additional copies of this issue to  the secretary.  MANUSCRIPTS  Manuscripts     not     under      consideration      elsewhere and  publications  for  review should be sent  to  the editor. Accepted  manuscripts  will  be  published  as  soon  as  possible,  however  publication  in  a  specific  issue  cannot  be guaranteed. Opinions  expressed  by  authors  do  not necessarily  reflect those  of  the  SPMC.   Manuscripts should be  submitted  in WORD  format  via  email (smcbb@sbcglobal.net)  or  by  sending memory stick/disk  to  the  editor.  Scans  should  be  grayscale  or  color  JPEGs  at  300 dpi. Color  illustrations may be changed to grayscale at  the  discretion  of  the  editor.  Do  not  send  items  of  value.  Manuscripts are  submitted with copyright release of the author  to  the  editor  for  duplication  and  printing as needed.  ADVERTISING  All advertising on space available basis. Copy/correspondence  should be sent to editor.  All advertising is pay in advance.  Ads are on a “good faith”  basis.  Terms are “Until Forbid.”  Ads  are  Run  of  Press  (ROP)  unless  accepted  on  a  premium  contract basis. Limited premium space/rates available.  To keep rates to a minimum, all advertising must be prepaid  according to the schedule below.  In exceptional cases where  special  artwork  or  additional  production  is  required,  the  advertiser  will be notified  and  billed accordingly.  Rates  are  not commissionable; proofs are not  supplied.  SPMC  does not  endorse any company, dealer,  or  auction  house.  Advertising  Deadline: Subject to space availability, copy must be received  by  the  editor  no  later  than  the  first  day  of  the  month  preceding  the  cover date  of  the  issue  (i.e.  Feb.  1  for  the  March/April  issue). Camera‐ready art or electronic ads  in pdf  format are required.  ADVERTISING RATES  Editor Sez Benny Bolin Required file    submission format    is    composite    PDF v1.3  (Acrobat 4.0   compatible).   If   possible, submitted files should  conform to ISO 15930‐1: 2001 PDF/X‐1a file format standard.  Non‐  standard,  application,  or  native  file  formats  are  not  acceptable. Page  size: must  conform to specified publication  trim  size.  Page  bleed:  must  extend minimum  1/8”  beyond  trim for page head, foot, and front.  Safety margin:  type  and  other  non‐bleed  content must  clear  trim by minimum 1/2”.   Advertising c o p y   shall be restricted to paper currency, allied  numismatic material, publications,   and   related   accessories.    The SPMC  does  not  guarantee advertisements,  but  accepts  copy  in good faith,  reserving  the right  to  reject objectionable  or  inappropriate  material  or  edit      copy.  The          SPMC   assumes      no      financial       responsibility for  typographical  errors  in  ads  but  agrees  to  reprint  that portion of an ad  in  which a typographical error occurs.  Benny (aka PeePaw) alias Goompa Space  Full color covers  1 Time  $1500  3 Times  $2600  6 Times $4900 B&W covers  500  1400  2500 Full page color  500  1500  3000 Full page B&W  360  1000  1800 Half‐page B&W  180  500  900 Quarter‐page B&W  90  250  450 Eighth‐page B&W  45  125  225 She changed my name! Yes, Goompa is now a thing of the past it seems and has been replaced with PeePaw. She is really developing her own personality. She is entering those terrible twos, but not too bad as yet. For a look into our future, just look at those eyes. Talk about giving you the stink eye--it is to come! Till next time! Look out for those school zones and don't drive and text! It seems that Texas is still breaking records--67 days with no rain and 52 days above 100! And the Cowboys broke a record too--first team in 51 years to lose at home to an 0-4 team. Not sure if we should be proud of any of those. But, I have had a good summer numismatically. I won two fractional currency look-a-likes in an auction and then I made a snap decision to go to Pittsburgh for the ANA. Good choice on my part except that I opted to go from the airport to the convention center, but when it was time to go to my hotel, the staff told me it was a 10-15 minute walk. Well, a short walk to younger people is a loooooong walk for us more mature people. 45 mins later I got to my hotel with aching knees, hips and feet! Uber the rest of the time. The ANA was good--good crowds and a seemingly high enthusiastic level. I was able to buy all the dimes I needed for my 2027 exhibit, saw all eleven 1933 $20 Saint Gaudens, talked to a lot of people and had an overall good time. I did venture into the unknown. I have always wanted some Swedish plate money and a more mature dealer there was selling a lot of his inventory including one piece. He said some people said it was a highly polished (which it was) fake but others said it was genuine. My go-to expert, Mark Anderson said it was real and that is good enough for me. Also at the show, our very own odd couple--Joe Boling and Fred Schwan won the NLG award for best world paper money column! Congrats to both! When I got home, I had the privilege to assist Heritage with cataloging the William George fractional currency collection. This collection consisted of over 400 pieces of fractional. It was heavy in courtesy autographed notes (I got two Clark ones that I did not have). That was a lot of fun and a great time. Now it is getting my exhibit ready for FUN. Besides the fractional invert, I have added two more cases of other fractional currency errors. Interestingly, the theme this year is errors & varities. Please note that around Nov 10 or so, our annual writers contest will begin. We award prizes for the best book and articles that appeared in 2026 Paper Money including this one. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 352 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 09/05/2026 Dues Remittal R obert Moon --SPMC Treasurer Process Send dues directly to 403 Gatewood Dr. Greenwood, SC 29646 You may also pay your dues online at www.spmc.org. 16114 J Stephen Pitard, Website 16115 Peter Cardone, Frank Clark 16116 Andrew Hill, Website 16117 Michael Vine, Frank Clark 16118 Sam Ackerman, Website 16119 Ali Chaudhry, Rbrt Calderman 16120 Glen Ridgway, Derek Higgins 16121 Jennifer Doesburg, Website 16122 David Hines, Website 16123 Miller Haerr, Derek Higgins 16124 Reuel Schlarb, Polar Currency 16125 Fred Geissler, Mark Anderson 16126 Travis Bolton. Rbrt Calderman 16127 Randy Daniel, Website REINSTATEMENTS None LIFE MEMBERSHIPS LM490 Al Louis, Frank Clark LM491 formerly PM15900 NEW MEMBERS 10/05/2026 16128 Steve Peterson, Website 16129 Paul Mole, Website 16130 Steve Blumberg, Website 16131 Jordan Kaplan, Website 16132J Andrew Alexandroff, Rbrt Calderman 16133 Stanislav Schwarzuhr, Website 16134 Douglas Sleep, PMCM 16135 Orton Cowles, PMCM 16136 Scott Barnes, PMCM 16137 Jan Messineo, PMCM 16138 William R. Nettles Jr., PMCM 16139 David Lincoln, Website 16140 George Brooks, Robert Calderman 16141 Joseph Pawluk, Website 16142 Gary Gendreau, Polar Currency 16143J James Angle,Website 16144 Mark Sanford, John Patrick 16145 Jonathan Jenkins, Website 16146 Steven Kirk, Website 16147 David Perkins, Frank Clark 16148 Andrew Newman, John Patrick 16149 Marc Lane, Frank Clark 16150 Peter Aa, Website 16151 Adriane Mercedez, Frank Clark REINSTATEMENTS 14884 Tommy McDowell, Robert Calderman LIFE MEMBERSHIPS LM492 Robert Brown, Website LM493 Noah Alpert, Robert Calderman SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 353 For the Benefit of Trade: New Hampshire's Christmas Day Money of 1734 By Alexander H. Georgiades December 25, 1734 is not a date one expects to find on colonial American paper money. Yet Christmas Day appears prominently on one of New England's more unusual monetary experiments, a series of privately sponsored New Hampshire notes whose surviving examples look unlike most provincial currency of the period. Tall and narrow, engraved on both sides, and authenticated by multiple handwritten signatures, the notes also bore interest at one percent per year.1 Christmas appears twice in the obligation. The series is cataloged as December 25, 1734, and the seven-shilling note illustrated here is executed on that date. Payment was promised twelve years later, on December 25, 1746. A 10-shilling example transcribed by monetary historian Andrew McFarland Davis promises payment to Portsmouth merchant Hunking Wentworth, or his order, in silver or gold at the price then current or in acceptable bills of credit from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut, together with interest of one percent per year.1 Not every documented note was executed on Christmas Day, however. Davis's transcription of that 10-shilling note records its handwritten attestation as December 26, 1734. The difference is small but important: December 25 was the common date associated with the series and the fixed maturity date, while at least one documented example was signed the following day.1 That one-day difference is easy to overlook, but it keeps the holiday hook from becoming a scene the evidence cannot support. We cannot say that the participating merchants gathered on Christmas Day to sign the issue, or that every note was completed then. What the paper establishes is narrower: December 25 appears on documented examples and in the redemption promise, while individual execution extended at least into December 26.1 These were not bills of credit issued by the Province of New Hampshire and no act of the legislature made them legal tender. Contemporary records nevertheless describe them as notes intended to circulate in payment, which is why Massachusetts moved to prohibit their receipt and why the Board of Trade later discussed their circulation. That distinction between private obligation and circulating medium sits at the center of their story. New Hampshire in the early 1730s faced a documented shortage of money. The Board of Trade later described the province as having "very little Mony" and only a small paper currency authorized by the legislature.1 Massachusetts and New Hampshire were also restrained by royal instructions in their ability to emit bills, while Figure 1. December 25, 1734, seven-shilling Portsmouth merchants' note, Fr. NH-38.4, serial no. 3636. The face shows the distinctive vertical format, engraved contractual obligation, pine-tree device, BENEFICIO COMMERCI motto, and three handwritten signatures. Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com, Eric P. Newman Collection Part VIII, lot 28052.6 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 354 Rhode Island retained broader freedom and its paper entered Massachusetts commerce. Boston merchants responded in 1733 with their own circulating notes; the Portsmouth experiment followed in 1734.8 Portsmouth's riverfront setting is worth keeping in view. Joseph F. W. Des Barres's 1780 view, made forty-six years after the merchants' notes, shows the town from across the Piscataqua with vessels on the river. It does not depict Portsmouth in 1734, but it provides useful context for the port community in which the experiment arose.10 The surviving New Hampshire notes state the solution plainly. Their makers promised "jointly and severally" to pay Hunking Wentworth, a Portsmouth merchant, or his order.1 That phrase was not legal boilerplate of little consequence. It meant that the credit behind the instrument rested on identifiable individuals who had placed their names on the obligation. On surviving examples, three handwritten signatures appear on the face. Eric P. Newman recorded Theodore Atkinson, John Downing Jr., George Jaffrey, Joshua Peirce, John Rindge, Henry Sherburne, Samuel Smith and Andrew Wiggin among the men who signed notes in the series. Hunking Wentworth then endorsed the reverse before circulation.2,3 A 10-shilling note sold by Spink illustrates how those combinations varied. Serial no. 4448 is signed by George Jaffrey, Henry Sherburne, and Joshua Peirce. Another 10-shilling note, serial no. 1727, bears the names of Samuel Smith, Andrew Wiggin, and John Downing Jr. Hunking Wentworth signed the backs of both.4 This was therefore not anonymous paper. A person accepting one could read the names of the men standing behind it. That mattered because there was no provincial treasury promising redemption. When the controversy eventually reached imperial authorities, the British Board of Trade described the participants as people of substantial estates and standing in New Hampshire. More importantly, the Board explained the mechanism with unusual clarity. No person was obliged to receive the notes, it observed. Their acceptance depended on the credit of the signers. They would, in the Board's formulation, "stand or fall according to the Credit of the Signers."1 The physical notes reinforced the point. Collectors usually call them "Tall Bills," an apt description of their vertical proportions. Heritage describes the issue as printed on two sides on laid paper from engraved copper plates. The contractual text occupies much of the face inside an ornamental frame. Near the bottom is a pine-tree device carrying the motto BENEFICIO COMMERCI, commonly translated as "for the benefit of trade." The reverse carries additional ornament and a sailing vessel.5,6 The motifs invite interpretation, but the surviving sources located for this article do not explain why the pine tree and ship were selected. Their presence can be described with confidence; assigning a more specific political or commercial symbolism would go beyond the evidence. The motto, by contrast, states the issue's commercial claim directly: BENEFICIO COMMERCI," for the benefit of trade." Figure 2. Portsmouth from across the Piscataqua River, 1780, Joseph F. W. Des Barres. The view postdates the merchants' notes by forty-six years and is included for maritime context, not as a depiction of Portsmouth in 1734. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division; no known restrictions on publication.10 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 355 The denomination structure looks straightforward until the surviving record is examined closely. Standard numismatic references have listed 1 shilling, 2 shillings, 5 shillings, 7 shillings and 10 shillings.2,3 The 5-shilling value, however, is a warning against treating catalog listings as proof of production. Heritage, describing the Eric P. Newman 2-shilling example, noted that the 5-shilling denomination was unreported in issued form and was considered possibly never printed.5 That distinction deserves emphasis. A proposed or listed denomination is not the same thing as a documented circulating note. The surviving record securely establishes other values, including the 1-, 2-, 7- and 10-shilling notes, but does not presently justify saying that an issued 5-shilling note is known. The total size of the scheme poses a similar problem. During the later London proceedings, New Hampshire agent John Thomlinson described the amount involved as approximately £6,000 sterling.1 That is useful contemporary evidence for the scale of the association, but it is not a surviving printer's account showing exactly how many pieces were produced, signed or released. An approximate financial figure should not be converted into a precise printing total. The obligation printed on the notes provides firmer ground. Davis's 10-shilling transcription promises redemption in silver or gold at the then-current price, or in "passable Bills of Credit" of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut, with interest at one percent per annum.1 The Massachusetts prohibition described the scheme more broadly, mentioning silver, gold, hemp, or colonial bills and referring to their future Portsmouth value in 1747.1,7 That description does not match the surviving 10-shilling wording in every detail: Davis's note specifies December 25, 1746, and does not mention hemp. A later Ford catalog Figure 3. Reverse of the seven-shilling note in Figure 1. The engraved sailing ship occupies the center of the reverse, with Hunking Wentworth's endorsement below. Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com, Eric P. Newman Collection Part VIII, lot 28052.6 Figure 4. Enlarged detail of the seven-shilling note showing the handwritten execution line, the pine-tree device and BENEFICIO COMMERCI motto, and the three signatures. The execution line on this specimen reads "25th of Dec." Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com, lot 28052.6 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 356 described a supporting fund tied to hemp, iron, and other products, but I have not located surviving association records that establish such a fund.9 The safest interpretation is therefore narrower. The surviving notes unquestionably contain joint and several promises by their makers, specify several possible media of payment, and promise one percent annual interest. Any stronger claim about a formal commodity reserve should be identified as later catalog interpretation unless additional primary documentation is found. The one-percent annual interest provision was part of the contractual promise printed on the notes. Contemporary records also show that the paper was being offered for circulation well before its twelve-year maturity. The face tells the holder what was promised at maturity; whether the note would pass in 1735 depended on voluntary acceptance, a point the Board of Trade later emphasized.1 Davis knew the documentary problem well. When he revisited the notes in 1913, he explained that the history of the organization had been unusually resistant to reconstruction. Searches had failed to uncover the association's internal papers. Then came an interesting discovery. Barrett Wendell acquired an old Portsmouth house in which approximately fifty or sixty of the notes were reportedly found together. Yet no associated records explaining the organization accompanied them.1 For collectors today, that discovery is useful but limited. It tells us that a substantial group survived together into the twentieth century. It does not tell us how many notes originally circulated, how many were redeemed or destroyed, or how many distinct examples survive today. The notes did not have to wait twelve years to encounter trouble. On March 25, 1735, 198 Boston merchants reportedly agreed not to receive the New Hampshire paper.3 Within weeks, Massachusetts enacted "An Act to prevent the Currency of certain Bills or Notes of Hand" issued by the New Hampshire association. The act was passed and published April 18, and the General Court also voted that the governor issue a proclamation warning inhabitants against taking the notes.1,7 The statute objected to notes it characterized as payable years in the future in colonial bills, specie, or hemp at a future Portsmouth price, warning that holders could suffer by accepting them. More broadly, the notes were intended for circulation: the law itself referred to their being uttered and received, and Francis Wilks later complained that their promoters had attempted to introduce them into currency in Massachusetts.1,7 Belcher made that point explicitly. Addressing the New Hampshire legislature on May 3, 1735, he condemned what he called an attempt by private gentlemen to issue paper notes or bills "to pass in lieu of money."1 New Hampshire's House answered with a different definition. Its members said they could not see why the activity was inherently improper unless fraud could be shown, and argued that royal restrictions on provincial bills should not automatically prohibit "negotiable Notes amongst merchants and Traders."1 The exchange exposed the central legal question: did restrictions aimed at government bills of credit also reach privately issued negotiable paper? Belcher continued attacking the Portsmouth project and later reported complaints from people allegedly injured by the notes. He also claimed that some of those principally involved had refused to give credit for their own paper.1 The accusation belongs in the history, but it should remain exactly that, an allegation made by an active opponent. It does not establish that every signer refused his obligations or that the scheme itself was fraudulent. The quarrel eventually moved from New England to London. In March 1736, the Board of Trade considered Massachusetts's prohibition after hearing from colonial representatives and merchants. Its report began not with an abstract theory of banking, but with New Hampshire's practical problem: the province had very little money and only a limited supply of legislatively authorized paper.1 The Board's recommendation went to the heart of the issue. The Portsmouth notes had "no Currency in Law," and no one was obliged to accept them. They were left to "stand or fall according to the Credit of the Signers" and could be "taken or refused at pleasure." The Board concluded that Massachusetts's prohibition placed an unwarranted public mark of discredit on the participants and recommended that the act be laid before the king for disallowance.1 That recommendation should not be confused with proof of a final royal repeal. Davis noted that by September 1736 the Board had told Belcher the act had been laid before the king for disallowance, but he added that no further official action had been discovered in the records he examined. A 1741 polemical letter later claimed that the law had been abrogated, but that statement does not rest on the same evidentiary footing as an official order.1 This makes the Portsmouth notes unusually revealing pieces of paper. They circulated near the boundary between two categories that collectors often separate neatly: currency and promissory note. Legally, they belonged firmly to the latter. Economically, their makers hoped they would behave like the former. