tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473878955432220870.post7952577728756150497..comments2023-10-14T05:43:31.214-04:00Comments on Urban Archeologist: There's no money, like old money, like no money I knowGreg VAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13821827035061844702noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473878955432220870.post-25038089698192123702012-09-10T19:21:40.740-04:002012-09-10T19:21:40.740-04:00The U.S. "Fractional Currency" was actua...The U.S. "Fractional Currency" was actually printed by our Federal government itself (not the Post Office) for use as money during the Civil War. Coins were being hoarded by everyone. Someone had to fill the gap. Technically, you could still buy a candy bar today in 2012 with several of those. They remain Legal Tender. <br /><br />Your particular 25-cent note is among the most common issues. They are usually found heavily worn. Probably because people treated them like change except they were made out of paper. <br /><br />I have the same 25-cent note as you, in about the same shape. <br /><br />That's Robert J. Walker on the front. I think. <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Walker<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473878955432220870.post-61850714493889835892012-09-10T19:02:56.916-04:002012-09-10T19:02:56.916-04:00I collected old paper money a long time ago. All o...I collected old paper money a long time ago. All of those are unquestionably real in my admittedly amateur opinion. Fakes will tend to be printed on a really gaudy, fake parchment that looks coffee-stained. The brown ink in the signatures is another good sign. The ink used in the steel dip pens that people signed these with by hand was originally blue-black iron gall ink but the iron compounds basically turn into rust over the years and thus the color changes. <br /><br />Also note the blue ink stamped serial number on the Bank of New England note. <br /><br />Many privately-issued U.S. currencies of this period didn't even have a design on the back. Perhaps they used scraps from other printings on that 25-cent note with the conflicting numerals on the back, in an attempt to avoid wasting expensive currency paper. That is a very crude and cheaply designed note. It is typical of the Civil War period where even copper cents were being hoarded by people and there just weren't any coins going around. <br /><br />Also, fakes will tend not to have any honest circulation wear. Unless they are fakes made at the same time as the real thing that people were actually using as real money. In such a case they are probably worth more than the real thing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com