Notes that make you go “huh?”

To me, it's all about the story. I can appreciate the engraving on the Bison $10, but for me, the history of why these notes were so well made is as interesting as the note itself. What could $10 buy in 1900? Given that it was probably a week's wages, they would be rare, at least in the hands of the general public. So the cost of producing these notes was justified. And I think the vignette tells a lot about the state of mind of the nation that produces such a note. That Bison is a sign of a confident country, expanding westward. I’m afraid today’s notes just say “I’m utilitarian, I have loads of security features, spend me”.

 

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Well put!

 

Super nice Rickie B

 

Totally agree!

 

I'm pretty sure it was the Philippine currency, printed by the BEP when the Philippines were a U.S. territory. Originally, they made those notes a different size, so that they wouldn't be confused with regular U.S. currency; but then in 1929, they switched all U.S. currency to the smaller Philippine size to save on paper and ink costs.

At the same time, they implemented the idea of standardizing the designs across types, so that (say) all the $5's would look the same, instead of having totally different designs for the $5 USN, $5 SC, $5 FRN, and so forth. That made the currency a lot quicker and easier to recognize, but it took away a lot of the diversity of designs we'd had previously.

Incidentally, while the Educational notes and such may be beautiful from a collecting point of view, they raised a lot of complaints when they were actually in circulation. The dense designs caused a lot of ink to rub off on tellers'/cashiers' hands, and the ornamentally engraved denomination values made the notes difficult to sort and count quickly. On the whole, the modern designs get the job done a whole lot better....

 

Numbers.. that is correct.. I just looked it up again.. having just read a book on MPC's my mind was on the Korean variety.

Yes, I recall that in 1913 that all small size were to have the same uniform back design of the $Series 1914 $100. Secretary MacVeagh had made this proposal in 1910.

It was the Act of March 2, 1903 that authorized the printing of currency for the Phillipine Gov. When Sec Mac Veagh took office he appointed a committie to study the possibility of changing the size of the US currency due to the success of the Phillipine smaller size currency.

Hessler; Pg. 15 U.S. Essays ,Proof and Specimen Notes.

Regards and thanks for the correction..it made me look it up again.

Rick

 

That dude on the $10 looks like he spent a little too much time with Jimi and tha boyz ! He had a pretty good buzz on when he posed for that one. Seein' colors fo sho !

 

Yes, many of these notes are fabulous. Easy to understand the passion of currency collectors... lots of good lookin' stuff.

It helps me appreciate one major trend - whether it's coin or currency, US or world, allegorical figures are much more impressive than actual people.

Liberty > presidents or PMs every time.

 

You might be right about the dude on the $10. He's John A Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Miinster, so probably fair to say he's Canada's George Washington. But he was a lawyer and not a military leader, and legend has it that his "water glass" was usually full of gin when he rose to speak in our House of Commons. So the portrait is obviously after a long speech .


Again with the stories..... it's fitting that Canadian money has laywers while US money has generals, and that the Canadian used spirits to lift his spirits......

 

Ha! Gin - good story! I think it's the hair, but when I see that portrait I am reminded of Gene Wilder when he played Willie Wonka.

 

Thats what I was thinking....what would one cent buy in Zimbabwe? You would need 487 dumptruck loads to buy a Pepsi. Interesting piece, though. The expiration date alone is a great story.
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