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 357 The design gave the notes features associated with circulating paper: standardized denominations, engraved plates, serial numbers, repeated layouts, multiple signatures, and a printed reverse. Heritage describes Hunking Wentworth as countersigning the back below the ship vignette.6 Taken together, the standardized denominations, engraved plates, serial numbers, signatures, and printed reverses made these repeatable instruments rather than one-off handwritten obligations. That is visible especially well on the better-preserved survivors. The Newman 2-shilling note sold by Heritage in 2015 retains the ornamental framework, pine-tree device and reverse sailing ship with unusual clarity. Heritage described it as printed from well- engraved copper plates on laid paper and noted both the three face signatures and Wentworth's endorsement on the reverse.5 A 7-shilling Newman example sold in 2017 shows the same basic architecture in a different denomination.6 Auction appearances, of course, are not a census. The reappearance of particular notes in named collections or sales can document individual specimens and their provenance, but it cannot by itself establish the surviving population. This is especially important with an issue for which a group of fifty or sixty notes was reportedly discovered together more than a century ago. The December dating is not uniform across the documentary examples. The seven-shilling Heritage specimen illustrated here ends with "25th of Dec." Davis's 1913 transcription of a separate 10-shilling example, by contrast, records December 26 and identifies Samuel Smith, Andrew Wiggin and John Downing Jr. as the signers.1 That difference is more useful than a generalized claim that the notes were all signed on Christmas Day. It establishes at least two documented execution dates, December 25 and December 26, but does not tell us why. Whether the difference reflects separate signing sessions, the pace at which particular notes were completed, or simply the circumstances of individual pieces remains unanswered. For a collector, the handwritten date therefore deserves the same attention as the serial number and signer combination. The Christmas connection is genuine, but it is best understood through the surviving paper rather than through a reconstructed holiday scene.1,6 The motto beneath the pine tree claimed the experiment was BENEFICIO COMMERCI, for the benefit of trade. Within three months, 198 Boston merchants had reportedly agreed to reject the paper; Massachusetts then prohibited its circulation; Belcher denounced it; and the New Hampshire House defended such instruments as negotiable notes among merchants and traders. The Board of Trade later recommended disallowance of the Massachusetts law, reasoning that the notes had no legal currency and could be taken or refused at pleasure.1,3 A provincial government could issue bills under statutory authority and make them receivable on terms set by law, subject in New Hampshire's case to royal restrictions. The Portsmouth association had no comparable public authority. Its members instead relied on recognizable denominations, engraved plates, serial numbers, interest, multiple signatures, a named payee, and private promises.1,8 Nearly three centuries later, the mechanism remains visible in documented issued examples. The illustrated seven-shilling note is a private promise carrying three signatures on the face and Hunking Wentworth's endorsement on the reverse; the New Hampshire government is not the obligor. The December 25 date, unusual shape, pine tree, and sailing ship make the series memorable. More important is the mechanism documented in contemporary records: private credit offered for circulation as payment. In 1736 the Board of Trade wrote that the notes would "stand or fall according to the Credit of the Signers." Beneath the pine tree, their makers put it more compactly: BENEFICIO COMMERCI, for the benefit of trade.1 Figure 5. Detail of the handwritten execution line on the Heritage seven-shilling specimen: "as Witness our hands 25th of Dec. A.D. 1734." Davis transcribed a different 10-shilling example as dated December 26, evidence that individual execution did not necessarily occur on a single day. Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com, lot 28052.1,6 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 358 References 1. Davis, Andrew McFarland. “New Hampshire Merchants’ Notes, 1734–1735.” In Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. 14, Transactions, 1911–1913. Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1913. https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/294 2. Newman, Eric P. The Early Paper Money of America. 5th ed. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2008. Digitized by Newman Numismatic Portal. https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/523311 3. Newman Numismatic Portal. “Early Paper Money of America: New Hampshire, 1734 December 25 Merchants’ Notes.” Washington University in St. Louis. Accessed October 9, 2026. https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollection/514968 4. Spink. “New Hampshire. Province of New Hampshire. December 25, 1734. 10 Shillings.” Numismatic Collector’s Series Sale 314, lot 126. Accessed October 9, 2026. https://spink.com/lot/314126. See also lot 127: https://spink.com/lot/314127 5. Heritage Auctions. “Province of New Hampshire December 25, 1734 Portsmouth Merchants’ Note 2 Shillings, Fr. NH-38.2.” Eric P. Newman Collection Part VII, lot 18110, October 21, 2015. https://currency.ha.com/itm/colonial-notes/new-hampshire/province-of-new- hampshire-december-25-1734-portsmouth-merchants-s-note-2-shillings-fr-nh-382-pcgs-choice-about-new-58ppq/a/3539-18110.s 6. Heritage Auctions. “Province of New Hampshire December 25, 1734 Portsmouth Merchants’ Note 7 Shillings, Fr. NH-38.4, PCGS About New 53.” Eric P. Newman Collection Part VIII, lot 28052, November 1, 2017. https://currency.ha.com/itm/colonial-notes/new- hampshire/province-of-new-hampshire-december-25-1734-portsmouth-merchants-s-note-7-shillings-fr-nh-384-pcgs-about-new- 53/a/3547-28052.s 7. Massachusetts. “An Act to Prevent the Currency of Certain Bills or Notes of Hand Emitted by a Society or Number of Persons in the Province of New Hampshire.” 1734–35, chap. 21. Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court. Boston: Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Archives Digital Repository. https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/archivalmaterial/a8a5a137-49b3- 4312-a09b-61a589f08970 8. Davis, Andrew McFarland. “Curious Features of Some of the Early Notes or Bills Used as a Circulating Medium in Massachusetts.” Paper read March 23, 1905. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/509 9. Stack’s Bowers Galleries. The John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part VIII. New York, January 18–19, 2005. New Hampshire Merchants’ Notes section, including the catalog’s discussion of a fund tied to hemp, iron, and other products. https://media.stacksbowers.com/VirtualCatalogs/CatalogLibrary/johnjfordjrcolle0008stac.pdf 10. Des Barres, Joseph F. W. “View of Portsmouth, New Hampshire from across the Piscataqua River.” 1780. Aquatint and etching. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004671484/. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 359 Provenances of the First of the Federal Notes Intended for General Circulation Purpose The objective of this article is to reconstruct as best as possible the provenances of the three number 1 notes saved by Civil War Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase from the first three classes of currency issued by the U. S. Treasury that were intended for general circulation. These were: ● $10 Demand Note, Act of July 17, 1861, serial number 1, plate position A. ● $1 Legal Tender Note, Act of July 11, 1862, series 1, serial number 1, plate position A. ● $5 National Bank Note, Act of February 25, 1863, Original Series, The First National Bank of Washington, DC, Treasury sheet serial 9, bank sheet serial 1, plate position D. Introduction Secretary Chase was appointed by President Lincoln, assumed office on March 7, 1861, and served in that capacity until June 30, 1864. The Civil War began April 12, 1861 with the Confederate bombardment The Paper Column Peter Huntoon Figure 1. Number 1 $10 1861 demand note, the first Federal note issued by the U.S. Treasury that was designed to circulate as money, a note saved by Civil War Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase under whose administration it was issued. Heritage Auctions archive photo. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 361 of Ft. Sumter, South Carolina. Chase shepherded the all but bankrupt U.S. Treasury through the war. His success in doing so was a major contributor to the Union success but relied on deficit spending, heavy borrowing, and the creation of significant national debt. Part of that debt was the creation of the first currencies issued by the U.S. Treasury designed for general circulation. The currency was fiat money in the form of circulating debt instruments (demand notes and legal tender notes) and national bank notes redeemable in fiat legal tender notes. Chase saved the first note of each. As such, they rank historically as the most important U.S. notes ever printed. Although we know that Chase saved these three notes, the record of their ownership beyond him is fragmentary and some of it for the $10 demand note and $5 national bank note fabricated by John J. Ford, of New Netherlands Coin Co. The pitfalls in the lineages will be documented and speculations avoided or clearly flagged. There are gaps we have to live with. Salmon Portland Chase: Father of U.S. Federal Currency The first circulating Federal currency consisted of demand notes authorized by the Act of July 17, 1861. Demand notes were circulating promissory notes but they became as good as gold because Secretary Chase proclaimed in a Treasury circular that they would be redeemable in gold, which meant that the Treasury would accept them in payment for customs taxes that by law had to be paid in gold. Of course, the Treasury then did everything it could to remove them from circulation by replacing them with legal tender notes when the legals came along. The next class to come down the pike was legal tender currency authorized by the Act of July 11, 1862. Those notes were nothing more than circulating Federal debt instruments promising to pay the bearer a dollar of unspecified value at some unspecified future date. Their charm was that Congress declared them to be legal tender so everyone had to live with them, but during the Civil War they were discounted sharply against gold and their abundance led to high inflation. The third type to arrive on the scene was national bank currency authorized by the Act of February 25, 1863. Nationals also were fiat currency redeemable in legal tender notes, but the authorizing legislation had provisions that guaranteed that note holders would be able to redeem them even if the issuing bank failed. Consequently, they circulated although they were heavily discounted against gold identically to the legal tender currency into which they were convertible. These issues represented means and schemes floated by Chase and his patriotic allies in Congress to help provide the Treasury with sufficient liquidity that it could pay the costs of executing the Civil War, which averaged $2 million per day. Chase was a staunch abolitionist and man of stellar integrity who possessed enormous ambition, drive, intellect and ego. He used his talents to guide the Treasury through the shoals of the Civil War and it appeared at times that the force of his personality alone saved the Union government from financial collapse. He had the ability to forge advantageous working alliances with movers and shakers in politics and finance. One key ally and friend was financier Jay Cooke in Philadelphia. Jay Cooke and Co. successfully mass marketed small denomination Federal Civil War bonds to the public appealing that it was citizen’s Figure 2. Salmon P. Chase was President Lincoln’s Civil War Secretary of the Treasury. Library of Congress photo. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 362 patriotic duty to buy them. Cooke went on to found The First National Bank of Philadelphia, charter 1. The fact that his bank received charter 1 was not a coincidence. The Treasury never forgot Chase’s leadership during those dark days and rewarded his memory by first placing his portrait on $10,000 Federal Reserve notes in 1918 and next on small size $10,000 gold certificates. Of course, he beat them to it by having his portrait placed on the $1 1862 legals so everyone could get a glimpse of him as he aspired to become President. In fact, Chase was a candidate for the Presidency in 1860 when Lincoln ran the first time but Lincoln edged him out. Lincoln then kept political peace by appointing him to his cabinet–the team of rivals–as Secretary of the Treasury. As Lincoln was coming up for reelection in 1864, he cagily shunted Chase aside politically by appointing him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. That prestigious plumb life-time position was so good, Chase couldn’t turn him down. Ironically, Chase then went on to lead the court majority in declaring the legal tender act of 1862 unconstitutional in December 1869, a finding that was overturned in May 1871 by a more compliant court thanks to the timely appointment of two new justices by President Grant. At that juncture, Chase wrote the dissenting opinion affirming the court’s earlier stance. Thus, the legal tender notes survived, were reissued when worn out, and comprise the red seal small size notes in your collections, and the unpaid outstanding Civil War debt that they represent. The Treasury and nation thank you for the patriotism you exhibit by squirreling them away. Things did turn out ok, for with resumption of specie payments by the Treasury mandated by Congress to take effect January 1, 1879, the legal tender notes and the nationals linked to them became as good as gold even though at that moment the Treasury had only $1 in gold for every $4 in outstanding notes. But by then the war was won, the economy was humming, and it was in no one’s interests for a run to develop on the Treasury. The Gengerke Census A logical historic reference point for starting this analysis is with the entries in Martin Gengerke’s comprehensive digital census of large-size U.S. type notes. Gengerke (1947- 2020) took care to collect as much provenance information as possible. He continuously updated the census through about 2014 and sold it on demand until his health began to deteriorate. His latest entries for the Chase notes are these (Gengerke, 2014). • Fr.7a - #1 $10 demand note: S.P. Chase; Jay Cooke; Sotheby 1970 Sale; Mike Brownlee; Advertised by New Netherlands Coin Co. in The Numismatist, January 1971, as the first piece of U.S. Currency issued, "POR" ($4,000); Phil Lampkin; Heritage 8/6/14:15013 @ $381,875. • Fr.17 - #1 $1 legal tender: Hessler & Reinfeld Illus., Salmon P. Chase; George Blake; Chase Manhattan Bank Museum 11/93. • Fr.394 - #1 FNB of DC $5: Salmon P. Chase; Sotheby 1970; John J. Ford; Phil Lampkin; Marc Watts; Mark Hotz. $10 Demand Note The first post-Chase owner of the $10 demand reported by Gengerke was Philadelphia banker Jay Cooke as per a New Netherlands Co. Company ad offering the note in the January 1971 Numismatist. The ad claimed the following. This particular piece of paper money, the first actual non-interest bearing note issued under the Act of July 17, 1861, and the Supplementary Act of August 5, 1861, was personally presented to famous Philadelphia banker, Jay Cooke, by his close friend, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, as ‘the first U. S, Figure 3. Martin Gengerke was the leading compiler of reported large-size U.S. currency who tracked the provenance of the notes. Obituary photo. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 363 greenback.’ It remained in the Cooke family for several generations, only recently finding its way upon the market. Curiously, both the $10 demand and $5 national bank note listings in Gengerke’s census contain a reference to a 1970 Sotheby sale. The cited Sotheby sale obviously was important to this story so I attempted to locate it without success. Then I acted on a hunch to take advantage of a fabulous resource—the readers of E-Sylum, the electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society edited by Wayne Homren. Its subscribers comprise a tenacious group of hardcore highly literate numismatists, many of whom revel in solving mysteries both numismatic and otherwise. Otherwise, as used here, encompasses anything historical, genealogical, linguistic or scientific. I put out a call to them through the E-Sylum in 2007 and that paid off in spades. Tim Welo of New York graciously offered to look in the Sotheby’s catalogs in the American Numismatic Society library in New York City the next time he was in town. This he did but was unable to find the lots. Bryce Brown, a numismatic book dealer, also contacted me. He had in stock 1970 Sotheby catalogs as well as 1970 Parke-Bernet catalogs, a firm that became part of Sotheby’s soon after. He generously looked through all of them without finding the lots either. Neither Welo nor Brown know me, but they certainly went out of their way to help and spent plenty of their time doing so. By the spring of 2008, it was apparent that there was a problem with the 1970 Sotheby sale attribution. In the meantime, immediately following publication of my first stab at this tale in the June 2017 Bank Note Reporter, Texas currency collector and dealer John Rowe collared me at the 2017 International Paper Money Show in Kansas City and dropped a bombshell in my lap. He was actually there when the $10 demand note came in from the cold. It is a story that demonstrates that reality is stranger than fiction. Of all things, the note was offered through a fund-raising auction held by Dallas TV Public Broadcasting Station KEVA in the late 1960s. Someone had donated it and Rowe and Texas dealer Mike Brownlee purchased it. Rowe recalled that they attempted to place it through a discrete intermediary with a Washington, DC, area collector—probably Phil Lampkin—but he didn’t bite. It then passed into the hands of Ford, whereupon it appeared in the New Netherlands ad. Ultimately, Lampkin purchased it. Lampkin was a savvy Washington, DC, area collector/dealer who liked high-end paper. Veteran DC area numismatist Julian Leidman, who knew Lampkin, doesn’t believe the $10 was in Lampkin’s possession when he died and his remaining notes passed to his daughter. As for the Cooke and Sotheby attributions, the fly in the ointment is the involvement of Ford, who owned the $10 demand note and by then was a partner in New Netherlands Coin Co. Coin dealer Moritz Wormser (1878-1940) founded New Netherlands in New York City in 1936. His son Charles (1911-1990), an associate of the company from the outset, ran the firm after his father’s death. In 1950 Charles invited Ford to assist him and shortly became a full partner in running the business. The company closed in 1988. As Gengerke was compiling his census, it appears that Ford planted the 1970 Sotheby attribution for both the $10 demand and $5 national bank notes with him. By then, the $5 national had reached numismatic hands. Consequently, trusting the renowned authority, Gengerke, without vetting them, incorporated both the Cooke and Sotheby attributions into his $10 demand note listing and also included the Sotheby attribution into the $5 national bank note listing. The John J. Cooke attribution in the 1971 Numismatist ad was a fabrication designed to enhance the romance of the note. It certainly sounded plausible on its face. If Ford was involved in linking the $10 and $5 in the Gengerke census via the Sotheby sale, which remains speculative, such a linkage defies plausibility. The implication was the demand note and Chase’s $5 national had just come from the Sotheby sale. How did both of them happen to miraculously get reunited for that sale if they had been in the estates of different families for the previous 100 years! Chase’s $5 is supposed to have come down through his family. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 364 Figure 4. New Netherlands Coin Co. ad from the inside front cover of the January 1971 Numismatist advertising the first demand note. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 365 The path that the demand note took after leaving Lampkin is shrouded in confidential transactions. It is likely that Lampkin sold it before he died. The note resurfaced in an August 2014 Heritage sale only to slip under the waves again in the hands of a buyer who wishes to remain anonymous. I don’t know his identity. $1 Legal Tender Note The $1 legal tender note was the first of the three that we know reached the numismatic market. Currency dealer Joe Sande also caught me at the 2017 International Paper Money Show at Kansas City where he advised that the Chase Manhattan Bank owns the note and it resides in a small collection of historic treasures that are on display out of public reach on the 24th floor in the corporate headquarters in New York. The story of how it got there is intriguing and a bit convoluted. Let’s back up to the fact that The Chase National Bank opened a Money Museum at the bank in 1929, which was later installed at Rockefeller Center until the exhibit closed in 1973. It proved to be the most popular money museum in the United States. The core of the museum holding was the comprehensive coin collection of Farran Zerbe who sold it to the bank in 1928 and then was installed as curator of the museum when it opened. He held that position until 1939. Succeeding curators were Vernon Brown and Gene Hessler. The Chase National Bank was merged with the Manhattan Company in 1955 to create the Chase Manhattan Bank. The new entity continued to operate the money museum. The first $1 legal tender was among the museum holdings. Luminary numismatic researcher and author Gene Hessler, served as curator from 1967 to 1977, so was involved in the decision for the bank to retain the note in 1977, whereas the rest of its holdings were donated to the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Of course, retaining the note by the bank made sense. Owning the first U.S. $1 note sporting Chase’s portrait fed right into the identity of Chase’s powerful namesake bank. The $1 note had been saved and carried by Chase to show off to friends and acquaintances. Its first numismatic appearance was at the hand of George Blake, the renowned turn-of-the-last century currency collector who exhibited the note at the 1914 American Numismatic Association convention in Springfield, Massachusetts. Gene Hessler was prescient enough to save a photocopy from the Chase Museum’s files that fleshes out the early provenance of the note, a memo written and signed by George Blake in 1916 that explains the path the note travelled to get from Chase to him. Here is what it says. Figure 5. The first legal tender note was carried by Secretary Chase and is now in the possession of his namesake Chase Manhattan Bank, New York. Photo from Reinfeld (1960, p. 62). SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 366 New York, May 9, 1916 Statement of ownership of the very first one dollar note issued by the United States This note bears the portrait of the late Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, and formerly Governor of Ohio, and was issued to him in August or September 1862. Some time later Mr. Chase presented it to Horatio Beall, who came also, I believe, from Ohio. From Mr. Beall it passed to his daughter Alice, afterwards Mrs. Will, who is now a widow living in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Mrs. Will retained the note until it was purchased by me in the year 1914. George H. Blake A numismatic paper trail doesn’t get more definitive than this! Horatio Beall was a manufacturer and purveyor of equestrian supplies, leather goods and related items in Washington, DC, during the period when Chase was in government there. Figure 7 is Beall’s advertisement from the 1864 Washington City Directory. Beall died March 27, 1865 on the eve of his 44th birthday. His daughter Alice died in 1933 at age 83. One discrepancy in Blake’s writeup is that Beall was from Ohio. In fact, he was a native of Georgetown/Washington, DC. We don’t know the relationship between Chase and Beall; that is, whether it was simply professional or also had a social dimension. You wonder how the topic of Chase’s $1 bill came up between them and the transfer was made. But, at least we know that it happened so that the early part of the story is nicely covered. Smith’s (1992) biography of Blake stated that he exhibited paper money including a dollar bill Series 1, plate 1, serial 1, letter A at the 1914 American Numismatic Association convention held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Blake happened to have been born there in 1858, although at the time of the convention he was long a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey. You might be interested to know that the convention was held August 22-26 in the White and Gold Hall of the Municipal Auditorium, whereas the business session was held in the magnificent Mahogany Room of the same building. The official headquarters hotel was the Hotel Kimball, which “is the largest, most modern, and only absolutely fire-proof hotel in Springfield.” A suite of rooms was reserved for attendees as follows: rooms with running water and free use of bath $1.50 for one person per night or $2.50 for two. Not good enough, then reach for a suite with parlor, chamber and bath at $5.50 for one person per night or $9 for two. (Numismatist, Jul, 1914). And by the way, “The roads throughout the New England States are of unexcelled quality, and those planning to go to the convention by motor should not hesitate to do so, as a tour through the beautiful Figure 6. George Blake’s 1916 memo detailing the early provenance of the first $1 legal tender note carried by Secretary Chase. