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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Seattlite86, post: 2651372, member: 59737&quot;]This is really cool reading; I recommend everyone take a gander:</p><p>Widespread hoarding of coins during the Civil War created a shortage, prompting the use of stamps for currency. To be sure, the fragility of stamps made them unsuitable for hand-to-hand circulation, and to solve this problem, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gault" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gault" rel="nofollow">John Gault</a> invented the encased postage stamp in 1862. A normal U. S. stamp was wrapped around a circular cardboard disc and then placed inside a coin-like circular brass jacket. A transparent mica window in the jacket allowed the face of the stamp to be seen. All eight denominations available in 1861-62, ranging from 1 cent to 90 cents, were offered in encased versions.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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