I just bought a couple "Bo" Dollars.
keets
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So I guy comes into the store and asks me how much we'd pay for "Bo" Dollars and he hands me two 1922 Peace Dollars. I'm familiar with the term and have heard it used for quite a while. I even have a rough idea of its origin but thought I would see if others are familiar with it and what their understanding of it is.
Al H.
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I have speculated on this for decades. Was commonly used by Blacks bringing silver dollars into coin shops in Chicago. Historically, many of the Blacks in Chicago migrated north from New Orleans and “the Delta,” which is either side of the Mississippi River south of Tennessee.
I believe that “bo” is a phonetic corruption of the French Creole “beau,” one definition of which is “good.” At the end of the Civil War if you had a Confederate paper dollar you had trash, but if you had a real silver dollar you had a “beau dollar.”
I have heard blacks use the term in the past.
I asked various people who used the term how they spelled it, and most did not know. It was an oral tradition passed down in the culture.
One gentleman pointed to the “bow” on the ribbon on his Morgan dollar and said it was because of that bow. I solemnly thanked him for his explanation.
I never worked many coin shows on the coasts, but the few times I had the chance to speak with Blacks selling silver dollars I asked them if they were familiar with the term “bo dollar” and I never met anybody who was. This is one reason why I think it is mainly a center of the country thing, though of course some people have moved east or west from here.
So “Bo” dollar means silver dollar?
Yes, as opposed to paper dollar.
Here is an interesting note....William Hargis Bowman, Jr. (April 21, 1941 – February 22, 2011),[1] better known by his stage name, Beau Dollar, was a soul vocalist and drummer for King Records. He performed on many studio albums for various artists under contract with King, including James Brown. His most prominent work was performed as "Beau Dollar & The Dapps" and "Beau Dollar & The Coins". Other than that... The Beau Dollar (usually Bo Dollah) was a southern term as described above.... Cheers, RickO
we are in the Greater Cleveland area and, yes, a "Bo" Dollar is a term that Blacks will typically use for a Silver Dollar. I have heard them use the term for many years, men/women/old/young, never anyone else. I have been told they acquired the term when the Dollars were used as a tip and that "Bo" might be a derivation of "Boy" as used in the South with waiters, bell hops,doormen, etc. I have also heard the term is somehow linked to "hobo" but in reality no one has ever given me a firm reason of the origin.
I've read that unlike a bum, a hobo will work for a handout meal. Frequently, the work would be to hoe the vegetable garden to keep the weeds down. They would be called a hoe boy which was eventually shortened to hobo.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Fascinating!
A little off topic, but it was not until I lived in NYC that I heard the term "case quarter" , meaning an actual quarter instead of just 25¢.
I never heard of a Bo Dollar. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I think learning other slang numismatics terms such as this would be interesting.
I grew up in Detroit and heard the term "case quarter" occasionally.
Well I learned something new here today. Thanks for sharing.
Collect raw morgans, walkers, mercs, SLQ, barber q. Looking at getting into earlier date coins pre 1900s.
About the musician and his stage name:
https://homeofthehits.blogspot.com/2011/07/who-knows-beau-dollar.html
When I taught at Bronx Community College, I had a Gullah student ask me for a case quarter once. Didn't know what he meant, but gave him a quarter anyway. He was pleased.
When did you teach there? I lived on Sedgwick Ave close to the campus from 00-06 and my wife took some classes there as well during that time.
'07 to 2010, then transferred to Baruch for a few years. The CUNY system will suck the life out of anyone after a few years. Might try teaching again someday after I retire.
I’ve heard “case quarter” or “case money” used to mean “my last quarter” before. Anyone else?
My wife ended up doing part of her degree at CCNY. I took some courses at John Jay.
If you ever teach again, hope it goes well. My wife ended up a HS teacher and has been doing that for 10 years now. It's definitely a grind, but has special rewards too.
Here are some interesting possible answers. No guarantee that any of them are correct.
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Awr9BOCapA5dYf0AcfZpCWVH;_ylu=X3oDMTByb2lvbXVuBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--?qid=20070317191204AAMFe2E
For whatever reason this thread made me think of this
https://youtu.be/pS6zJ7IsJkM
No clue as to the origination but have heard the term “Bo Dollar” used many times when doing business on the southern end of Chicago.
A case quarter just means an actual quarter vs two dimes and a nickel.
I don't know if it comes from 'just in case' or 'case' as in all together.
My first thoughts...….
In poker, the term 'case' has the same meaning.
"He hit the case ace on the river ".....meaning the last ace in the deck came up on the river.