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 367 scenery of New England is one not to be missed.” George Blake engaged in sole leather and belting manufacturing for 47 years. He served as the secretary and treasurer of the National Association of Leather Belting Manufactures for 44 years. His proximity to New York City and his gentlemanly demeanor allowed him to cultivate bankers there and elsewhere in the country in his quest for large- and small-size U.S. type notes. At the time, he was the foremost ferret who acquired and sold a significant percentage of the low and fancy serial numbered large- and small-size notes that were saved from his era. Notes attributed to him populate the large-size type note listings in the Gengerke census. His greatest claim to numismatic fame was that he encouraged Col. Edward Green, Hetty Green’s son, to collect serial number 1 Series of 1929 sheets. He then contacted bankers across the country in order to assemble that enormous trove on a commission basis for Green. This effort turned out to be a retirement project for him and served as the ultimate source for most of the number 1 1929 nationals that are in numismatic hands. Blake’s scholarly legacy included publishing United States Paper Money including Fractional Currency, also the Coinage of all United States Mints since their Organization in 1908, which was the first organized listing of U.S. paper money and coins. His research comprised the core of Frank Limpert’s catalog United States Paper Money, Old Series1861-1923, first published in 1949, where he is acknowledged as a collaborator. He also served the ANA as its treasurer from 1922 to 1949, after having been on its board of directors. He was posthumously inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame in 1970. Blake cultivated a long association with the management of The Chase National Bank. He was featured in advertisements for the bank as its oldest living depositor on his last birthday. He died December 26, 1955, the same year that The Chase National Bank merged with The Manhattan Company to form the Figure 7. Horatio Beall’s advertisement in the 1864 Washington City Directory, Beall obtained Chase’s $1 legal tender note and his daughter Alice Will sold it to George Blake in 1914. Blake exhibited it at the American Numismatic Association Convention in Springfield, Massachusetts that August. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 368 Chase Manhattan Bank. Incidentally, the Burr/Hamilton dueling pistols displayed with the first $1 LT came down through the Manhattan Company, of which Arron Burr was the founder. I don’t know the details of how The Chase National Bank acquired the ace from Blake. However, there is a fair chance it arrived in the Farran Zerbe collection when the bank bought it in 1928. If Zerbe hadn’t already acquired the ace from Blake by the time of the sale, he certainly acquired it for the museum during his tenure. It was the type of sensational item he loved to flash around. Joseph Farran Zerbe (1871-1949) was a tireless promoter of numismatic collecting, exhibitor and self-promoter who won appointment as chief numismatist responsible for selling government coins and metals, especially gold, at the World’s Fais in St. Louis (1904), Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland (1905) and Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco (1915). He was president of the American Numismatic Association in 1908-9 and authored more than a hundred articles $5 National Bank Note The oddessey of the $5 national appears to be quite straight forward in comparison to the $10 demand and $1 legal tender notes. However, now purged from that account is the Sotheby-Ford connection listed by Genegerke. I recall John Hickman telling me that Lampkin claimed that the note had come down through Chase’s daughter’s family. At this juncture, I would classify this early history as likely but unverified. Regardless, Lampkin did come into possession of the note at about the same time or a little after the $10 demand note appeared. The next person on Gengerke’s roster for the $5 is Marc Watts, owner of the Gaithersburg Coin Exchange in Maryland. He purchased the note from Lampkin’s daughter sometime after Lampkin died. Figure 8. Pioneer U.S. currency collector and author George Blake brought Chase’s number 1 legal tender note into the numismatic fold. It made its way from him to The Chase National Bank of the City of New York, where it was displayed in their money museum that opened in 1929. Obituary photo in The Numismatist (1956). Figure 9. Farrad Zerbe, a major promoter of numismatic collecting, curated the Chase Money Museum from its opening in 1929 until 1939. It is unknown if he acquired Chase’s ace from Blake and it was included when he sold his collection to the Chase National Bank or if he acquired it for the museum during his tenure there as curator. Numismatic News photo. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 369 The note then passed from Watts to Bank Note Reporter columnist Mark Hotz via a byzantine trade. The note resides with Hotz to this day. In my opinion, the $5 heads the parade in terms of historical appeal because in his own hand Chase penned on its back “First national bank note issued. S.P.C.” What more could you ask to tie a note to such history? $20 1863 Gold Certificate The fourth class of currency authorized under Secretary Chase’s watch during the Civil War was the 1863 Gold Certificates authorized by the Act of March 3, 1863. You may well ask where is Chase’s number 1 example of the first of those beauties? The answer is that the first notes from that issuance weren’t released until late 1865 after Chase had left the Treasury. Status There are gaps and ambiguities in this summary. The largest being the clandestine travels of the $10 demand note during the 100 years between the time Secretary Chase obtained it and it was donated to the KEVA Dallas PBS TV fund-raiser in the late 1960s. I wrote three articles for the Bank Note Reporter (Huntoon, Jun 2017, Feb 2018, Jun 2018), each with an appeal for information as well as an appeal through the E-Sylem during that period. The responses successively rendered the information in each of those articles obsolete. Furthermore, I was slapped by the humbling fact that any time I speculated, I was proved wrong. When you do this type of work, you have to stick with the facts, live with voids, and hope the future will Figure 10. Bottom note from the very first sheet of national bank notes rushed into circulation given to Secretary Chase by bank president Henry D. Cooke, brother of banker John Jay Cooke of Philadelphia. Chase wrote on its back “First national bank note issued. S.P.C.” Mark Hotz photo. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 370 deliver more closure. What I enjoyed was becoming acquainted with some larger-than-life past numismatists who anchor the foundation of our community and who passed down the notes that we collect. Equally gratifying were the many in the current crop who enthusiastically contributed their possessed that further the knowledge of this tale. This story isn’t a wrap yet! Sources of Information and Sources Cited Beall, Horatio, https://www.ourfamtree.org/view.php?pid=270036&aid=31078 Erlanger, Herbert J., Mar 1951, Medals of the New York Numismatic Club: The Numismatist, p. 271-272. Gengerke, Martin, Nov 13, 2014, Census of U.S. large size currency: CD produced on order, gengerke.@aol.com (no longer available). Homren, Wayne, ed., Apr 28, 2024, Numismatic Exhibitions at U.S. Banks, Bank Money Museums: The E-Sylum (electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society), v. 27, no. 17. Huntoon, Peter, Jun 2017, The very first U. S. Paper money: Bank Note Reporter, vol. 66, p. 12-14. Huntoon, Peter, Feb 2018, Provenance of very first federal notes: Bank Note Reporter, v. 67, p, 14, 16, 18 ,20. Huntoon, Peter, Jun 2018, Provenance of the first $1 LT note: Bank Note Reporter, v. 67, p. 10, 12, 14. New Netherlands Coin Co., Jan 1971, The first greenback!: The Numismatist, inside front cover. New Netherlands Coin Company: http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/nnan0082 Numismatist, Jul 1914, The Springfield Convention, Aug. 22-26, 1914: p. 339-340. Numismatist, February 1956, Obituaries, George H. Blake, LM 150: p. 166. Reinfeld, Fred, 1960, A simplified guide to collecting American paper money: Hanover House, Garden City, NY, 12 htt8 p. Smith, Pete, 1992, American Numismatic Biographies, Blake, George H.: Gold Leaf Press, Rocky River, OH, p. 31. Zerbe, Farran: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farran_Zerbe SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 371 Today’s Treasured Collectibles – Back Then, It Was “Just Money” Imagine yourself being at the store to purchase some- thing. You reach into your wallet or purse for money to pay for it. Other than looking at the large numbers that tell you the value of the bills you take out, and the portraits that differentiate one denomination from another, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about the bills that gets you to pay any special attention to them. That was not the case many years ago. A certain type of paper money called National Currency was produced by the federal government and – with a little imagination – history, geography, economics, even wanderlust could be brought to your mind’s eye. Printed on the faces of these notes were names of banks and towns that might have been just a few miles away from where you were standing or they may have been from places hundreds or even thousands of miles distant. The year might have been early 1935. The country has been in the throes of a deep economic depression, but things were beginning to look better. You live in Waynes- boro, Pennsylvania, a small town in the south-central part of the state just a few miles north of the Maryland border. For quite a while, your wife has wanted one of those new electric ice boxes – you know, the noisy, clunky kind of refrigerator with the large circular compressor on top – that would keep food longer to feed your growing family. Up until recently you did not have the money to even consider the purchase but steadily improving business at your hardware store has finally made it possible to buy one. Earlier that morning you went to the local savings and loan to withdraw cash from your savings account to pay for the ice box. This was a time when many people did not have access to a checking account, and credit cards were a concept not even remotely close to reality. ATMs? What’s that? You filled out the withdrawal slip and handed it to the teller who, after making the proper notations in your passbook, counted out $100 in five- and ten-dollar bills. Before placing them in your wallet, you happen to notice that some of the bills have brown seals and serial numbers in addition to those with green or blue or red colors. You also think to yourself that this is more money than you’ve had in your wallet in a very long time! You stroll down Main Street to the local Sears, Roe- buck and Company catalog outlet store. Sears is the giant Chicago mail order firm with locations in large and small towns all across the country. Your wife had earlier browsed the pages of their huge merchandise book and, with your help, chose a model of the appliance that would cost $79.50 plus freight. This represented many, many months of diligent saving but it was a wise purchase, you decided, and one which would provide a definite return on your investment – not to mention the convenience of no longer having to place the heavy blocks of ice into the compartment of your current ice box every few days. While waiting at the counter for the clerk to finish with another customer you take the bills out of your wallet and look at them to pass the time. The first one you en- counter is from your home town of Waynesboro. You are very familiar with the name of the bank, the First National Bank and Trust Company, as you have had an account there for several years. You even know Mr. Benedict who is the president. Two of his grandkids go to school with your children at Waynesboro Elementary, and one of the boys even plays on the baseball team with your son. Then there is a bill from Gettysburg, a town about twenty miles away. You think about the important Civil War battle that took place there and President Lincoln’s legendary address that you had to memorize in school. You also think how appropriate it is that Route 30, the famous Lincoln Highway, runs right through that town. You look at a $5 bill from Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania, and another from Easton, Pennsylvania, a town near the eastern border of the state in the heart of The following story, while containing accurate historical information, is a fictional account. Its purpose is to convey a bit of the “flavor” of the period when Series of 1929 National Bank Notes circulated throughout the country. This will allow the reader to paint a brief mental portrait of the times. by James A. Simek SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 372 the Lehigh River Valley. It’s followed by a note from West Chester – that’s over near Philadelphia. You’ve been there numerous times to visit your grandmother. The next is from Jamestown, North Dakota, a town you’ve never even heard of. Then a five-dollar bill from Greeley, Colorado followed by tens from Peoria, Illinois and Muscatine, Iowa – don’t know where that is, either. Could these bills have been deposited in your bank by that traveling salesman from Seattle who stopped in your hardware store a few days ago? Maybe, you reason. You begin to daydream a little, conjuring up pictures in your mind brought about by the very names of the towns and states appearing on the currency you are holding. Vi- sions come to you of mountains, forests, rivers and fields of corn that stretch for miles in all directions. Then you look again at the bills in your hands. A note from The Chase National Bank of the City of New York. You’ve heard of this bank. It is one of the largest in the country so it is no surprise that there is a note from it in your grouping. But it is the last bill that really catches your eye. It is from the Bishop National Bank of Hawaii at Honolulu! Hawaii – just a tiny dot on the globe in the middle of the Pacific Ocean over 5,000 miles away. Hawaii – it’s not even a state, only a territory. How did this bill make it all the way to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania? Was it first brought to the mainland United States by a Pacific Fleet sailor on his journey back home after making port there in Pearl Harbor? Or did some wealthy tourist receive it in change at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, that famous pink building right on Waikiki Beach, and bring it home with him? Who knows for sure, but one thing is certain – this little piece of paper has traveled thousands upon thousands of miles in just a couple short years. You close your eyes and remember the pictures you saw in the magazine at the barbershop a couple of weeks ago. Pictures of Hawaii – palm trees, beautiful sandy beaches, lush tropical forests, the fun of a luau – all those images brought back to your mind by the little piece of paper you are holding in your hand. “Gee, if I could actually get to visit that tropical paradise some day,” you think. You are awakened from your dream world when the clerk comes over and asks if he can be of assistance. Oh, yes, the refrigerator! You give him the particulars, he figures the total cost, and hands you a bill for $84.36. As you count out the money, you decide to hold on to the $5 bill from Greeley and the $10 bill from Honolulu. It’s a lot of money to put away for yourself, you think, but maybe it can go into the dresser drawer and be used only in case of an unforeseen emergency. Otherwise, you can look at the bills from time to time and allow yourself the luxury of a little daydreaming! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For many people, this is the lure of National Currency collecting. The ability to assemble a group of notes – from an area surrounding your home, the state where you live, or even from all over the country – holds a certain fascination. This is not generic government-issued money such as Federal Reserve Notes or Silver Certificates or United States Notes might be. Rather, each and every one of the bills has some sort of story to tell – and all the stories are different. There are many fascinating varieties and details that can be found on otherwise similar-looking Small Size National Bank Notes. Searching for these can prove to be challenging, interesting and rewarding. The attraction is that there are still new varieties to be found and new discoveries to be made. Photos courtesy of the author. © 2026 James A. Simek SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 373 WORRELL SISTERS AD NOTES By Rick Melamed In this article, we are going to expore three different Worrell Sisters 19th century advertisement notes. The Worrell Sisters were noted international stage and burlesque actresses with a penchant of self-promtion. PICKWICK PAPERS/WORRELL SISTERS FRACTIONAL MIMIC ADVERTISING NOTE From a recent Heritage Auction is a rare Fractional Mimic advertising note that has a lot going on. The Pickwick Paper/Worrell Sisters ad note is a mimic of the 3rd issue 50¢ Fractional. It is unusual to see a mimic note that copies its Fractional currency design from the front and back. While not dated, we have deduced that the ad note was printed between 1866 – 1868; the time period when the Pickwick Papers theatrical production played on stage in New York. The top two images are the front/back of the Pickwick Papers/Worrell Sisters ad note. The bottom two images depict a 3rd issue 50¢ Spinner Fractional with a type 1 back. As Mimics and Look-a-likes go, the Type 1 back is one of the more common designs “borrowed” by private concerns. The layout of the ad note is similar in layout and coloring, but no one would confuse it for an actual Fractional note. Let’s take a deeper dive into this ad note. The (Posthumous Papers) Pickwick Papers is Charles Dickens's first novel. It is a humorous story, initially serialized in 19 installments between March 1836 to November 1837. The story depicts the adventures of the elderly Samuel Pickwick and his three companions as they travel to England, reporting on life outside of London. The kind, wealthy Samuel Pickwick was the founder and President of the Pickwick Club. Bored with the club's usual sporting activities, he suggests that he and three of his friends should make a trip to areas outside of London and compose reports of their experiences. Their travels throughout the English countryside are the chief theme of the novel. Adding to the story, is a romantic misunderstanding with his landlady, the widow Mrs. Bardell. It results in a sensational legal case ending with them both being jailed in the Fleet Prison for debt. Pickwick learns that the only way he can relieve the suffering of Mrs. Bardell is by paying her costs in the action against himself, thus at the same time releasing himself from prison. The Dickens novel became a sensation and is the start of his flourishing career. One of Dickens greatest abilities is to create memorable characters. In this case the witty Cockney valet Sam Weller becomes a beloved figure. This comic satire pokes fun at English society, particularly the legal system. Eventually the novel is adapted into a stage play and to advertise its run on Broadway in New York City, the producer printed the above advertising note. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 374 1. The Pickwick Papers was adapted for the stage and starred the three Worrell Sisters. Hailing from Cincinnati; Irene, Jennie and Sophie, were daughters of William Worrell, a circus clown. The girls had toured the Far West and Australia before coming to New York in the 1860s, mounting their own succession of stage shows (though the Pickwick Papers was staged at a different theater). In addition to their self-produced burlesques, in which they sang, danced and acted, they also booked acrobats, magicians, and other entertainers. In 1866, the Worrell Sisters became so successful and popular they were able to buy a theater, located near Waverly Place. 