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V4 2001 INDEX
E-SYLUM ARCHIVE
The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 49, December 2, 2001, Article 6
AFRICAN AMERICANS ON CURRENCY
Editors love to steal (er, "borrow") material from one another.
Here's an interesting piece from the November 7th YN
newsletter (which in turn came from the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing (BEP) web site at http://www.moneyfactory.gov/:
"It is a little known fact that five African Americans have had
their signatures on currency. The four African American men
whose signatures appeared on the currency were Blanche K.
Bruce, Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon and James C.
Napier. These men served as Registers of the Treasury. Until
the series 1923 currency, the two signatures on almost all
currency (except Fractional Currency and Demand Notes)
were of the Treasurer and the Register. During this period four
of the 17 registers were African American.
The fifth African American whose signature appeared on
currency was Azie Taylor Morton. Ms. Morton was the 36th
Treasurer of the United States. She served from September 12,
1977, to January 20, 1981. There are no images of African
Americans printed on U.S. currency. The records of the U.S.
Mint, the agency responsible for manufacturing U.S. coins,
show that two fifty cent commemorative silver coins were
produced during the 1940s commemorating Black Americans:
the Carver-Washington coin and the Booker T. Washington
memorial coin. The coins are listed in the Official Red Book
of United States Coins. These coins are only available from
collectors. The recently released Jackie Robinson coin can be
purchased directly from the United States Mint."
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com
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