Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Collect89, post: 2437853, member: 15445&quot;]Thanks for the thread VK.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>One of my side collections contains Leprosy colony coins.&nbsp; In the early 20th Century, there were Leprosy colonies in the following locations:</p><p>Brazil - Colonia Santa Tereza Leper Colony</p><p>Columbia - Lazaretto Leper Colony</p><p>Japan - Nagashima-Aisei</p><p>Panama – Palo Seco Leper Colony</p><p>Philippines - Culion Leper Colony</p><p>USA - Carville Louisiana and Pearl City Hawaii</p><p>Venezuela – Maricaibo, Isla de Providencia, and Cabo Blanco</p><p><br /></p><p>It was believed that Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) was highly contagious and that it might be transmitted through the coins &amp; currency that were handled by the infected individuals. For this reason, special money was made to circulate in the colonies. (Except the USA colonies (or leprosariums) which used regular US currency). Some of these leprosy colony moneys were government issued and some are considered privately issued tokens today. There were a few compelling reasons for issuing special money at the colonies. (1) It was obviously an attempt to keep the area government money out of the hands of the inmates. (2) It made it difficult for inmates to purchase things like rum from the black market dealers. (3) It also made it difficult for an inmate to save up cash and orchestrate an escape.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is an example from Columbia&#039;s Lazaretto Leper Colony:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]507486[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in