2. The portrait of Ulysses S. Grant seems out of place with no connection to The Pickwick Papers or the Worrell Sisters. The show’s producers and the sisters wanted to use Grant’s image to promote their production. Grant who commanded the Union army to victory in the Civil War was an American hero (at least for the North). A close look at the notes image (left) depicts Grant in his army uniform; on his right shoulder we see two of the general stars on the epaulet. The image on the right is a photograph of General Grant in his army uniform with a full view of the three stars on his shoulder. His fame and success eventually propelled him into the Presidency in 1869, after the show left the theatre. 3. Pickwick Papers is prominently displayed on both sides of the note. The back surcharge in red ink is striking. Charles Dickens’ name is boldly printed on the top of the face. It is interesting to point out that the show’s stars, the Worrell Sisters, are not referenced on the face of the note. This suggests that Charles Dickens was the bigger draw. UNDER THE GAS LIGHT/WORRELL SISTERS ADVERTISING NOTE SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 375 On the prior page is a pair of Worrell Sisters ad notes; one with a “Weiting Hall” red surcharge and the other without the surcharge. While not attributable to any specific U.S. Treasury issued note, it is styled after the early 1860’s Legal Tender Notes. The note is an advertisement for Under the Gaslight, a melodramatic play written by Augustin Daly and first performed by the Worrell Sisters in 1867. The play is a depiction of 19th century New York City and its iconic scene where a villain ties the heroine onto railroad tracks, only for the heroine to save him. The play follows socialite Laura Courtland, who is jilted by her fiancé, Captain Ray Trafford, after he learns she was adopted as a pickpocket; she is then targeted by the villainous Byke, leading to a dramatic rescue and exploration of class and fate. The face of the notes depicts the iconic railroad scene. Wieting Hall is a Syracuse, NY opera house and theatre. Since the actual note shows a New York City Broadway address, the red overprint was needed to avoid confusion of the theater location when the play traveled to Syracuse. Thanks to Heritage for images of the ad notes and to Benny Bolin’s excellent reference, A Catalog of Fractional Currency Look-A-Likes, Mimics and Payables. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 376 Series of 1882 $5 National Bank Replacement Notes By Ken Fritsch Before I get into the story, I need to address the terminology for this article for clarity. I used the term “replacement note” based on the Society of Paper Money Collectors article written by Peter Huntoon from the Sep/Oct 2023 article on Plate Letters on Large Size NBNs. In that article, the definition of replacement plate was “entirely new plates that were manufactured to replace worn plates, or plates that were purged for having inartistic title blocks.” This article only addresses the latter case where the BEP changed the Title Block layout to something completely different, resulting in multiple Title Block layouts notes for banks. This article does not address any cases where a worn plate was replaced nor any case where error notes were replaced. The Series of 1882 $5 National Bank notes has to be one of the most unusual series of notes that the BEP ever produced. This was the first series of National Bank Notes that the BEP had full artistic control over. As of 1877, the BEP was granted the authority to design and print bank notes. Prior to this time, private companies designed and printed most of the bank notes while the BEP role was limited to printing the serial numbers and seals and cutting the sheets. When the second charter period started, the BEP began the role of printing the notes without private assistance. For the Series of 1882 $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations, the BEP simply reused the existing designs only adding an over printed “Series of 1882” label. But the $5 notes were the avenue for the BEP to take over the design aspects as well as the printing of the notes. In that same time frame, in 1881, James Garfield, 20th President of the United States, was assassinated after only holding office for 6 months. The series of 1882 $5 National Bank Notes served as a good opportunity to honor the fallen President with his likeness engraved on the bank notes. The commemoration of Garfield served as an impetus for a newly designed bank note and coincided with the BEP’s newfound authority. The series of 1882 $5 National Bank Notes seemed to turn into the opportunity the BEP might have been looking for to demonstrate their artistry and skills. The BEP ended up turning out 17 different Title Block Layouts for the $5 Brown Back notes. There is no other series with this level of variety and artistry. These layouts are described by an article $5 Series of 1882 Brown Back NBN Title Block Layouts by Doug Walcutt featured in the Jul/Aug 2021 Paper Money from the SPMC. I didn’t find anything about the motivations or the timelines of all these changes within the Series of 1882 $5s, but the changes over time were astonishing, leaving quite an artistic path through these notes. Initially, the BEP started printing notes in the Patented Lettering layout but quickly started to branch out to new layouts. The notes using the Patented Lettering layout were attacked as inartistic by critics of the BEP, so over time the BEP sought to replace these notes with updated notes using newer, more artistic layouts. These replacements were limited to the $5 Brown Backs. No Title Block layout changes occurred with either the Date Backs or Value Backs. I have been doing some research on how the BEP applied these layouts to the various $5 National Bank Notes. In my efforts to attribute layouts to all the $5 notes, I stumbled into these replacement notes. There seemed to be no rhyme nor reason to these, but it was clearly a concerted effort to update Title Block layouts on these notes. Even though this seemed to be mostly related to updates to the Patented Lettering layout, there were many variations in what layouts were replaced. I had seen a couple of articles in the SPMC archives about banks with multiple Block Title layouts, but I was shocked when I came up with 158 distinct replacement notes with updated Title Block layouts. These all had new proofs issued with incremented plate lettering as part of the updated title block layouts. This article is not intended to delve deeply into the history of the replacements, but rather to highlight details of the actual notes that were replaced. During my research, I documented all these replacement notes as I thought collectors would be interested in this information. So, if you are up for a challenge, getting both the initial and replacement $5 Brown back for any charter is an intriguing hunt. Below are examples of replacement notes with updated Title Block layouts. The first is from The Second National Bank Baltimore MD, Charter 414. The first note is a Patented Lettering layout that was later replaced by Script Payment layout. The second example is from The First National Bank of Syracuse, Charter 6, where a Patented Letting layout was replaced by a Circus Poster 1 layout. Photos courtesy of the Smithsonian archives. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 377 Fig 1-2nd Nat’l Bank of Baltimore - Patented Lettering Fig 3-1st Nat’l Bank of Syracuse - Patented Lettering Fig 2-2nd Nat’l Bank of Baltimore – Script Payment SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 378 Below is the complete listing of the replacement notes by state, town and bank name. The chart also includes the initial layout, along with the updated layout. Additionally, some of the entries are highlighted in blue text where the bank had more than 1 updated layout. Table 1: List of Charters with multiple layouts Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 666 CT New London The National Bank of Commerce of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 657 CT Norwich The Thames National Bank Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 2 1038 CT Stamford The Stamford National Bank Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 4784 IA Denison The First National Bank of Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 1661 IA Fort Dodge The First National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 3189 IA Missouri Valley The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 2895 IA Oskaloosa The Farmers and Traders National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 763 IL Charleston The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 3179 IL Chicago The Metropolitan National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 2858 IL Lake The Drovers National Bank of Union Stock Yards Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 1 3070 IL Peoria The German American National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 699 IN Aurora The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 206 IN Elkhart The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 2747 IN Michigan City The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3072 KS Clay Center The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 Fig 4-1st Nat’l Bank of Syracuse- Circus Poster 1 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 379 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 2809 KS Frankfort The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 2722 KY Covington The Farmers and Traders National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 969 MA Beverly The Beverly National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 322 MA Boston The Second National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 359 MA Boston The Third National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 408 MA Boston The Boston National Bank Patented Lettering Two-Line Payment 514 MA Boston The Blackstone National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 551 MA Boston The Broadway National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 635 MA Boston The Bunker Hill National Bank of Charlestown Patented Lettering Script Payment 643 MA Boston The Atlantic National Bank of Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 778 MA Boston The Hamilton National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1015 MA Boston The Old Boston National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1028 MA Boston The State National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1029 MA Boston The Columbian National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 2846 MA Boston The Lincoln National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 663 MA Canton The Neponset National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 895 MA Conway The Conway National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 669 MA Dedham The Dedham National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 256 MA Fall River The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Baroque 590 MA Fall River The Fall River National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 679 MA Fall River The Pocasset National Bank Patented Lettering Two-Line Payment 702 MA Fitchburg The Rollstone National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 549 MA Gloucester The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1162 MA Gloucester The Gloucester National Bank Patented Lettering Borrowed Early 5$ 712 MA Harwich The Cape Cod National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 380 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 481 MA Haverhill The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 633 MA Haverhill The Merrimack National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 3128 MA Holyoke The Home National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1962 MA Lawrence The Lawrence National Bank Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 1201 MA Lynn The Central National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 268 MA Merrimac The First National Bank of (1/31/1877) Patented Lettering Script Payment 503 MA Monson The Monson National Bank Patented Lettering Borrowed Early 5$ 261 MA New Bedford The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 743 MA New Bedford The Mechanics National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 799 MA New Bedford The Merchants National Bank of Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 1 1018 MA Northampton The Northampton National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1260 MA Pittsfield The Pittsfield National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 996 MA Plymouth The Old Colony National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 832 MA Quincy The National Granite Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 634 MA Salem The Asiatic National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 934 MA Southbridge The Southbridge National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 766 MA Taunton The Bristol County National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 2058 MA Turners Falls The Crocker National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 1135 MA Worcester The Mechanics National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 204 MD Baltimore The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 414 MD Baltimore The Second National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 367 ME Augusta The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 221 ME Portland The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3314 MI Battle Creek The National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1924 MI Coldwater The Southern Michigan National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 381 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 2890 MI Grand Rapids The Old National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 3293 MI Grand Rapids The National City Bank of Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 1 3215 MI Mt. Pleasant The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1521 MI Paw Paw The First National Bank of Recycled Original Cigar Box Label 1 3206 MN Minneapolis The National Bank of Commerce of Patented Lettering Script Payment 283 MO St. Louis The Fourth National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3332 MS Jackson The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3059 NE North Bend The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 209 NE Omaha The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3181 NE Red Cloud The Red Cloud National Bank Patented Lettering Two-Line Payment 537 NH Charlestown The Connecticut River National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 537 NH Charlestown The Connecticut River National Bank of Script Payment Artistic Ultimate 4793 NH Claremont The People's National Bank of Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 559 NH Keene The Cheshire National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 574 NH Manchester The Amoskeag National Bank Patented Lettering Borrowed Early 5$ 2741 NH Nashua The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 1 374 NJ Jersey City The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 3680 NJ Jersey City The Third National Bank of Script Payment Artistic Ultimate 362 NJ Newark The Second National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 876 NJ Newton The Merchants National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1327 NJ Trenton The Mechanics National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 267 NY Albany The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 3282 NY Albany The National Exchange Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 3282 NY Albany The National Exchange Bank of Script Payment Artistic Ultimate SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 382 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 453 NY Buffalo The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 167 NY Geneva The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 980 NY Glens Falls The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 2229 NY Haverstraw The National Bank of Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 990 NY Hudson The Farmers National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1753 NY Keeseville The Keeseville National Bank Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 929 NY Kinderhook The National Union Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1149 NY Kingston The Kingston National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1039 NY Lockport The National Exchange Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 29 NY New York The First National Bank of the City of Patented Lettering Script Payment 254 NY New York The Sixth National Bank of the City of Patented Lettering Script Payment 290 NY New York The Fourth National Bank of the City of Patented Lettering Script Payment 341 NY New York The Fifth National Bank of the City of Patented Lettering Script Payment 345 NY New York The New York National Exchange Bank Patented Lettering Script Payment 733 NY New York The National Bank of Commerce in Patented Lettering Narrow Five $ 733 NY New York The National Bank of Commerce in Narrow Five $ Artistic Ultimate 964 NY New York The Market National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 1067 NY New York The Mercantile National Bank of the City of Recycled Original Recycled Original 1105 NY New York The East River National Bank of the City of Patented Lettering Borrowed Early 5$ 1196 NY New York The Leather Manufacturers National Bank of Recycled Original Narrow Five $ 1324 NY New York The Gallatin National Bank of the City of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 4898 NY New York The National Union Bank of Artistic Ultimate Shingled Layout 349 NY Newark The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Cigar Box Label 1 1213 NY Newburgh The Quassaick National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 1354 NY Norwich The National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 383 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 255 NY Oswego The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 402 NY Port Chester The First National Bank of [2/25/1883] Patented Lettering Script Payment 1312 NY Poughkeepsi e The Farmers and Manufacturers National Bank of Recycled Original Elegant Natl Bank 1414 NY Rome The First National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 471 NY Sing Sing The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 6 NY Syracuse The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 992 NY Troy The Mutual National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1395 NY Utica The First National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 653 NY Yonkers The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 233 OH Athens The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 214 OH Bridgeport The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 24 OH Cincinnati The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 829 OH Hamilton The Second National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 435 PA Glen Rock The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 538 PA Philadelphia The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 539 PA Philadelphia The Philadelphia National Bank Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 602 PA Philadelphia The Bank of North America Patented Lettering Script Payment 1743 PA Philadelphia The National Security Bank of Recycled Original Narrow Five $ 3085 PA Philadelphia The Independence National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 4832 PA Philipsburg The First National Bank of (3/20/1893) Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 705 PA Pittsburgh The Union National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 757 PA Pittsburgh The German National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 5225 PA Pittsburgh The Bank of Pittsburgh National Association Borrowed Early 5$ Artistic Ultimate 4183 PA Scranton The Traders National Bank of Artistic Ultimate Artistic Ultimate 246 PA Wrightsville The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 384 Charter State Town Bank From Format To Format 1021 RI Newport The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1546 RI Newport The Aquidneck National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 134 RI Providence The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 948 RI Providence The Phenix National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 983 RI Providence The Rhode Island National Bank of Patented Lettering Script Payment 1007 RI Providence The Mechanics National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1030 RI Providence The National Eagle Bank of Patented Lettering Borrowed Early 5$ 1036 RI Providence The National Bank of North America of Patented Lettering Narrow Five $ 1126 RI Providence The Globe National Bank of Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1131 RI Providence The Merchants National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 1339 RI Providence The National Exchange Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 1472 RI Providence The American National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 2830 SD Canton The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 3131 TX Fort Worth The Fort Worth National Bank Patented Lettering Two-Line Payment 1197 VT Burlington The Merchants National Bank of Recycled Original Baroque 1163 VT Hyde Park The Lamoille County National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 857 VT Montpelier The Montpelier National Bank Patented Lettering Artistic Ultimate 1364 VT Vergennes The National Bank of Recycled Original Artistic Ultimate 426 WI Fox Lake The First National Bank of Patented Lettering Circus Poster 1 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 385 John Reck, First National Bank of Juneau, Alaska Banker By Frank Clark The last large size National Bank Note on The First National Bank of Juneau, Alaska, charter number 5117, to make itself known to the collecting community at large is serial number 1386-C. It made its auction debut at the Heritage Auctions Central States Numismatic Society auction held on April 28 - May 1, 2026 as lot 20246. This newly reported note increased both the Track & Price Census and the National Bank Note Census population figure to only ten large for each with each census reporting the same ten large Nationals. The description in the Heritage catalogue reads, "Juneau, AK - $10 1902 Plain Back Fr. 632 The First National Bank Ch. # (P)5117 PMG Very Fine 25. Serial number 1386-C is a new discovery that will make one collector very happy. The reason is because the nine large currently documented on this capital city bank are certainly held in strong hands. The frequency at auction in the last 25 years recorded by Track & Price proves that. The latest charter number 5117 auction appearance was with us in January 2020 when we offered a comment free PMG 35 $10 1902 Plain Back Fr. 632 with the signature of the bank president that realized $55,200. One would have to go back to the year 2006 to find the next opportunity to acquire a large size note. Our final stop down memory lane for Juneau large size examples takes us to the 1997 Memphis International Paper Money Show auction where two large size Juneau Nationals were sold. Opportunities to add a large size from this bank are few and far between and bidders should plan accordingly. The example in this lot has retained the rubberstamped signature of President John Reck. It does have an approximate half inch right edge tear and minor rust, but they do not distract from the overall appearance of this great National." This was only the fifth large size auctioned since 1997 for this charter number. The cashier's signature has faded away, but SPMC's The Bank Note History Project tells us for charter number 5117 that President Reck had only one cashier during the large size era and that was Harold Haskell Post. Reck and Post served together in those two capacities from 1916-29. Post worked at the First National Bank of Juneau for a total of 19 years. Luckily, considering the weather and Alaska's other harsh conditions, President John (Johann) Reck's blue rubberstamped signature is still visible. He was born on April 12, 1865 or April 13, 1865 (depending upon the source) at Elkador, Iowa or at Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany (again depending upon the source.) He left home at the age of 13 and by the age of 18 he was earning a living in the meat business. Also, by 1886, he had put down roots in Tacoma, Washington. He married Mary Anna Rieck in Strawberry Point, Iowa on October 3, 1888. The couple would go on to have four children and they lived in Tacoma until 1897. In that year, Reck's employer sent him to Juneau to manage one of the company's meat markets after the butcher ran off to join the Klondike gold rush. Reck expected only a short stint in Juneau, however, his company never sent a replacement for him and he remained in Juneau. