A PROGRESSION OF FISCAL PAPER

In July, Nummis Nova folks met at Ozzie's Good Eats, an Italian Restaurant in Fairfax. On that Tuesday evening the actual air temperature hit 100 degrees, with a heat index somewhere near the "hades-on-a-hot-plate" comfort level. With no vehicle air conditioning, Tom bowed out from driving, missing in-person dining at the last minute; yet now brings you some "would-be show-and-shares," just as if they were passed around the table that night. My theme was "A Progression of Fiscal Paper."

Collecting "ephemera" meaning "short-lived items" and to a numismatist includes old fiscal paper which give fascinating glimpses into the fragments of everyday life from long ago. According to the Ephemera Society of America Website: Ephemera is a vast and diverse field of collecting that is hard to define, of things or stuff originally produced for an immediate, practical purpose with no thought that it would be saved or preserved.

Passing through a small town in Virginia I found a stack of old documents in a dusty antique store and was amazed at how informal early banking could be.

 

One Thousand Dollar Draft drawn on the Farmers & Mechanics Bank in Georgetown, (founded by George Corbin Washington and Romulus Riggs in 1814) in Washington D.C. of July 31, 1856.

Here is just a scrap of lined note paper that served as a one-thousand-dollar bill, payable to D. G. & Co. or bearer to be drawn from John Dickson's account. It has no security features other than a signature. Another scrap of paper torn from a school notebook served as a check in old Georgetown.

 

Georgetown Farmer's & Mechanic's Bank (Washington D.C.) check for $157.81 from January 6, 1859 endorsed by a signature on the back.

Upscale banks and those that stayed in business for more than a few months would issue pre-printed checks on stationary as a simple means of verification and authenticity of the document.

 

Union Bank Draft from Boston on Oct 16, 1858 for $44.80 printed by C. K. Darling, Stationer, 20 State Street

 

Ilion Bank of Herkimer, New York - Check for $51.22 of April 2, 1853.

Fancier banks employed steel engravings on their pre-printed fiscal paper making it harder to forge documents. Well established banks had the time and money to make a good show of their respectability by ordering fine steel engraved vignettes from specialty bank note printing houses.

 

Merchants Bank of Burlington, Vermont $395.87 Check of June 20, 1865 with pastoral sheep and duty paid by George Washington U. S. Internal Revenue two-cent stamp with hand-written ink cancellation.

U. S. Revenue stamps in denominations from one cent to two hundred dollars were issued during the Civil War starting in 1862, to help fund the war by payment of duties on "proprietary" items like playing cards, patent medicines, alcohol, tobacco, cotton and even photographs, or "documentary" items such as bank checks, bonds, leases, life insurance policies, mortgages, probate of wills, and surety bonds. By buying the stamps and affixing them on documents proof of taxes paid was demonstrated.

 

Banking House of R. S. Battles of Girard, Pennsylvania $344.47 check of October 16, 1913, printed by the Western Banknote and Engraving Company of Chicago with vignettes of sailor / blacksmith / farmer on left and an 1878 scene of cattle being driven to the stockyards on horseback on right.

Well established banks issued large "saddle blanket" size fancy checks to match the currency with multiple steel-engraved vignettes, multi-color ink, and fancy borders. Cancellations are done by ink stamps.

 

Humboldt County Warrant (City of Winnemucca, Nevada) for $40.00 of July 1, 1927 with steel engraving of overshot waterwheel-driven mill and aqueduct

Once paid and settled these used checks should have been tossed into the rubbish bin after a few years, and yet this old junk survived. These are some of the wonderful and unusual numismatic ‘trash?' and treasure that would have been seen around the Nummis Nova dinner table in July, if only the weather cooperated. I'm glad to share them with you now. Stay cool.

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