Stories Told by Notes

There is at least one person interested in stories told by notes (See this thread/post). I didn't want to hijack that thread, so I'm starting this one. To start, what note better tells a story than the Thailand Commemorative Banknote on the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 80th Anniversary, 5th December 2007. The obverse side of the note is an "uncut sheet" of a 1, 5, and 10 Baht notes, but the reverse side is a single engraving.



The King's father was a medical doctor who traveled to the US to study medicine at a hospital in Massachusetts. There he met a Thai woman who, if I remember correctly, was studying nursing. They were married and the future King was born in the US. The King as an infant in his fathers arms is at the upper left, and the King as an infant is at the upper right.

Following the images down the note, you see the King's older brother and sisters. The King met his future wife when he was living in Switzerland. They were married, he went back to Thailand and ascended to the throne to become king, he became a Buddhist monk for a short period of time (Thai men are considered "unripe" until they spend some time as a Buddhist monk), The King and Queen had one son and three daughters, and the King is a very good Jazz musician (he's played with Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, and Lionel Hampton). The King is also an artist, scientist, and photographer. You can see later in his life, you rarely see him without his camera.

The lower right corner depicts the King in his robe at the celebration of 60 years (the longest ruling monarch) as the King of Thailand.

I think this is an incredible note.

 

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Actually the Thai commemoratives are the only world notes outside of my females on banknotes theme that I collect. They produce very very well designed and significant notes, with nice folders and Thai and English descriptions.

Here is one I have of Queen Sirikit:



The then future Queen Sirikit of Thailand met her future husband King Bhumidol of Thailand while they were both studying abroad in Europe. On their return to Thailand in 1950 they were married. In 2004 Thailand commemorated the 6th cycle birthday of Queen Sirikit, her 72nd birthday, with this lovely commemorative 100 Baht note that was sold in a folder, with the funds raised going to her favourite charities. King Bhumidol and Queen Sirikit are very popular figures in Thailand, and give the nation a degree of stability in an otherwise trying political situation with Prime Ministers etc. I collect all the commemorative notes from Thailand, but this note in particular fits in with this feminine vignette on banknotes theme. Bank of Thailand's Note Printing Works has created a number of meaningful and highly collectable notes for collectors.

 

I collect Thai notes. I really like the commemoratives and the old notes from "ratthaban sayam" (Government of Siam). See:

http://www.panix.com/~clay/currency/Thailand.html
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The note you posted is one of my favorite notes -- I love the colors, the imagery, and the composition. The commemorative folder for the note has photographs corresponding some of the engravings, and as you indicated, they were kind enough to include Thai and English language.

 

Awesome thread and really cool idea on the uncut sheet. Very nice!

 

Wow that is a beautiful reverse on that sheet! Thats a neat idea!

 

i MUST own 1 i just MUST!!!! that is totaly awsome. The detail in the vingettes are amazing, and to have a sheet of that size showing such a story - a life - all in a single note (ok, the back of 3, but still)

i will be on the lookout for 1!

 

I do like that huge vignette on the Thai note! It’s pretty impressive. I’ve only got some small things to add – Chinese local notes that ‘seem’ to be telling some sort of story in their vignettes that are unfortunately lost to me so far. I’m certain that if they do say anything, they’d recount some local tale that’s likely forgotten even by most local people now. Here’re a few samples for your enjoyment:

 

WOW, that's not a note, it's a poster! Seriously, though, that is a great concept, and the artistry is fantastic. He sounds like a very interesting person, too!

The Chinese notes are very interesting, too. I wonder what the stories are? I must say my interests in history are much more Europe focused, to really know about the history of China.

 

Thanks for starting this thread. I hope more people add to it with beautiful interesting pieces like you have started of with. I am definatly going to try and locate some of these as well as the Cook $3 that got all of this started.
Thanks Kent

 

This is a 1 Kuan from the Ming Dynasty, it was one of the world's first paper monies, printed ca. 1368-1399 during the reign of Emperor Hong Wu. In addition to the oldest, it is also the largest paper money ever circulated. It is printed on mulberry bark paper, which gives it a darkish teal look to it. They are all believed to have been found under a large earthen statue in Beijing in 1936.



A kuan equaled 1000 cash.

Chinese paper money is reported to have been issued as early as the 8th century, but usually the earliest known notes are these Ming Dynasty notes which a small sized cache of them were found. These notes were reportedly being used in place of coins according to accounts attributed to Marco Polo.

 

A friend at work reads Chinese. He told me the note above is a 1931 note that is worth "2 stacks" redeemable in copper -- You actually got 2 stacks of copper!

 

Resu Eman and ScottishMoney - thanks for posting those notes. I love the vingettes on the noes posted by Resu Eman! They do look like they could be telling a story. But even if they are not... the imagery is very cool!

Scottishmoney... how big is that note if it is the largest ever circulated?

 

I will have to ask my daughter to measure the thing, it belongs to her.

 

WOW, that is amazing. I would probably be very nervous handling that, I'm sure by now it's quite brittle. The oldest paper I own, in any form, is from 1860. Even with that I am very, very carefull with it....I can't imagine having something made of paper roughly 700 years old. I love seeing that sort of thing though, that is really keeping history alive! Hmm, that means there is roughly 500 years worth of currency lost to history...or at least so far...That's kind of sad, but I'm happy that even your daughter's note and others like it have been preserved.

 

I had measured the note sometime ago, but I had to look up what I had written down, it is approximately 9" x 13". It is not something that any of us has handled, it has been mounted in a non-PVC frame.

 

wow, 9x13 is pretty big... imagine carrying our a dozen or so on the way to buy a cow... a wife... or a house????

 

Several years ago the Philippines printed a 100000 Piso note that is larger, but it sold for a premium over face value and never actually circulates. The 1 Kuan notes are still the oldest known, and the largest banknotes ever to actually circulate.

 

I love that old Kuan note! Where do you even find those notes? Would be so neat to have!

 

The Kuan note was bought at auction last year sometime. I have seen them come up a couple of times in world note auctions, there was a much rarer note from the same series that sold for $20K last year in the Lyn Knight auction.

 

One of the devastating effects of the Civil War was the ruin it created on banking in the United States. Banks during that era were state regulated, and regulation was spotty at best depending on the state. Banks failed and cost depositors and note holders money.

This note from Lancaster Ohio features a unique hometown son, John Sherman, whilst not so well known as his brother, William Tecumseh Sherman now, during the 19th century. John Sherman, like his now more famous brother, was born in Lancaster, OH in 1823 and rose to prominence during the early part of the Civil War when he was elected to the Senate seat vacated by Salmon Chase when the latter assumed the Treasury Secretary position in the Lincoln Administration. Curiously he opposed Hugh McCullough's desire to retire the Legal Tender notes issued during the Civil War, but remained an advocate of hard money, ie metal backed currency. In 1863 he was instrumental in the creation of the National Banking System to regulate banks and insure that their banknotes would be paid out by the National Banking System should the bank fail.

He was appointed Treasury Secretary by President of the US Rutherford Hayes in 1877. He finished his term with the Hayes administration and resumed his Senatorial seat from Ohio, which he served from until 1897, his most notable piece of legislation was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. He served as Secretary of State briefly during the McKinley administration before retiring in 1898.

It was not often that a National Bank anywhere could have a hometown son be prominently displayed on their local currency. With the new aspirations and manifest destiny theme so emblematic of this time in American history, it should be no surprise that the reverse of this lovely note portrays a worker, with tools, a contemporary steam locomotive, and yes, the attractive Miss Liberty.