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 386 Reck began to take on other duties including serving four terms in the local government Juneau Municipal Council, president of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, and then a term as the city's mayor from 1914-15. The First National Bank of Juneau was organized on February 15, 1898 and chartered on Apri1 4, 1898. It was also able to remain open past 1935 when the National Bank Note era ended. It was a major bank in Alaska until 1987 when it was merged into the National Bank of Alaska in 1987. However, it was not always smooth sailing for charter 5117. The year 1911 did not start off very good for Alaska banks. The first week of the year saw bank runs on the Fairbanks Banking Company and the Washington Alaska Bank of Fairbanks resulting in both banks being closed. This was closely followed by two more runs on Fairbanks banks, the First National Bank charter number 7718 and the American Bank of Alaska. Both of these banks were able to stave off closure. The First National Bank of Juneau, charter number 5117, was the next bank in the district to confront a run. It occurred on July 1, 1911 when National Bank Examiner W. R. Goodhart found that the bank lacked sufficient security for the government funds that was on deposit there. Goodhart demanded an immediate adjustment, otherwise the bank would be closed. Governor Walter Clark asked Goodhart to delay the action until Clark could talk to F. W. Bradley of Treadwell, Alaska. Mr. Bradley decided to buy the bank and save it from collapse. The new management was represented by a board of directors consisting of Mr. Bradley, Henry Shattuck, George F. Miller, John Reck and P. H. Fox. Henry Shattuck served as president of the bank in 1911 and a banker from the First National Bank of San Francisco charter number 1741, Thomas Francis Kennedy, was brought in as cashier. Kennedy quickly became president of the bank and served in that capacity until 1915, when Vice President John Reck became president. Reck's term in office was from 1915- 35. He next moved up to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors and remained in that office until shortly before his death on May 1, 1951 at the age of 86. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Juneau next to his wife Mary Anna, who died on December 5, 1940. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 387 R. D. Mann, General Ticket Agent at Kimball House: King of Advertising Using Confederate and Obsolete Currency By Charles Derby During its four years of existence, the Confederate Treasury Department issued over 80 million Treasury notes collectively valued at over $1.5 billion.1,2,3,4 State governments and private banks also issued many millions of dollars in their own currencies.5,6 Following the defeat of the Confederate army, the U.S. government repudiated the debts incurred by Confederate and Southern state governments, and U.S. banking laws taxed private banks out of the business of issuing their own currency. This meant that at the end of the war, Southern banks, governments, businesses, and citizens collectively held millions of notes of Southern currency with face values of billions of dollars but that was in fact worthless. What to do with it? Speculators purchased it for pennies on the dollar as a commodity in hopes that they might have some resale value in their lifetime. People saved it for memories of their failed dreams and lost hopes. Early numismatists began collecting it.7 Given that these currencies were usually printed only on one side, people used the blank reverse as paper for various needs. One use was as printed advertisements for their businesses. In post-war Atlanta, Georgia, the king of such advertisements was R. D. Mann, who used advertisements on the reverse side of issued notes from the Confederate Treasury, Georgia Treasury6, and Mechanics Savings Bank of Georgia to tell the public that he was a general ticket agent operating out of No. 4 Kimball House. Mann used a variety of advertisement styles on many currency denominations. Three examples are shown above. This article tells the story of Robert D. Mann, affectionately known as Bob or Uncle Bob by his family, friends, and acquaintances in Atlanta. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 388 Robert D. Mann was born in 1822 in Greenville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, to an Irish Protestant family. In 1845, Bob Mann moved South, to Scott County, Kentucky. Two years later, he said that he “caught the military fever”8 and joined Gen. Narciso López on one of his filibustering expeditions to Cuba. This effort failed after one day on Cuban beaches, and Mann returned to Kentucky. In 1850, Mann became a conductor on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway8, which brought him some wealth and experience. In 1856, he moved to Chattanooga and established businesses with Englishman Thomas Webster. They purchased a foundry and built several large machinery plants.9 During the Civil War, R. D. Mann & Co. sold iron and mill machinery, constructed powder mills, and made ordnance for the Confederacy in Augusta, Georgia. After the war, 46-year-old Mann, recognizing that Atlanta had grown into a vibrant city with many business opportunities, moved there in 1868. The next year, with Edward R. Sasseen, he became proprietor of the U.S. Hotel.10 In 1870, he became a travel agent, with an office at Atlanta’s Kimball House Hotel. Kimball House, which had just opened in 1870, was built by Hannibal Ingalls Kimball and was the finest hotel in Atlanta, covering an entire city block next to Five Points in downtown Atlanta.11 Besides being a hotel, Kimball House also had stores and offices, including Mann’s business at No. 2 on Pryor Street. Mann provided travel arrangements for people, including securing passports and other travel documents, tickets, and hotel accommodations. He first focused on European steam ship travel and then expanded to include travel arrangements on railroads. Mann realized that this ticketing business, especially the cut rate ticket business, had a promising future, explaining “There were no such things as iron clad tickets and the certificate plan [a system used by railroads to offer reduced fares to large groups], forcing the traveler who used one to sail under false colors.”9 So, Mann jumped in and became “the pioneer in this line in the city.”9 Five years into his prosperous ticketing business in Atlanta, Mann had a serious injury that had life-long consequences.12 Mann and Thomas Magill, a rival ticket agent whose office was next to Mann’s, were competing for dominance in travel arrangements on the Western & Pacific Railroad. Mann’s office at No. 2 Kimball House had a telegraph machine that other businesses in the hotel used, but the bad blood between Mann and Magill resulted in Mann banning Magill SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 389 from entering his office and using the telegraph. On May 3, 1875, an infuriated Magill entered Mann’s office. The story as to what next happened differed dramatically according to the two combatant travel agents, but it seems that both men pulled pistols and fired. Only Mann was hit. The bullet entered his left shoulder and fractured his arm. Mann survived, but he was an invalid in that arm for the rest of his life. Magill was prosecuted for assault with intent to murder but was found not guilty.13 Several months later, in November 1875, Mann moved his Kimball House office from No. 2 to No. 4, a step up in accommodations. Mann celebrated with friends, as reported in the local newspaper: “Our good-natured friend, R. D. Mann, corralled a few of his friends in his back room and made them assist in warming the house. Champagne of the finest quality was taken with great gusto, accompanied by complimentary toasts…The occasion was a quiet but very enjoyable one. Bob Mann has now given Atlanta the distinction of having one of the handsomest ticket-offices in the south, and long may he live to preside behind its elegant counter.”14 Since Mann’s advertisements on Confederate and obsolete currency all have No. 4 and not No. 2 as his office location, Mann issued his advertisement currency in 1875 or after. Mann obviously had access to large amounts of issued notes, so he probably acquired them from banks, businesses, or acquaintances. Besides printing advertisements on currency, Mann also printed advertisements in the form of railway tickets, which became a craze all over the country. Kimball House was not only Mann’s place of work, he also boarded there, and the Kimble House was the center of his business, social, and personal life. He was a lifelong bachelor. He was gregarious, enjoyed socializing with friends, and became a beloved fixture in Atlanta. The local newspapers regularly provided updates on his activities. For example, the Atlanta Journal reported on February 1, 1892, “There was an important meeting at the ‘Philosophers’ club’ at Uncle Bob Mann’s office, No. 4 Kimball house, the other night, to discuss a large box of luscious Indian river oranges kindly forwarded to Uncle Bob and his comrades by Orator James Banks, Atlanta’s popular and able assistant tax collector who is enjoying a thirty days’ furlough on his Florida plantation…Resolutions of thanks, for the oranges, and regret that they couldn’t all go right down to Indian river, and be with Jim – were passed. And then the club formed a circle and at a given signal began work on the golden spheres, ‘standing and in silence,’ to the absent member. If Jim enjoys his visit half as much as the boys enjoyed his oranges he’ll be mighty sorry when his time’s up.”15 This epitomized who Uncle Bob was throughout his life. As reported by the Atlanta Journal upon his death “He was a kindly man, of a most lovable nature, one of those rare men – those old young men – the buoyancy of youth. He was a man of the noblest impulses, of wide information, of the most genial manner, of fine business ability. From the first day that he came to Atlanta, nearly forty years ago, he made friends, and the army of his friends Left: Kimball House Hotel in Atlanta in 1870. Right: Hannibal Ingalls Kimball11 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 390 grew with the growth of the city. Hand-in-hand with his success in business went his kindness of heart, and as he rose upon the wave of prosperity they rejoiced at his good fortune.” And further: “Bob Mann was a young old man. He loved to mingle with the young. Indeed his most intimate associates were among far younger men than himself. He was always buoyant in spirit even in his sorest trials, and always had a bright and cheerful word for everybody.”16 Another tragedy hit Mann in 1883: Kimball House was completely destroyed in a fire. To continue his travel business, Mann opened an office in New Orleans. In the meantime, Hannibal Kimball built a second and even larger Kimball House at the former site, which was completed in 1885. This second Kimball House survived until 1959 when it was demolished. Mann returned to Atlanta and reopened his agency there. As reported in the newspaper, “Jolly, whole-souled, clever Bob Mann is back from New Orleans, and occupies his old place No. 4, Kimball house, Pryor street, where he has opened his general railroad ticket office. There, as of old, he will help the traveling public to get around…Mann’s friends will be glad to see his genial face in its old place.”17 By 1896, 74-year-old Uncle Bob was feeling his years, acknowledging that he found it difficult to stand behind his counter all day doing business. So, he retired. The local newspapers lamented his retirement as it heaped praise on him. He continued to socialize with friends, despite ill health. Three years later, on May 13, 1899, while walking down the street near his residence, he had an “attack of paralysis,” a stroke.18 He was taken to Grady Hospital by his friend Julius Brown who happened to be passing by. Mann’s health improved enough that he was able to leave Grady after three weeks.19 He decided to return to his hometown in Greenville, Pennsylvania, to live with and be cared by his sister Eliza Mann Reznor and her family. Uncle Bob moved there in July and was reported to be improving. But he contracted pneumonia and his health quickly declined. He died on November 8, 1899, at age 77.16 He is buried in Shenango Valley Cemetery next to family. Mann’s obituary remembered him as “one of the best-known men in railroad circles and to the traveling public in the South.”20 Numismatists remember Uncle Bob Mann for his advertisements on Confederate and Georgian obsolete currency, some of which, including the $2 Georgia state note shown above, bore the wry observation that because of Mann this old currency was “Redeemable at Last.” References 1 Fricke, Pierre. 2014. Collecting Confederate Paper Money: The Standard Guide to Confederate Money. 2 Coughlan, Mark A. 2024. Engravers and Printers of Confederate Paper Money. 3 Derby, Charles. & McNeil, Michael. 2022. Confederate Treasury Notes. The Signers and Their Stories. CC&A, LLC, Mead, Colorado. 360 pp. 4 Derby, Charles & McNeil, Michael. 2024. The Signers and Issuers of Confederate Bonds. CC&A, LLC, Mead, Colorado. 164 pp. 5 Shull, Hugh. 2007. A Guide Book of Southern States Currency. Whitman Publishing, LLC. Atlanta, Georgia. 6 Martin, W. Mack & Latimer, Kenneth S. 2005. State of Georgia Treasury Notes, Treasury Certificates & Bonds: A Comprehensive Collector’s Guide. 7 Fricke, Pierre & Reed, Fred. 2012. History of Collecting Confederate States of America Paper Money, vol 1, 1865-1945. 8 “Veteran Citizen Quits Business,” Atlanta Journal, June 27, 1896. 9 Chattanooga Advertiser, January 24, 1861. 10 Daily Press & Herald, March 25, 1869 11 Reagan, Alice E. 1983. H. I. Kimball, Entrepreneur. Cherokee Publishing Co., Atlanta. 12 “The Georgia Press,” Georgia Weekly Telegraph, Journal & Messenger, May 4, 1875: 13 “The Magill Case,” Atlanta Constitution, June 29, 1875. 14 “House Warming,” Atlanta Constitution, November 14, 1875. 15 “The Idler’s Note Book,” Atlanta Journal, February 1, 1892. 16 “Bob Mann Passes Away After a Lingering Illness,” Atlanta Journal, November13, 1899. 17 “Bob Mann Is Back,” Atlanta Constitution, May 3, 1885. 18 “R. D. Mann Stricken With Paralysis,” Atlanta Journal, May 15, 1899. 19 “Mr. Bob Mann Out,” Atlanta Journal, June 5, 1899. 20 Macon Telegraph, November 13, 1899. I thank Bill Gunther for helpful comments on a draft of the manuscript. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 391 The National Bank Traveler By Marshall Mallory Think back to the opening of a classic TV show – “This is the city: Los Angeles, California.” “Ladies and Gentlemen, the story you’re about to read is true. These names have not been changed to protect and preserve history.” You can hear the magic of the opening theme of Dragnet and sense something magical was about to unfold. I hope to recreate a bit of that feeling for you here. When I was young, I watched too many movies and TV shows. I dreamed of being in Hollywood, whether I made it on the screen or not didn’t really matter; I saw Los Angeles and Hollywood as they appeared on film: the beautiful buildings, palm trees swaying, and the glamorous way Hollywood portrayed itself. I wanted to live that life. In 2003, I joined the US Navy and moved to the west coast. Granted, it was San Diego, but the dream was forming. I went back to school and became a teacher and decided to stay. Over the years, I have been to LA multiple times, to visit celebrity gravesites, see the sites, went to live tapings of shows and even got my chance on the Price is Right. In many ways, I embodied parts of that dream. This time, however, I went with one purpose in mind: to find and visit some of the old National Bank buildings that still stand among rows of modern structures—buildings that, in some small way, reflect Los Angeles in its former glory and embrace one of our favorite pastimes: collecting old United States currency. The history of LA is quite fascinating. Los Angeles was settled by 11 families in September of 1781. They had traveled far across the Mexican border to establish the settlement. By 1841, the population had grown to a whopping 141 inhabitants. Just a year later, with the discovery of Gold, the population began to boom. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican American war, ceded California to include LA to the US. Then in 1849 with the boom of the big Gold Rush, brought a flood of prospectors searching for their piece of the action. So many came that in 1850, California was able to become the 30th state in the Union. It is hard to imagine but even as late as the 1880s, Hollywood is nothing but fig orchards. Los Angeles was bustling, but to the tune of vegetables and produce that was grown and traded there. By 1881 when the Southern Pacific Railroad linked LA to the rest of the U.S. things begin to change. National Bank notes were a series of currency issued from 1863 until 1935 when the Great Depression caused most banks to fail; ultimately signaling an end to the need for National Banks. These notes were originally created to help fund the Civil War. Participating banks were required to deposit U.S. government bonds as security, ensuring that note holders would not lose their money if a bank failed. As a result, the notes were backed by the U.S. government and recognized as legal tender. The designs from the First Charter Period are widely considered the most beautiful. By the 1929 Series, however, modernization had made most small-size notes look nearly identical—with one important difference. Many National Bank Notes featured hometown names, and sometimes even the names of the men who founded the banks. These bank names and charter numbers, printed directly on the currency, open an expansive world of collecting possibilities limited only by the imagination of the collector. First National Bank of Los Angeles – Charter #2491: The first bank of my journey was the First National Bank of Los Angeles; organized on July 30, 1880. It received its Charter on August 16 of that same year. The bank began to issue 1875 First Charter notes in the form of 10x10x10x20 sheets and continued to issue notes all the way through the end of the National Banking Era concluding with Series 1929 Type 1s and 2s. Today, 1,432 notes are known to exist for modern collectors, though those bearing the Security-First National Bank name are the most common. During its operation, the bank had ten presidents and six cashiers during its run, and those signatures are emblazoned on the notes they issued. The institution was open after the National Banking period of 1935 and didn’t close its doors officially until 1992 when it was acquired by Bank of America. