With the Civil War looming on the horizon, the
economy of the United States grew more uncertain. People began hoarding silver
and gold coins. Others sent their coins to Canada to sell for scrap which had
risen to become more valuable than the coins were worth. At that time the
country’s only mint was in Philadelphia and the ability to keep enough coins in
the market place had been a growing problem since the mint started making coins
in 1793.
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| Used with permission from private collection. |
By1862 small coins had nearly disappeared. People were
either unable to get change back for their purchases or they were forced to buy
things they didn’t really want. Banks and merchants created their own promissory
notes and tokens of metal or wood. But the public didn’t like promissory notes
or wooden nickels. The value at one business didn’t always equal the same value
at another.
The use of postage stamps was thought to be the
answer, but the stamps were easily soiled and torn. If they got wet they would
stick together. A special brass case with a thin mica face was designed to hold
and protect each stamp. Merchants put their advertising on the back side of the
case and this worked well for a time.
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| Used with permission from private collection. |
However a dispute between the Post Office and the
Treasury Department soon followed, and stamps intended for use as money grew
too scarce to meet demand.
In July 1862 General F.E. Spinner, Treasurer of
the United States took blank paper, on which government securities were printed,
and cut it into small uniform sizes. He then pasted a few of the stamps onto
the cut pieces of treasury paper. The first production of these stamp papers
bore the name “Postal Currency” across the top. The small bills measured 2½ to
5 inches across and were issued in denominations of three, five, ten,
twenty-five, and fifty cents. Each denomination featured the same presidential
portraits as those found on the regular postage stamps.
In March of 1863 and in all issues afterward, the
papers were stamped “Fractional Currency.” They featured busts of Washington, Lincoln,
Liberty, and Columbia, and the Secretaries of the Treasury, Fessenden, Spinner,
Walker, and Crawford. Eleven different papers were used to prevent
counterfeiting.
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| Used with permission from private collection. |
These notes of Fractional Currency became the
legal tender for amounts up to one dollar and were to be used to alleviate the
coin shortage.
But the public hated the currency. The papers were
stuffed into the pockets of soldiers along with their jackknife, cartridges,
tobacco, and other small items. The notes became ragged and frequently had to
be exchanged. Because they resembled the little papers soaked in vinegar used
to treat sore legs, they became known as Shinplasters.
By 1875 the government made them redeemable for
coin and the last issue of Fractional Currency came in 1876.
Sources:
McCutcheon, Mark, The Writer’s Guide to Everyday
Life in the 1800’s, Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1993
Foster-Harris, William, The Look of the Old West,
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2007
Rollins, Philip Ashton, The Cowboy his
Characteristics, His Equipment, and His Part in the Development of the West,
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2007
