This is a piece of sutler scrip I bought about 7 or 8 years ago and thought it would be worth posting. The vignette is of Mr. Bostwick himself, the sutler of Scott's Nine Hundred U.S. Cavalry, known officially as the 11th New York Cavalry. The unit was organized in 1861 in Canton, NY and fought throughout the Civil War, mostly in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Bostwick, the only sutler the unit had during the war, was apparently quite fair and honest and was pretty much liked by the men (unusual for that occupation). He also issued 10, 25, and 50 cent denominations. In a recent Stack's auction a piece like this sold for $104.00, and was not graded quite as high as this one. It's a great historic piece and thought you guys might be interested in seeing it. Bruce
Nice Piece. I think Heritage recently had a Sale of Sutler Script . The piece you present looks to be almost gem if not . Thanks for sharing.
Thanks coinman. It really looks gem to me in hand, but I'm not sure how they grade this type of note. I would like to get examples of the other three denominations, but only recall seeing the 10 cent note before. Apparently, the 25 and 50 cent notes are scarcer, which makes sense. They probably didn't print or issue as many of the higher denomination notes. Bruce
Very cool scrip, looks to be in excellent condition. I have to say, after looking at graded paper money on several different occasions, its tough for me to estimate a grade with any accuracy... I wonder how this one would grade.
I just got involved in paper money collecting in a serious way a short while ago Hunter. The only small thing I can see on this note is a tiny stain below the "B" of Bostwick. I may be missing something, because I'm way too new at grading to be sure. In any case this is a really nice note. Bruce
Nice specimens Bruce. I'm surprised to hear that the ones you mention at Stack's sold so inexpensively!
Cheetah: I was surprised with the Stack's price also, but I think the 5 cent denomination might be the most common. I've seen one or two 10 cent notes, but never a 25 or 50 cent issue. I am looking to get an example of the other three, but it may take some time. Mark: Yeah, I'll be looking for the other members of the family on Friday. Bruce
BRandM, That is a very pretty note. Enlarging the photo, I see what looks to be like 'handwork' in each of the corners, and on the back side (terminology?). Very intricate handwork it all looks like, so I took off on the internet to see if I could find who actually designed that note. To no avail.. but I did learn a lot about scrip notes, and even found another one looking just like yours, with a little more info. If it is possible that there was a woman's influence on some of that design, well then perhaps that is where the model came from. Being a crocheter of fine thread myself, that is what I find attractive about that note. And then again, maybe it's not handwork, but just someone's drawing skills!! Anyway, just caught my eye and I had to say so! Lucy
Bruce: Quite a nice example of a piece with a rich New York history. Thanks for sharing this with the forum.
I appreciate your comments everyone. If I get any other examples I'll be sure to post them. Thanks. Bruce
Ummm maybe you shouldn't post more of them, you might get me a little to interested. I really don't need to start collecting something new! I have my hands full already, LOL! Just kidding (I think), Can't wait to see more! Thanks Bruce
But they're really small Mark...and thin. They don't take up much space. Just push aside your Icelandic hoard a little and bingo, they've found a home. :thumb: Bruce
Nooooope, I'm not going to collect notes....I'm not going to collect notes....I'm not going to collect notes....
Is 6896 a [unique] serial..? Were they mechanically incremented automatically? If so, the digit alignment is quite straight.
I've seen a number of examples of these notes Cheetah and the serial numbers are always different, but I don't know how they were applied. Hopefully one of our currency experts will respond with some insight into how they would have been printed. Bruce
