I know that most people tell you to specialize. Otherwise you wonder off in all sorts of directions. I have long been a wonderer. I don’t collect a great deal of paper money, but I do have a type set of U.S. Fractional Currency that I assembled in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. I was looking at the collection yesterday and reading the United States Currency book by Ken Bressett when I ran into this quote that appeared in the Washington Star newspaper. “In 1862 small change became very scarce … It was more than a day’s search to find a silver five cent piece.” That got me to thinking about the type coins I have and the Fractional Currency. Here is an example of the “elusive silver five cent piece.” The Union Government's first answer for a replacement was this, the Postal Currency a.k.a. the first issue of Fractional Currency. The first pieces had perforated edges for separating the notes like stamps. Technically this piece is a stamp. Later the government gave up on the idea of the perforated edges because it they were not that much good for separating the notes from the printed sheets. That resulted in the straight edge pieces, which are a bit more common. The National Banknote Company printed the front of these notes, and the American Banknote Company printed the backs. It was supposed to prevent some printing clerk at one of the companies from stealing the notes. Counterfeits and the high prices the two banknote companies charged prompted the government to take the printing "in house." The Second Series of five cent notes looked like this. There continued to be counterfeiting issues which led to the third series of Fractional Currency. Here is the five cent note from that series. The man pictured on the front is Spencer Clark. He was an innovative government employee who came up with the wet printing process which revolutionized paper money production for the Union Government. He got into hot water for putting his portrait on a piece of currency. His boss, Francis Spinner, did the same thing, but he didn't get dinged for it. Ultimately the government came to the conclusion that these small five cent notes did not fare that well in circulation. But how was the government going to replace and redeem them? They couldn't do it with silver coins because those pieces would not circulate. They would be hoarded and sometimes exported to Canada or the Caribbean. The answer was the nickel five cent piece, which did not contain any silver. And with that, I have told my little story and used up all ten pictures that we can put in one post. .
Very nice looking fractional notes. I am missing ten notes for my fractional type set. For me, the higher denomination 1st issue notes and most of the 2nd issue notes are the hardest to find in a quality that interests me. I am missing two 3rd issue notes and one each of the 4th issue and 5th issue notes. It's a fun series to collect. I also am fussy about quality as most of my notes are either PPQ or EPQ designated notes. I have always been intrigued about the responses of the public to coin shortages. Within my broader collection I have small suites of Conder trade tokens, hard times tokens, Civil War store cards, and California fractional gold coins. They represent off shoot tunnels of the numismatic rabbit hole in which I find myself.
I imagine you want pieces with bright copper ovals. Finding that is something similar to finding red copper cents.
These were the two toughest for me. When I formed this collection, many of currency dealers were very much anti-certification. They boycotting the purchase of certified notes at the time. I'm not as fussy as your. If found the first issue 50 cent perforated and the third issue 50 cent justice to be the hardest. I think Spinner must have signed a lot of 50 cent Justice notes. The signed Spinner pieces were the cheapest examples to find.
I would hate to bank(roll search) for those. I should treat myself with a with a book of old notes. I think that’s my unfounded niche. Always a great read.
Love your history lesson. Thanks so much. Although I am a bit confused about the text on the back of many, saying, “ . . . designated Depositaries of the US in sums not less than THREE DOLLARS. Receivable in payment of all dues to the United States less than Five Dollars.” Why did they feel it was necessary to state that on a fractional item? Also, the first issues, if passed as stamps, why would they bother to print the reverse? Inquiring minds need to know. LOL
It limits the legal tender factor on these notes. These pieces were issued for the convenience of consumers to pay for day to day transactions. They were not intended to be used to significant amounts to the government. I would think it would eliminate the nuisance factor for government employees who didn't want to deal with with small sums. The whole thing started when people began to use postage stamps to pay for things after the coins were pulled from circulation. The law authorized larger stamps with no glue in the back of them. It also allowed the treasury to print stamps in larger sizes to make them easier to use. It DID NOT allow the printing on the back. That made these notes illegal, but it made them easier to use. You didn't have to turn them over to find out the denomination.
Those examples are beautiful. It seems that finding 2nd issue notes in any condition is more difficult than finding many of the other issues.
At some point I do to intend to photograph them, barring that I'll see if I can pull photos from the TPG sites.