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 392 Over the course of its tenure, it absorbed three different banks – The Southwestern National Bank of LA – Charter – 5993 in 1905, the Los Angeles National Bank – Charter 2938 also in 1905, both which issued very few notes, and finally the First National Bank of El Segundo in 1934, which issued no notes during its existence. Security First National Bank – 1929 & 2026 The bank operated under three different titles: The First National Bank of Los Angeles, The Los Angeles–First National Bank Trust and Savings beginning in 1927, and finally The Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles in 1929. Notes were issued under all three names. The bank also occupied two primary locations. The first, which I visited, stands at 5209 Wilshire Boulevard and was constructed in 1912. The second building, located at 5701 Hollywood Boulevard, was completed in 1929—its construction beginning less than three weeks after the Stock Market Crash. Today, both buildings still stand. The Wilshire Boulevard location now serves as short-term office space and includes a small shop at the front. Despite years of neglect and reuse, it still retains its striking black-and-gold Art Deco details. The Hollywood Boulevard building, by contrast, stands empty. The Seaboard National Bank of Los Angeles – Charter # 12545 The next bank building I set out to find was the Seaboard National Bank of Los Angeles, which was organized on April 7, 1924, and received its charter on May 28 of the same year. Although it was chartered early enough to participate in earlier note issues, the bank chose not to issue currency until the Series 1929 small-size notes became available. The bank itself was relatively short-lived, even though it survived the end of the National Banking era. In 1936, it was acquired by the Transamerica Corporation. Despite its brief existence, the bank issued a respectable number of notes—267 of which are known to survive for modern collectors. During its operations, the institution employed five cashiers and two presidents, whose signatures appear on both Type I and Type II notes. The building still stands at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Dunsmuir Avenue, at 5505 Wilshire Boulevard. It later served as a branch of Bank of America but today houses the Korean Cultural Center—and, from what I observed, an impressive number of security cameras protecting both the building and those inside. Both of these banks lie along what is now known as Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile. The next bank on my journey, however, would take me to Hollywood Boulevard, one of the most famous streets in the city. 1929 TY 1 Owned by Author SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 393 Seaboard National Bank – 1930 & 2026 The Hollywood National Bank of Los Angeles – Charter # 12804 The next bank building is a classic structure, likely recognizable even to those who do not collect National Bank Notes. This bank was absorbed by the aforementioned Seaboard National Bank on March 26, 1934. The bank was both organized and chartered on August 6, 1925. Though still in the throes of the Large Size era, they chose not to issue notes until the series 1929 notes became available. During its short lifespan, three Cashiers and three Presidents served as bank officers. Out of the three banks, this issued the least number of notes, a total of only 45 are still known for collectors to vie for today. The bank building still stands at 6777 West Hollywood Boulevard. The historic 13-story structure remains an impressive sight rising above the Hollywood skyline. It sits beside another iconic landmark, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, where countless stars have gathered to watch their films premiere. At one time, the building was the tallest structure in Los Angeles. Even after the National Bank vacated the premises, its striking presence made it a popular backdrop for film and television. Most notably, it appeared in the 1950s television series The Adventures of Superman, where it was the building Superman famously leaped over in the opening sequence. It also appeared twice in the 1988 film Twins, during the street meeting between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito and as the workplace of DeVito’s character. In 1984, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, it has not been used since the mid-1990s. While extensive renovations would likely be required to bring it up to modern code, for now it remains a striking and beautiful reminder of Hollywood’s architectural—and banking—past. 1929 TY 1 Owned by Author SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 394 While the banks themselves are long gone, the historic buildings remain, and their old banknotes with their often- fabulous titles offer a fascinating glimpse into the National Banking Era, reflecting a bygone time of ambition and elegance. This trip has inspired me to seek out other historic bank buildings whenever I travel across the United States. Some may be hiding in plain sight, waiting for those who know to look closely and appreciate the glory of our architectural and financial past. Sources:  Historical Timeline of Los Angeles. (2019, September 5). Discover Los Angeles. https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/historical- timeline-of-los-angeles  Los Angeles Daily Mirror. (2014, July 28). Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Building Banks On Hollywood’s Future. Ladailymirror.com. https://ladailymirror.com/2014/07/28/mary-mallory-hollywood-heights-first-national-building-banks-on-hollywoods- future/  The Origin of National Bank Notes - American Numismatic Association. (2024, October 23). American Numismatic Association. https://www.money.org/money-museum/virtual-exhibits-americana-national-bank-notes/  Seaboard National Bank building, 5505 Wilshire Blvd on the northwest corner of Dunsmuir Ave, Los Angeles, circa 1930. (2024, January 2). Martin Turnbull. https://martinturnbull.com/photo-blog/2024/01/02/seaboard-national-bank-building-5505-wilshire-blvd-on-the-northwest- corner-of-dunsmuir-ave-los-angeles-circa-1930-2/  U.S. National Bank Lookup (1863-1935). (2026). Spmc.org. https://banklookup.spmc.org/  Wikiquote.org (2010, January 18). multiple radio and television series and films, usually about policeman Joe Friday. Wikiquote.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dragnet Hollywood National Bank – 1927 & 2026 1929 TY 1 Owned by Author SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 395 P.T. Barnum and the Pequonnock Bank By David Lewis P.T. Barnum has a famous and sometimes infamous reputation in history, much of which has been put in print, including several books written by P.T. Barnum himself. His experience with the Bridgeport, Connecticut Pequonnock Bank is less known as are the Obsolete Banknotes issued by the Bank during P.T. Barnum’s tenure as President. Q. David Bowers, in his 2014 “Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money – Volume 2”, gave a short history of the Pequonnock Bank; first stating “The Pequonnock Bank was chartered in May 1851 and opened in August. P.T. Barnum, of circus fame, was unanimously elected president.” Bowers further stated that Barnum resigned in 1856 and that his signature appears on some highly coveted issues. “The Bankers Magazine” January 1856 issue reported that Barnum had resigned, thus placing the resignation date in January of 1856 or perhaps earlier. My research of the Pequonnock Bank issues determined that probably only the $1.00 “Haxby CT-60-G2a” notes were circulated with P.T. Barnum’s signature on them as President. James Haxby in his 1988 “Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes, 1782-1866” identified the $1.00 – “G2a” note as the only circulated Pequonnock Bank issue which was not SENC (Surviving Examples Not Confirmed). The Haxby Plate Note, on page 36, has a clear P.T. Barnum signature as President. The $2.00 - “G4a” and the $3.00 - “G6a” were apparently issued during Barnum’s 1851-1856 tenure but both denominations were likely to have been issued as unsigned proofs. Bowers identifies both issues as proofs with only a few known. The $5.00 – “G8a” contains portraits of P.T. Barnum and Jenny Lind, which likely postdate the Barnum bank presidency. The $10.00 – “G10a” and the $20.00 – “G12a” are both listed by Haxby as SENC and are listed by Bowers as “None Known” and one Proof known respectively. The $50.00 – “G14a” and the $100.00 – “G16a” are both listed by Haxby and Bowers as Proof only. One uncut sheet of the $50 and $100 proof notes is known and has a P.T. Barnum signature in pencil on the $100 portion of the sheet but would not have been intended for circulation and was likely unofficially signed as a courtesy autograph well after issuance. Bowers estimated that there were 3-4 of the $1.00 Haxby CT-60-G2a notes and had a photo of one signed by Clapp Spooner, who was President of the Pequonnock Bank in the 1860’s. Stack’s Bowers in 2011 sold one also signed by Spooner which was issued in 1861. In that sale it was noted that, along with this note, four other less rare different One Dollar Bridgeport obsolete bank notes were also discovered in the cornerstone time capsule. PMG has graded one Haxby CT-60-G2a $1.00 note (in Good-6 Net) but PMG dated the note in the 1850’s- 1860’s and it has an illegible signature and date. This leaves the Haxby Plate Note as the only reported and verified Pequonnock Bank note officially signed by P.T. Barnum as President that I could find; until now. I was fortunate to have recently obtained TWO examples of the Haxby CT-60-G2a $1.00 note, which have now been graded by PCGS Banknote, each with the official P.T. Barnum handwritten signature, Certified as genuine by PSA. One was dated Jan. 1, 1852 and the other dated Jan. 1, 1855. A photo of one of the notes is shown below. It appears that these notes, along with a number of other rare obsolete banknotes, had been stored away in an envelope for decades, if not longer, until they were separated and sold. Are these 2 of only 3 existing P.T. Barnum signed notes or will others appear? It’s been decades since Haxby published his catalog until this discovery without any other P.T. Barnum signed notes reported. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 396 Elusive $50 State Bank of Ohio Obsolete Notes By David Lewis James Haxby in his 1988 “Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes, 1782-1866” identified 41 State Bank of Ohio branches and for all but the Dayton Branch he listed the $50 denomination as Surviving Examples Not Confirmed (SENC). Heritage Auctions in 2014 sold a Delaware County Branch $50 note from the “Wendell Wolka Collection” for $7,343.75 deeming it “The King of State Bank of Ohio Notes”. Heritage Auctions wrote “The $50 is considered by many to be the crown jewel of all State Bank of Ohio issues. The denomination proved to be too big for use in everyday business and very few were issued. When the branches began to wind up their affairs in the 1860s, most high denominations were, naturally enough, turned in for redemption. The $50 is excessively rare, with three circulated examples reported along with a proof (which we sold in our 2013 Long Beach Signature Auction for $3,055). Of the three circulated notes reported, one from the Piqua branch was last seen in a magazine article forty years ago and the second example from the Dayton branch was reported in Haxby but has not been physically verified or located. That leaves this note from the Delaware County Branch as the only example which is likely to be available any time soon.” Since 2014 there hasn’t been any new $50 State Bank of Ohio banknotes reported or sold to change the Heritage declaration until now. Recently I was fortunate to obtain a $50 Cleveland, Ohio - Merchants Branch note and had it verified and graded by PCGS Banknote. A photo of the note is shown below. It appears that this note, along with a number of other rare obsolete banknotes, had been stored away in an envelope for decades, if not longer, until they were separated and sold. Wendell Wolka, who authored the definitive Ohio obsolete banknotes reference book (1041 pages) “A History of Nineteenth Century Ohio Obsolete Bank Notes and Scrip”, identified my note as Wolka 0776-40 and stated that it is now only the second $50 State Bank of Ohio example that’s been reported and verified! If the Delaware $50 note is the “King of State Bank of Ohio Notes” does that mean this is the “Queen of State Bank of Ohio Notes”? SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 397 U N C O U P L E D : PAPER MONEY’S ODD COUPLE Joseph E. Boling Fred Schwan Good or bad? What, both? A funny thing happened in our advanced paper money grading class at ANA Summer Seminar this year. Jason Bradford and I teach that class—I to teach authentication and he to teach grading (anyone grading paper should also be able to determine whether a note is legitimate). On the third day, he passes around a group of mixed grade notes and has each student record a grade for each piece. Of course, if the note is not legit, that is also supposed to be mentioned. Included in the pile of notes this year were two 1000 shilin notes from Somalia (figures 1-4). Those are notes he had brought, and I had not seen them. Several students recorded one as bad. Of course I was asked my opinion. I could not reach a conclusion during the class, and took them overnight to study further. Both are lithographed, but that could be expected of notes produced locally in a third-world nation. Note 1 is clearly not original—it is replete with screening evidence, indicating that it is a reproduction. See Boling page 400 Operation Crossroads A few months ago we recognized the 80th anniversary of the introduction of military payment certificates here in Paper Money. Today we will consider another 80th birthday. On July 1, 1946 the United States conducted a nuclear weapons test in the Pacific Ocean at Bikini atoll. The explosion was part of an elaborate program to learn as much as possible about the destructive power of the new weapons that had only recently been used against Japan. The operation exploded two weapons (July 1 and 25), one in the air and one under water. It was a massive undertaking— 42,000 persons were deployed to the south Pacific for months. The exercise was named Operation Crossroads. Fortunately for us, Crossroads generated some intriguing paper money items and some mysteries too. Joe and I have discussed short snorters several times here in our space and likely will again because we both like them. Short snorters are perfect history/paper money artifacts. Since short snorters were so very popular during World War II it is no surprise that they were still popular among the personnel of Operation Crossroads only a few months post war. Classic short snorters were made by autographing notes taken from circulation. Crossroads short snorters that were made this way are reported, but I do not have any and I do not know of any on other than United States notes, although such items are certainly possible. Most Crossroads short snorters were created by autographing specially prepared notes. I call these souvenir short snorters or souvenir snorters for rather obvious reasons. I had a discussion with short snorter maven Tom Sparks. He told me that he calls such pieces commemorative notes for more or less equally obvious reasons. Either way most Crossroads short snorters are of this type. Figure 1 Figure 2 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 398 Joint Task Force One notes. Series 1946A denomination 1 notes feature an image on the face of a mushroom cloud. The notes have a pseudo seal with AV-17, which was the hull number of the USS Cumberland Sound. She was a seaplane tender during the war, was converted to a laboratory ship, and decommissioned in 1947. The backs have a B-29 bomber at left and an outline of Bikini at right. A large text BIKINI appears at center. Importantly SHORT SNORTER appears at the bottom. Interestingly, USS Cumberland Sound was added in blue in a way that suggests that other ship overprints might have been produced, but I have not seen any. Series 1946A denomination 58 notes are very similar in appearance yet have very different details. The denomination 58 is obviously referring to the 58th Bombardment Wing. The pseudo seal repeats the 58 and includes 509 Composite Group. The back too is similar to the AV-17 notes with large BIKINI and KWAJALEIN. Again the Kwajalein seems to be applied in a manner suggesting that more overprints might have been produced (or at least anticipated). I do not think that these notes exist without KWAJALEIN in spite of an illustration in Remembered. I have a confession to make. In the early 1990s when we were working on Remembered, I thought that these notes without KWAJALEIN existed. A collector friend had asked me if I had any of these notes without the KWAJALEIN. I had just purchased the fancy software to lay out the book. I was experimenting and having fun with Photoshop, which was a component thereof. I created the image in the book by removing the KWAJALEIN. Now that all these years have gone by and we have not seen a note without the text, I believe that the collector thought that the notes might exist without KWAJALEIN. He asked me if I had one and I misinterpreted the question. Of course I would love to be proven wrong! The third major type of the style we have seen so far features ATOMIC Short Snorter text on one side and Bikini JTF - ONE CROSSROADS with a ship at the center on the other. I am not certain which was intended to be the face. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 399 USS Sumner Crossroads short snorter notes. Another souvenir Bikini short snorter was issued. It is of substantially different style and is more scarce and less popular than the above notes. The notes are printed in two colors (maroon and black) on yellow paper. The design features a ship at center labeled USS Sumner. Again the application of the ship name could accommodate multiple issues, but I have seen only the USS Sumner. Short snorter notes as short snorters. When are short snorters short snorters? The notes that we have discussed thus far clearly are short snorters because the text says so. Notes can also be short snorters because they were used as such. The most popular of these have signatures and the written title “short snorter” appended. Crossroads notes can be found with and without signatures. Both are popular with collectors. Tom Sparks, Jim Downey and others gleefully study the signatures when present and add another level of interest by identifying signers. The most exciting type of short snorter is the snorter chain with multiple notes attached end to end. Such chains occasionally run to a hundred or more notes. I have seen only one Crossroads short snorter with more than a few notes. It is a short snorter with five 58-unit Crossroads notes. Chits. With 40,000 workers there were many recreation and refreshment clubs. I intended to include chits in this report but since my knowledge of these issues is lacking I reached out to Garry Arva for some help. I found myself unable to deal with the subject now. I hope that we can get back to it in the future. For now I will just show you the two most common Crossroads chits. Thank you to Garry for the image of the back of the AV-17 note. His has a much bolder ship’s name than mine. Boling continued See figure 5. Figure 6 shows the same head, on note 2, in line lithography. Note #1 also has nothing in the watermark window (other than the see-through of what is printed on the back in that space, an abstract design). Note 2 has a watermark of a turbaned man (figure 7). What can we learn with ultraviolet illumination? Note 1 is completely dull—the note does not scream “commercial bond” (usually containing brighteners Studs Saloon probably issued chits Figure 4 Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 6 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 400 that are very bright under UV), but it also shows nothing in the way of security features that react under UV. We already see that it is a reproduction (figure 5), so that is a surprise. It means that the paper may be a low-end security paper, accessible to whomever used it to make the reproduction of note 2. Note 2 shows two UV-reactive features—the serials and blocks glow bright red, and there are threads in the paper that are UV reactive in several colors (figures 8 and 9). There is no sign under UV that the watermark of figure 7 is a fake printed on either side of the note. So, note 1 is definitely not original, but does that make note 2 genuine? A few minutes of online research shows that in the 36 years since the note’s date (1990), there have been multiple changes in government and much bloodshed, involving both internal dissidents and an active invasion from Ethiopia. Even though note 2 is litho and may have been printed locally, I felt that there had been too much opportunity for another counterfeit to have been created. I reported to the class that in my opinion both notes are reproductions, and I would welcome a chance to inspect more examples of this type. I got that chance at this summer’s ANA convention in Pittsburgh. Note #3 is also lithographed, but has no watermark and a brilliant UV display face and back (figures 10-11). So is this the original piece? Apparently not. Had I used the catalogs that we had in the classroom this summer, I could have confirmed my feeling that notes 1 and 2 were both reproductions, because there is a description of the UV reactivity of the original piece. But those would not be enough to confirm that note 3 is in fact legitimate. It turns out that Owen Linzmayer’s Banknote Book has the best description of the original note. It is intaglio with watermark. My note 3 is probably the one that both Krause and Linzmayer attribute to the Puntland secessional government (an offshoot of Somalia during the political turmoil I mentioned above) except that TBB says the Puntland issue has the same watermark as the original, and mine has no watermark. And what about the piece I have that has a watermark, but is pretty plainly also a reproduction? I can’t explain that. There is no evidence that the watermark is printed onto or laminated into the note I have. Nobody has reported the UV features of the Puntland note (printed in Indonesia, according to TBB), so maybe note 2 is the Puntland note and my note 3, with its UV matching the original but no watermark, emanated from someplace as yet unreported. More research to follow. Figure7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 11 Figure 10 SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 401 As the Age of Artificial Intelligence rushes down upon us, one particularly fervid prediction caught my eye. A researcher at Anthropic, the outfit responsible for launching the various Claude models, recently ventured that the advent of ever more powerful AI brings with it a 10% chance of “killing all humans” in the next decade or so. As a human being not prone to suicidal ideation, I find this prospect concerning, although the optimist in me prefers to see the existential glass as nine-tenths full. Still, that this doomsday prediction is taken seriously at all underscores how consuming our obsession with AI has become. Before our superintelligent overlords usher in the end times, a few thoughts on the benefits of AI for paper money collecting might steady our nerves. There are, I suggest, at least two ways that AI could impact the paper money hobby: banknote grading and (for want of a better phrase) information synthesis. One of the first uses of AI in paper money collecting will likely appear in the business of