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COLLECTING CITY OF NEW ORLEANS SCRIP
We recently had a discussion of the song “City of New Orleans” in The E-Sylum, but I just this week noticed Wendell Wolka's "Shinplaster Redemption" article in the December 2013 issue of The Numismatist, which discusses City of New Orleans shinplaster notes. So now we're back on a numismatic track (pun intended)! With permission, here is an excerpt of that great article. The picture credits go to Heritage Auctions. Many thanks to Wendell and Numismatist editor Barbara Gregory.
-Editor
$3 note printed on the backs of Holly Springs, Mississippi bank notes Let’s go back to April, 1862 and visit the situation in New Orleans. As was the case almost everywhere else, coins had disappeared from circulation as the realization grew, both north and south, that this was not going to be a war that would be concluded in a matter of weeks or months, but rather years. In another confirmation of Gresham’s Law (“bad money drives out good”) by late 1861, New Orleans was awash in chits and scrip notes issued by literally hundreds of merchants, shopkeepers, and even omnibus lines in an attempt to continue commerce. The city finally officially surrendered during the course of April 28-29, and General Benjamin Butler’s first infantry units entered the city on May 1, 1862. The city council took measures to instill public confidence in the myriad private shinplasters and other so-called “small notes” (typically in fractional and dollar denominations of less than $5). On April 28, 1862 the Committee for Public Safety published a list of thirteen issuers, including the Confederate government, the state of Louisiana, and the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. On May 3, the Mayor stated that the city would redeem all shinplasters and small notes and on May 6, the Committee for Public Safety added another seventeen issuers to its “approved” list. Later that same evening, five days after Union troops occupied the city, the city council passed an ordinance which created a formal process for stopping further private issues and redeeming those already in circulation. by May 19, 1862, issuers had two options for redeeming their notes. They could participate in the city’s program or comply with the federal order. The city continued with its program. One printer, J. Douglas, printed 25ȼ, 50ȼ, and $1 notes for the city’s program while another printer, Isaac T. Hinton printed the larger $2, $3, and $4 denominations. All were dated May 6, 1862. Later in 1862, a new series of notes dated October 24, 1862 was issued to redeem the May 6th notes and in October, 1864 a final issue of $20s was made to redeem the earlier notes. Wendell adds: New Orleans is turning out to be a fascinating paper money locale. Lots of characters and stories beyond the boredom of Canal Bank remainders. There were over 125 scrip issuers in the city alone; far more than in any other city in the Confederacy. Lots of research yet to be done. To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUIZ ANSWER: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n53a08.html) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY!Live and Work in Southern CaliforniaStack’s Bowers Galleries offers an important employment opportunity for the right person. We are seeking an experienced numismatist in the American series—coins, tokens, medals, and paper money—to work with our “dream team” of catalogers, building on the tradition of the Ford, Eliasberg, Bass, Cardinal, Norweb, Battle Born and other great collections. If you can write in an authoritative and compelling manner with a high degree of accuracy, this may be just right for you! You will be working in Irvine, a modern community in dynamic Orange County, California—one of the finest areas to live. We offer generous benefits including medical and dental coverage, 401K plan, and more. Our offices are in our own modern, state-of-the art building with all amenities. If you would like to be considered for this position please contact Q. David Bowers by mail or by email with your resumé, samples of your past writing (on numismatics or other subjects), and salary requirements: Mail to the attention of Q. David Bowers, PO Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. Email to: Ckarstedt@stacksbowers.com 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@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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