banknote grading. The serious and expensive end of the hobby has long been dominated by material certified by third-party graders, who for a fee provide their expert assessments of a banknote’s condition and genuineness. These assessments, combined with tamper-resistant containers, increase the confidence of collectors in the items that they purchase and add liquidity to the collector market. These grading systems aren’t foolproof or immune from criticism. Clearly, however, third-party grading adds value: no one would be spending money on such certifications if it didn’t. How might AI impact banknote grading? Some years ago, the scientist Geoffrey Hinton famously predicted that the occupation of radiologist would disappear, once AI models could be trained to interpret medical imaging. That, of course, hasn’t happened. AI didn’t replace radiologists; it’s just become a tool to help them do their jobs better. Likewise, AI won’t put banknote graders out of business. It would be straightforward to train an AI model on a database of banknote images and the protocols for grading them. However, it’s not simply the sheer accuracy of grading that makes a certification from PCGS or NGC valuable, although such expertise is part of it. Instead, it’s the credibility and reputation of the firm and its connection with each note it has graded that makes the difference. Even if there were a phone-based app that allowed a collector to upload an image of a banknote and immediately generate an accurate grade for free, the result would not render obsolete the services provided by grading companies. Instead, what is more likely to happen is that grading companies will train up their own, proprietary grading models that improve upon the job that their human graders already do. The second area where AI may soon make a big difference for paper money collecting lies in what I would call information synthesis. As is well known, AI models are trained on vast quantities of digitized information scraped from the internet and any other physical sources (books e.g.) that are scanned and uploaded for that purpose. Material about paper money as collectibles and as objects of study can already be accessed through general purpose AI models like Gemini or Claude. However, there are rich repositories that remain untapped. Think of the cumulative runs of journals like Paper Money, the IBNS Journal, and The Numismatist; or the various outputs of Krause Publications and its successors. Much of this material may be protected by copyright (currently a big legal dispute!) and, perhaps, by a more general distaste (with which I am sympathetic) for how data mining exploits and monetizes human creativity. Still, in the same way that AI might play a role in radiological imaging or banknote grading, I can imagine a future where, say, Active Interest Media trains its own bot on the archives of The Bank Note Reporter, on other content in its stable of publications, and even in a consortium with other numismatic publishers. The falling costs of AI training and compute make such domain-specific projects feasible as a business matter. A crucial caveat is that the material on which those specialized models are trained and their outputs can’t be subject to malicious harvesting by other models. This column is not the place, and I am not the writer, to think this out fully. But assuming AI doesn’t kill us all, I can’t help thinking how cool it would be if, say, the entire repository of the Newman Numismatic Portal could be accessed through queries directed to its helpful chatbot (named “Eric”, of course), or if SPMC hosted its own Peter Huntoon avatar (built from David Lisot video footage) ready to field any question about national bank notes. That certainly would not be the end of the world. Chump Change Loren Gatch AI and Paper Money Collecting SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 402 Letter to the Editor: Dear Ed, I take exception to Loren’s words in Chump Change of the July/August 2026 edition of the SPMC Journal. I really don’t know why we are referred to as bloody-minded. I am sure as a Nation we are no more bloody-minded than any other Nation, surely we are no more stubborn or obstinate than the next Nation? As for putting a cockroach on our banknotes – no, that will never happen. The general public may well have had a say in what goes on our next banknote series, but, the final decision is up to the Bank of England Chief Cashier, though, I am sure others may also have some input. There is no doubt that King Charles III is famous for his love of the great outdoors, gardening, wildlife, etc, so, it would not be surprising to find native animals, birds or nature elements – not insects on the other side of the Monarch’s portrait. Plus this route has been taken by other Banknote issuers here and overseas. I do feel that it is a shame not to have a famous person – maybe it is because there are so many to choose from. Regards Pam West Loren Gatch’s response: I do apologize if the term “bloody-minded” sounded too harsh. In fact, bloody-mindedness can sometimes be the great virtue of a free people, especially when they stand up against outrages like pervasive video surveillance, crumbling schools, or the venality of political elites. I meant “Cocky McCockroach” as pun (OK, a weak pun) on the British public’s mischievous choice, in 2016, of “Boaty McBoatface” for the name of a polar explorer ship. In the event, that choice was quickly overruled by British authorities. That said, I still stand by the idea that some things shouldn’t be decided by public acclaim. In the case of Great Britain’s banknote makeover, it would have been more accurate to say that it was the British authorities who first chose the wildlife theme, leaving it to the public to vote for their favorite creatures. Whatever the method of decision, I simply disapprove of a great nation’s turn away from its historical memory, full stop. -lg SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 403 NELLIE CASHMAN: THE ANGEL OF TOMBSTONE By Rick Melamed There are dozens of examples of merchant advertising on the blank backs of Confederate 50¢ Fractional notes (T-72). However, almost all examples are printed on facsimiles. For this article we will focus on a specific 50¢ Confederate ad note – that being for the Russ House (which is still operating today). It was owned by the remarkable Nellie Cashman (ca. 1844-1925). In 1881 she opened Arizona’s first female-owned business with her associate Joseph Pascholy in Tombstone, Arizona. To the right is an image of the hotel today. Nellie emigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in the 1860s and settled in the West. Nellie’s philanthropic acts show a life dedicated to charitable work in the harshest conditions. Cashman led a rescue party to save 75 miners trapped in a snowstorm at the Cassiar Country gold mine in British Columbia. In Tombstone, Arizona; Cashman raised money to build the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and did charitable work with the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1898, she went to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush for gold prospecting, working there until 1905. In Alaska she ran a restaurant, purchased claims, and grubstaked many miners while also helping to establish St. Mary's Church and Hospital. As a devout Catholic, she raised funds for hospitals, schools, and churches wherever she settled. Her heroics and charity gained her the names the "Angel of Cassiar," the "Angel of Tombstone." In 1924, Cashman set a record as the champion woman musher, traveling 750 miles in 17 days (well into her 70s). In 1984, Cashman was inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame. In October 1994, the U.S. Postal service honored her contributions by issuing a postage stamp. In 2006, Cashman was inducted into the Alaska Mining Hall of Fame. Above is the front/back of the Russ House facsimile 50¢ Confederate ad note. To the far left is the profile of CSA Presdient Jefferson Davis from a genuine T-72 Confederate note. The engraving is much sharper than the facsimile. Note how the location is A.T. – Arizona Territory (Arizona did not become a state until 1912). While most 50¢ Confederate ad note sell for under $100, this example sold in an April 2024 Heritage auction for an amazing $3,120! For more information about the amazing Nellie Cashman please visit www.russhousetombstone.com. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 404 MTV has officially launched, ushering in the synth-pop era and capturing the attention of nearly every GenXer across the United States! The Buggles featuring the song Video Killed the Radio Star becomes the first music video to grace the airwaves followed by a barrage of famous names like David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, New Order, The Police, and Van Halen just to name a few! At just after 1am on Friday night, Doc Brown and Marty McFly are beginning their inaugural test of the Flux Capacitor at Twin Pines Mall. Indiana Jones is celebrating his new found victory over Germany, E.T. is trying to phone home, and Daniel LaRusso has now begun to pack up his belongings in Newark New Jersey so he can get on the road and head out west to his new home in Reseda California! Even the incredible arcade game Arkanoid from Japan created by Akira Fujita and Hiroshi Tsujino was eating up enough quarters across America to purchase several Malibu beach homes! What do all of these things have in common you ask? We must be living in the 1980’s of course! Forty-five years ago it was 1981 and the new series of five dollar federal reserve notes were hot on the presses beginning in October. The next few years would mark incredible c h a n g e s a c r o s s t h e country especially in the technology realm as IBM and Apple were in a fierce battle to get a personal computer in every home across America. The Nintendo Entertainment S y s t e m v i d e o g a m e console would soon be all the rage, and to most everyone’s surprise even the Berlin Wall would fall by the end of the decade! What was not happening very much at all in the numismatic world at this t i m e w a s t h e a v i d collecting of 1980’s era five dollar notes! Why would anyone collect the current paper money of the time period? Even with the brand new signature combination featuring Angela M. Buchanan and Donald T. Regan, this was just not enough excitement for countless droves of people to begin compiling a full district, block, and star note variety set. While a few very smart collectors may have started this collecting journey, they were definitely the exception to the rule! Fast forward now to the weird world of 2026 where striking inflation has become a painful reality, we are hearing stories of massive government spending fraud on the news, drug zombies walk… or more accurately they twitch down the sidewalk while screaming at traffic lights, trash cans, and reflections of themselves in car windows along the streets of every major city in America if not the world, and even the President’s signature is suddenly on our one hundred dollar bill!?! Most people are currently so hopelessly addicted to their “Smart Phones” that the bulk of the U.S. population is seemingly getting dumber by the day! As depressing as this current day Norman Rockwell snapshot may sound, it is not all that by Robert Calderman Living in the 80’s! SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 405 bad. Why? Because all of us here, being dedicated members of the SPMC, are avid paper money collecting enthusiasts of course! A strong hobby is a healthy distraction to the good, bad, and the ugly that might be lurking out there in the rest of the world. Today, the current average age of a Gen Xer born 1965-1980 is 53.5 years old. If you are fortunate enough to fall into this bucket then you officially grew up in the 1980’s! If you came before or after this generational window I will now pander to you here very briefly and simply say, “You are also very special”. For the lucky few who can claim the “X” our nostalgia is running very deep right now! Just look at the price of 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Basketball Cards in 2016 vs. 2026… A PSA 10 would cost you roughly $11,000.00 in 2016. The same piece of cardboard today will now cost you $400,000.00 WOW!!! That doesn’t even take into account the record price hit in July 2021 of $840K. We are supposed to be talking about paper money here, but the point is this generation pool is ripe for the picking and as every generation that has come before them, that has financial means to do so, they are spending historic amounts of money to recapture the joy of their childhood! What is currently an absolute bargain by comparison to MJ cardboard can be found in the category of 1980’s era five dollar Federal Reserve Notes! Now that we forty and fifty year olds, myself included have an itch to reclaim our youth, this series of notes has a special charm and appeal that was not found when these notes were originally produced and released. The trouble for us now is the fact that unfortunately many notes from this era were not saved in quantity. You would have to be crazy to do so during the time period. Keeping large amounts of small bills in uncirculated condition throughout the Tech Boom and beyond would not have been the wisest investment to say the least. The big difference with 1980’s era notes vs. today is that 40+ years ago there were still significantly low print run varieties being made! Unlike today where trillions upon trillions of notes are printed with reckless abandon. The following series of notes comprise the 1980’s five dollar issues: 1981, 1981A, 1985, 1988, and 1988A. If you were to collect a note from each series, district, block, including stars, it would require you to acquire a total of 191 notes! What a great adventure to attempt! Even in circulated condition this would be a fun and challenging quest. To accomplish this task, there are several tough blocks you will have to locate! For example, the 1988A San Francisco L-C block on F.W. is an extremely challenging note to acquire. The series of 1988A was the very first to include notes printed at both the Washington D.C. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the newly designed Fort Worth Texas facility! While there are several other very tough blocks we can highlight here, instead let us focus on the key, almost SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 406 untouchable, star note varieties that can make building a complete 1980’s era $5 Federal Reserve Note set too much for many collectors to be willing to stomach. Encompassing the entire five different series of the decade, there are a total of four stars that will cause you distress as you attempt to locate an example for your collection! We will visit these in reverse order with the so called easiest one first. The series of 1981 $5 FRN’s feature star notes on all twelve districts. The ever popular Minneapolis district is prohibitively challenging with only 128,000 notes printed! This is fabulous by today’s standards where millions upon millions of stars have been printed from the 1990’s onward. As mentioned, notes of this era were not saved in mass quantities and a note like this is a true prize in any condition. As a knowledgeable dedicated collector, you should never shy away from tattered rags. A note covered with stains, tape repairs, writing, missing pieces, these battle scars should not sway away your attraction to true rarity! PMG has certified a total of eight examples on this Fr.1976-I* catalog variety. This number has increased significantly over the years as only a short time ago these stars could be counted on the fingers of one hand with a few of your digits left to spare! The PMG grades currently known are as follows: (2) VF25, (1) 35Q, (1) 55Q, (1) 58Q, (1) 63Q, and (2) 65Q’s. Finding a note from this group is not impossible, but it will likely be difficult as one of the current owners will have to be willing to let their example go on to a new home! So what are these notes worth? In June of 2026 an About Uncirculated PMG 55EPQ example sold via Heritage Auctions for $823.50!!! This is a considerably significant sum for a modern note that is not Choice Crisp Uncirculated. At Stacks Bowers, in April of 2026 a PCGS-Banknote example graded 65PPQ sold for cheap! The estimate was extremely low at $900 - $1,200 (They had never sold an example previously that I can locate). The note brought $2,379 which was very reasonable considering there are no SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 407 examples graded finer at either grading service! Our second so called “Easiest” star to check off your want list is another five dollar star note on the Minneapolis district! This time from the series of 1988A printed at D.C. which surprisingly also had a total printing of just 128K notes! To date, PMG has graded a total of five examples of this Fr.1980-I* variety: (1) 35Q, (1) 58Q, (1) 63Q, (1) 64Q, (1) 66Q. Now if you are very curious like me, you will want to know that the series of 1981A and 1985 did not produce any stars on the Minneapolis district! So it is no wonder why these 1981 and 1988A series district #9 stars are so very spectacular! These 1988A notes are also very coveted and you will be hard-pressed to find one at a bargain price. If you can believe it, the opportunity came up again the very same month as the preceding 1981 star! In June of 2026 at Heritage Auctions, a 1988A PMG 63EPQ Fr.1980-I* sold for the very improbable bargain price of $1,037. I know, I said it wouldn’t be likely to happen, but some days you just have to eat crow. The sole finest 66EPQ sold via private treaty nearly a decade ago for $10,000. So you can do the math on if you think the recent 63EPQ sale was a decent price? The third star note that is the second toughest for you to complete a full set of 1980’s era $5 FRN’s was surprisingly not printed for the Minneapolis district! Instead it is hiding in plain sight on the New York district! So often NY small size notes appear innocuous and are discarded as commonplace. It is always best to do your homework before judging something, or even someone for that matter! The series of 1985 features stars on just seven districts! Most of these districts have over three million stars printed making them relatively common. By comparison the New York district had only 256,000 star notes printed! Add to that the appearance of being common notes and perhaps nothing special to the uneducated eye and you have the makings of a true modern rarity! As of this writing, PMG has only certified a total of three examples: (1) 64 noQ, and (2) 65Q’s. How spectacular that any examples are known at all, and all three just happen to also be in uncirculated condition! WOW. If you have your ancient small size reference books handy, you may notice that these Fr.1978-B* notes are listed at a value of $500 in CCU. This is absolutely hilarious considering that a GEM example sold privately for $5,000 nearly a decade ago! Finding one of these notes to add to your collection is not going to be easy! It will require patience, determination, fortitude, or maybe just pure dumb luck! Again… let us follow the grand theme of this article and show you what you just missed out on! 🤪 On September 1st, 2026 Heritage Auctions sold a group lot of six different 1985 $5 FRN’s, and included in the group was one of the Top Pop 2/0 GEM PMG 65EPQ NY 1985 $5 star note examples!!! What an opportunity of a lifetime! It is funny how cherry picking can occasionally go sideways when multiple people see the very same needle hiding in the haystack. This trophy note of epic proportions was seen by at least two people and it was avidly fought for! When the dust settled, this group lot that may have appeared boring at first glance proved to be far from tiresome as it ultimately sold for $3,904!!! This was still a very good deal for the winning bidder and they should feel proud to own such a major $5 small size rarity! So we have now saved the best for last! The toughest star note for the entire 1980’s era of five dollar Federal Reserve Notes. How is this even possible for us to beat the amazing 1985 New York star note!?! Seems like I am just toying with you now doesn’t it? There is no deception here… we can instead save the smoke and mirrors for the Las Vegas magicians. Out of the total 191 notes required to complete an entire $5 1980’s collection, the single toughest note, the unequivocal master key to the decade is the series of 1981 Boston star note catalog variety Fr.1976-A*… However, there is only one slight problem that you are going to have… it is currently UNREPORTED!!! Ugh, why must this be!?! For starters there were only 16,000 printed!!! How brutal this becomes for all of us diehard collectors. Reality bites as they say and ignorance is truly bliss. Now that you know, you can never un-know. You probably even want one for yourself now, even if you do not actually collect five dollar small size notes at all! Well as painful as this might be, it will be okay. Why? Because if I cannot have one, and you cannot have one, and no one else can have one… then for now, we can just ignore it completely. That is for what little self control I posses within my psyche at least… I will try my best not to think about it! But if you happen to locate an example, please tell me! 😉 Do you have a great Cherry Pick story that you would like to share? Your note might be featured here in a future article, and you can remain anonymous if desired! Email scans of your exciting treasure with a brief description of what you paid and how it was uncovered to: gacoins@earthlink.net Image Credits: - Heritage Auctions: www.ha.com - SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 408 $MALL NOTE$ First Find: $1 Titanium Dioxide Experimental By Jamie Yakes Over a decade ago, in this periodical, I wrote about two obscure experimental Series of 1935 $1 Silver Certificates printed in the 1930s.1 The notes were printed on paper that contained titanium dioxide. Richard Jackman had been searching in earnest for those experimentals. He hit gold a few months ago when he found one on eBay. His note is shown below, and it’s the first reported to me. To many, it would seem to be a normal early block Series of 1935 $1 Silver Certificate, but it’s not. The story follows. During the first half of the 1900s, the Treasury routinely fid- dled with currency paper to find a more durable product. Most exper- iments were conducted internally, with progress ceasing at various stages of the printing process, de- pending on the variables being evaluated. Some tests involved re- leasing notes into circulation, such as the R and S $1s, or the various series of X-Y-Z serial block $1s. In the mid-1930s, the Treasury tested experimental currency papers that contained titanium dioxide, a simple chemical compound with various industrial uses. One desira- ble characteristic is that it strongly diffracts light, and is commonly used as a white pigment in consum- er items such as toothpaste, paints, and sunscreen. Documents dated prior to the Treasury’s experimenting with tita- nium dioxide paper expressed treasury officials’ concerns about the transparency of the thin currency paper then in use. The intaglio designs often showed through the opposite side, detracting from the aesthetic quality of the notes. When added to paper pulp, titanium dioxide increases the paper’s opacity, which minimizes the interferences caused by the opposing designs. Crane & Company, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s paper supplier, provided them two lots of paper with titanium dioxide to determine whether the additive would be effective. One lot contained two percent titanium dioxide.2 In May-July 1936, the Bureau numbered a small group of those sheets with serials numbers B84840001A to B85632000A. The second lot contained one percent. From December 1936 to March 1937, the Bureau numbered those sheets with serials F71100001A to F71808000A.The only identifier for both types are the serial numbers, which were chosen at random among the tens of millions of regular one-dollar silver certificates in those two blocks. The outcome of the experiment, and whether titanium dioxide became a normal addition to currency paper, is un- known. The outcome of Jackman’s diligence and patience is not. He found this note by looking for one serial number among a group of 792,000, printed and issued over ninety years ago. Congratulations to him. His B-A block is only half the story. Who will be the lucky one to find an F-A block? ⁕ 1 Yakes, Jamie. “Titanium Dioxide $1 Experimentals.” Paper Money Whole No. 293 (2014, Sep/Oct): 346 2 Though not mentioned in the treasury documents, this is presumed to be by weight. Richard Jackman’s 1935 $1 B-A titanium dioxide experimental discovery note. Scans courtesy of the owner. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 409 If you have been reading this column for a while, you know world paper money is similar to US paper money in many ways, but it also has unique aspects that make it more interesting. In this installment, we will cover something that is essentially unheard of in US paper money: Color Trials, also called Color Trial Specimens. These are notes not printed for circulation and are printed in different colors than the notes issued. Think of a note printed in blue that was issued in bright red. They are typically very scarce, but as is often the case with world paper money, they remain relatively affordable. While contemporary catalogs lump color trials into a single category, they exist for different reasons. The two primary ones are: 1. Pre-production trials. Used to determine the final colors of a note and get approval from the issuing authority. Sometimes seen with official annotations. 2. Printer’s samples and promotional color trials. The more commonly seen variety. Often from specimen books used by the printer's salesmen to show available designs and colors. Color trials differ from proofs in that they are often printed on paper used for issued notes, and show the completed design issued into circulation. Proofs are typically on non-banknote paper and often show design differences from the issued notes or are an entirely different design. Specimens are fully printed notes of the version issued into circulation. What constitutes a proof or a specimen, and the nomenclature, is a subject for a future column; it remains widely debated, with a plethora of definitions depending on who you ask. A pre-production color trial for a Trinidad & Tobago $20. The printer’s annotations in the margins indicate that this is the color of the issued $100. The issued $20 was printed in bright green. All Images Courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries Color trials offer something unique: not only a glimpse into ‘what could have been,’ but often they also look more attractive than the issued notes. Of course, this is one of those aspects of collecting that is wholly subjective, but color trials offer a certain freshness to the same old designs we are all familiar with. If you are a US collector, imagine a 1996 $100 bill (the big head design), but it suddenly has been printed in blue and red instead of black and green. It would turn heads and be instantly recognizable as something special. Qatar 10 Riyals ND (1973) – Pick-3. The top exampls is the issued note, printed in green, while the bottom is a color trial printed in an attractive purple, not used for any other denomination of the series. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 410 One issue often encountered with color trials, as well as regular specimens, is mounting remnants on the back. This is because color trials were often used for inclusion in albums that printers' salesmen used to advertise the notes they produced. They would send an album to a prospective customer to show what was possible in regard to designs and colors. These albums, most of which have now been broken up, are the source of many color trials, but because of how they were mounted, notes from these albums often show glue marks on the back. This is not much of a negative, since it is essentially impossible to find such notes without glue marks, but be aware that if you wish to collect color trials, you will sometimes run into this. The cover and one page of an intact color trial album produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. This would have been given to salesmen or potentially sent to prospective buyers. Such books are the source of many individual color trials available to collectors today. One category remains: color trial specimens produced specifically for collectors. While some nations seem keen on making money by directly selling specimens and low or fancy serial numbers to collectors (I’m looking at you, Bangladesh), that practice has not really spread to color trials yet. There are some exceptions, of course; for example, a fairly attractive 2 ½ Gulden of Suriname (Pick-118) exists as a color trial specimen, printed in vibrant purple (issued notes were in brown, although the bird is the same color on both). While it may look like a regular color trial, this was produced specifically for collectors. That practice, however, did not seem to have caught on (as of the time of writing), and most color trials are made in small quantities for internal use by the printer or issuing authority only. This also explains why most color trials are very scarce. 2 ½ Gulden from Suriname, dated 1973 (Pick-118cts). One of the very few color trials that were made specifically to be sold to collectors. 100 pieces were produced. The final question that remains then is a complicated one that I am sure is on the mind of many. ‘What is better, a specimen or a color trial?’ The answer, as so often, is ‘it depends.’ For some countries, color trials are more available than specimens and sell for less. For other countries, color trials have the perfect combination of rarity, attractiveness, and popularity and sell for considerable sums. But regardless of value, color trials are a fascinating area of foreign paper money, and one that can add some true depth to an advanced collection. About the Author: Dennis Hengeveld is Director of Consignments & Senior Numismatist at Stack’s Bowers Galleries. He can be reached at dennis@stacksbowers.com. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 411 The Real Meat and Potatoes of 1883-1894 Postal Notes: By Bob Laub / Formatting by Skye Introduction: I have always been a true believer in significant emphasis placed on interesting article titles. It stands to reason if you don’t draw the reader in initially, how could one be expected to read an entire story? Very similar to telling a good joke, the whole time you are telling it most people are trying to figure out a direction, and punch line well in advance. If the punch-line happens to be 180-degrees out from where their thoughts are, that is usually when the strongest laughter occurs. Over the past 20+-years collecting Postal Notes I have been fortunate to have acquired many historic, and interesting notes. I always appreciate a story which can be created from just a single postal note, but sometimes a companion note needs to be implemented to round out a story, which is the case with this latest article. A Brief Postal Note History: Distributed from September 3rd,1883 until June 30th,1894. These one-time usage documents were produced by three different printing firms over a 12-year time frame. Each separate company was initially awarded a four-year contract. They being: Homer Lee Bank Note Co. of N.Y., American Bank Note Co., also of N.Y., and finally Dunlop and Clarke of Philadelphia, PA. All watermarked security paper, for the printing of postal notes, was supplied by the Crane Paper Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. This is the same supplier of security paper used in the printing of all our present day currency. A bright yellow paper was provided for all Type I notes (1883-1884) The remaining printings (Type’s II- V) were accomplished on a light-grey paper, (1884-1894), and also watermarked. During the span of the series over 70 million notes were issued with $126 million forwarded with relative success through the mail. Issued only in amounts from one-cent to $4.99 (as per regulations) the series, for the most part, was deemed a success and served the growing needs of the people. The Meat: (portion of the title) A Type I Postal Note, and was issued at Stock Yards Station; Chicago, Illinois September 6th, 1883, four days after the official start of the series. This serial number 11 was issued for only one-cent, but would have cost an additional three-cents related to the administrative fee attached to each note sold. Most people versed in the series agree, notes with a small issued monetary value (one-cent to five-cents), were generally secured with the purpose of acquiring a postal or geographic souvenir. Construction of “The Yards”, as they were called, began in June 1865, and opened on Christmas Day of that year. Initially encompassing 375 acres which was once swamp land. By 1921 the overall land mass had increased to 475 acres, roughly equivalent to one-square mile. The Chicago Stockyards were so large they actually were a city within a city, complete with their own post office capable of issuing the new postal notes. Even though deemed a necessity in having their own post office, the Government still had its rules which governed such offices. All offices must be capable of generating $250 in annual revenue. Likely not seen as a problem considering the large work force which numbered 25,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, but by 1921 that number had increased to 41,000. Additionally, hotels, saloons, restaurants, and offices for merchants and brokers sprang up in that growing community. Within the confines of the “Yards” there were 50 miles of roads, and 130 miles of rail road track along its perimeter. These figures represent staggering numbers. The Stock Yards closed Friday at midnight on July 30th, 1971, after several decades of decline. This massive area of various facilities had been a major functioning part of Chicago for 106 years. The Union Stock Yard Gate was designated a Chicago landmark on February 24th, 1972, and a National Historic Landmark on May 29th,1981. The Potatoes: (portion of the title) This Type II Postal Note, as with the above Type I, were both accomplished by the engraving and printing firm, Homer Lee Bank Note Company, of New York City. Homer Lee won the first of three four-year contracts to engrave, and print postal notes. This one-cent note was issued at the Produce Exchange Station, New York, N.Y., on November 23rd, 1886, with serial # 004897. By July, 2026, the Postal Note Census (PNC), is comprised of 2,410 survivors, a far cry from the almost 71 million initially issued. Of that number 1,706 were in the souvenir range of one-cent to five-cents, and represent 77% of all surviving postal notes. The PNC has been an ongoing project of Kent Halland, and Charles Surasky. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 412 This effort was taken on by these two writer / collector / researchers, after the passing of Jim Noll, who was actively involved in the PNC endeavor for over 30-years. “The New York Produce Exchange was a commodities exchange headquartered in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan on the East side of Broadway. It served a network of produce and commodities dealers across the United States. Founded in 1861 as the New York Commercial Association, it was originally headquartered at Whitehall Street in a building owned by the New York Produce Exchange Company. The Association was renamed the New York Produce Exchange in 1868 and took over the original building in 1872. Between 1881 and 1884, the Produce Exchange built a new headquarters at # 2 Broadway, facing Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan. The structure, designed by George B. Post, was the first in the world to combine wrought iron and masonry in its structural construction. The main feature of the structure was an exchange floor that measured approximately 220 by 144 feet. The Produce Exchange was profitable following the building's completion. By the 1880s, it had the largest membership of any exchange in the United States, with a maximum of three thousand members. By 1900, the exchange was doing $15 million a day in business”. Station Postal Notes: As observed in my article, both notes represented are station, or branch locations. These locations were mainly implemented in cities, and larger towns. There function was to make various geographic neighborhoods closer to a working post office, and also relieve some of the congestion at the main office. These “station offices” fell under the jurisdiction of postmasters at their main offices. The Stock Yards Station, was the responsibility of Chicago Postmaster Frank W. Palmer (2-26-1877– 5-4-1885). The same would hold true for the Produce Exchange Station, in New York That branch office would have directly fallen under the supervision of New York Postmaster Henry G. Pearson. (3-22-1881 – 4-4-1889). In Conclusion: I hope this short article gives some insight into two of my more descriptive postal note sub- stations, and also adds a degree of credence to my title. The Real Meat and Potatoes of Series 1883-1894 Postal Notes: Any comments or suggestions are always welcomed at, briveadus2012@yahoo.com. I’m also interested in hearing about any Postal Notes or related material you may have as well. A Ty. I Postal Note (yellow paper) from Stock Yards Station, Chicago, Illinois. This serial #11, issued in the souvenir amount of 1-cent, on September 6, 1883. This sub-station would have fallen under the responsibility of Chicago Postmaster Frank W. Palmer. A Ty. II Postal Note (grey paper) from Produce Exchange Station, New York, N.Y., with serial # 4897, issued on November 23, 1886, in the souvenir amount of 1-cent. Also a sub-station and the responsibility of N.Y. Postmaster Henry G. Pearson. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 413 An apparently original Type-24 Treasury note with clear serials, signatures, and very rare, bright-white paper. Image: Heritage Auctions, ha.com Holder attribution of washed notes is critically needed want to take this opportunity to discuss a disturbing new trend in Confederate Treasury notes which has not been attributed on holders. The washing of notes is not new and it has been performed in the past with excellent results, often greatly enhancing the eye appeal of a note by making its paper brighter and whiter. There is nothing wrong with this enhancement if it does not degrade the printed or inked features of the note. The Type-24 note illustrated above has very bright, white paper which is extremely rare for its grade of 40. The serials and signatures are clear and dark with no bleeding, and they exhibit no signs of washing. Today we are seeing notes that have been washed, perhaps with chemicals, which do indeed brighten the paper but degrade the written serial numbers and signatures. In some cases the signatures are illegible, and in the worst cases they have entirely disappeared. The attribution of a Confederate Treasury note crucially depends on its serial number and signatures. When the washing of a note makes the serials and signatures less bold, the holder needs to attribute it as a washed note. When the washing of a note makes any of the serials or signatures illegible, that note has been severely damaged, and the damage needs to be attributed on the holder. Let’s look at some recent examples. The first example is a rare and beautiful Type- 33 note. The apparent washing has made the paper brighter and white, and by itself this an aesthetic improvement. But if we look closer at the image of I The Quartermaster Column No. 51 by Michael McNeil SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 414 A Type 33 note with lightened signatures that have bled into the paper. A Type 36 note with a much lightened signature at left and nearly invisible signature at right. A Type 50 note with completely illegible and virtually erased signatures. the note, we will see that the signatures bleed into the paper. They are no longer crisp, and the ink is light brown. All of the unwashed Type-33 examples signed by Crouch and Gray have very dark brown or black signatures with no bleeding.1 On balance this note is greatly improved and all the important features here are still easily readable, but the holder needs to attribute this as a heavily washed note with impaired signatures. The example above is a Type 36 note. The signature for the Register at the left is B. McRae, and the signature for the Treasurer at the right is E. C. Green, which is nearly invisible. This is a heavily damaged note, and the heavy damage needs to be attributed on the holder. The example above is a Type 50 note with completely illegible signatures. Upon close inspection we can see faint vestiges of the signature at the right; this is not a note that was left unsigned. This note is fatally damaged, and with its lack of signatures it cannot be attributed. It should not be holdered. Washing a note and treating it with chemicals can greatly improve the brightness of the paper, adding aesthetic appeal and value to the note. What we are seeing now all too commonly is a treatment by washing or chemicals which degrades the quality of the serial numbers and signatures on the note, and in some alarming cases makes those features illegible or even invisible. This constitutes serious damage and the holdering companies need to clearly attribute this damage on the holder. Until this happens, collectors please take note! Caveat emptor! 1. CT-33/250 counterfeits successfully imitate the original Crouch and Gray signatures with printed black ink. SPMC.org * Paper Money * Nov/Dec 2026 * Whole Number 366 415 Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months 920 PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter d. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 Free or Nominal In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means) e. 5 f. 920 g. 0 h. 920 i. 99.46% * if you are claiming electronic copies, go to line 16 on page 3. If you are not claiming electronic copies, skip to line 17 on page 3. 16. Electronic copy Circulation If present, check box a. b. 915 c. 920 d. 99.46% I certify that 50% of all my distribution copies (electronic and Print) are paid above a nominal price X Publication required. Will be printed in the 11/01/2025 issue of this publication. Publication not required 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner Title Date Pub/Editor 09/22/2025 I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions 910 (1) 842 837rate, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS (2) 0Requested rate, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies) (3) 73 Circulation 13. Publication Title 0 0 0 915 0 0 905 0 0 Below 08/01/2026 Extent and Nature of Circulation Published Nearest to filing Date a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run) b. Paid and/or PAPER MONEY 15. No. Copies of Single Issue Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales 0 68 0 Sales ,and Other Paid Distribution Ouside USPS (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) (1) (2) (3) c. Total Paid Distribution [Sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)] Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) (4) Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d. (1), (2), (3) and (4)) 5 5 5 Total Distribution (Sum of 15c. and 15e.) 910 Copies not Distributed (See Instructions to Publishers #4 (page #3)) 0 Paid Electronic Copies Total (Sum of 15f. and g.) 910 Percent Paid (15c. Divided by 15f. Times 100) 99.45% 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership Benny Bolin Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 905 Total Print Distribution (Line 15F) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 910 Percentage Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies (16b divided bt 16c x 100) 99.45% 416 For further information please contact: PCDA Susan Bremer – Secretary 16 Regents Park * Bedford, TX 76022 (214) 409-1830 * email: susanb@ha.com Or Visit Our Web Site At: www.pcda.com Dustin Johnston #18229. BP 22%, see HA.com 90167 DALLAS  |  NEW YORK  |  BEVERLY HILLS  |  CHICAGO  |  PALM BEACH LONDON  |  HONG KONG  |  MUNICH  |  TOKYO  |  PARIS  |  AMSTERDAM  |  BRUSSELS  |  GENEVA  Always Accepting Quality Consignments in 50+ Categories Immediate Cash Advances Available 2 Million+ Online Bidder-Members For a free appraisal, or to consign to an upcoming auction, contact a Heritage Expert today. 214.409.1001, Currency@HA.com or HA.com/Currency. PLATINUM SESSION® & SIGNATURE® AUCTION FUN 2027  |  January 13-15 Now Accepting Consignments to Our Official FUN Auction Deadline: November 23 Serial Number 1 New Orleans, LA - $100 1882 Value Back Fr. 586a The Commercial National Bank Ch. # (S)5649 PCGS Very Fine 20 Fr. 953b $20 1914 Red Seal Federal Reserve Note PCGS Superb Gem New 67PPQ Fr. 1216b $500 1882 Gold Certificate PCGS Banknote Choice Fine 15 Fr. 1132-D $500 1918 Federal Reserve Note PCGS Very Fine 30 Fr. 328 $50 1880 Silver Certificate PMG Very Fine 20 Fr. 269 $5 1896 Silver Certificate PCGS Banknote Choice Uncirculated 64 PPQ