Wow! I had forgotten that term. Heard it years ago in Boston from an African American man and had a discussion about it with a close friend who was black/female/southern. I suspect it is from southern black culture or just southern culture.
It did mean an actual/solid quarter rather than two dimes and a nickel, for example, where a quarter was needed for a parking meter (where I heard it used) or something similar.
Never heard of Bo for a dollar.
This would be a fascinating area for study.
Edit: I am starting to second guess myself...I am now not sure if "case quarter" meant change for a quarter. But in any case it refers to the format of the 25 cents. I think it rsfers to an actual quarter but I am not sure.
It's definitely an actual quarter, and would be used when a quarter is needed vs 25¢- like a parking meter that only takes quarters.
Another possibility here - https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-3/beau-dollar/ - "Boar" or "Boer" dollar, with the connotation of carrying one for good luck.
I have trouble believing the tip/gratuity origin, since back when this probably originated an entire silver dollar as a tip would have been a day's pay, an enormous amount to leave as a tip.
From the Deecember 17, 1952 newspaper "The Montgomery Advertiser" in Montgomery, Alabama comes this:
Pete
“Male from which nothing has been detracted?”
I have never heard the term before ("Bo Dollar ")
"Solid quarter" is used commonly around here but I also have never heard "case" quarter.
I have never heard any of these terms. I've lived in New England and the Rocky Mountains. Sawbuck, a five-spot, two bits, a Benjie.... those things I've heard.
Mannie gray ... what regions have you lived in?
BryceM ... what states?
I am trying to figure out where "Bo Dollar" is used by eliminating states where it is not used.
From University of Wisconsin ... https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-3/beau-dollar/
beau dollar
beau dollar n Also sp bo dollar, Boer ~, bow ~ [Prob < Fr (through LA creole Fr) beau beautiful—often used as vague term of commendation. The comb beau dollar is attested in Fr texts, though it is not clear whether it specifically denotes a silver dollar.]
1941 in 2009 Calt Barrelhouse Words 14, Beau (bo) dollar—You need not think because you’re yeller / I’m gonna give you my last beau dollar. —Son House, “Am I Right Or Wrong,” 1941 (L[ibrary of] C[ongress]). 1944 TN Folk Lore Soc. Bulletin 10.9, A reader inquired about the origin of the term “bo-dollar.” . . The expression is widely used by negroes in the Mid-South, particularly at lumber camps along the Mississippi River. . . Several explanations . . were sent in. . . One suggested . . that “bo-dollar” is a corruption of “boat-dollar,”. . . Another reader said the term was a corruption of the term “hobo dollar,”. . . Another . . suggested that “bo-dollar” was a corruption of the expression “boar dollar,” so-called after the male hog. . . because the negroes considered the boar to be an animal that always achieved what it wanted. 1949 Florence Morning News (SC) 2 Nov 2/5, One of our students, . . asked me if I knew the meaning of a “Boer dollar.” . . He had heard the expression often in the phrase: “I have lost my Boer dollar.” This indicated the loss of luck. . . Nobody knew its origin, or how to spell it. . . Last summer, while in Canada, he renewed his inquiry and was informed that during the Boer War the English soldiers sometimes carried a Boer dollar for a talisman or charm. I then went home, sat down at the dinner table and asked the maid: “Wilhelmina, did you ever hear of a Boer dollar?” “Yes sir.” “Well, what is it?” “It’s a silver dollar.” “Is it lucky to carry one?” “Yes sir, two of ’em is better than one.” 1950 Hughes Simple Speaks, Well, you know how many things a woman carries in her pocketbook. Zarita had lost them all . . compact busted open, powder spilt, mirror, . . big old silver Bow-Dollar for luck, address books, . . also a shoehorn. 1953 PADS 19.9 NC, Bo dollar. . . Silver dollar. Used by Negroes of Pilot Mountain, who customarily go to a local bank to have paper dollars exchanged for silver ones. 1965–70 DARE (Qu. U27, . . A silver dollar) 34 Infs, chiefly Sth, scattered S Midl, Beau dollar [27 Infs Black]. 1971 Chicago Tribune (IL) 14 Feb sec 5 8/1, The first time I heard the expression “Beau-dollar” was 20 years ago when a black man came into my newly opened coin store and asked to purchase one. . . The word “Beau” is a slang expression in Louisiana Cajun French, meaning “real,” as opposed to the paper dollars that have been mistrusted thruout the world’s history. 1972 Atlanta Letters nGA, Beau dollar. Bow dollar—silver dollar. 1973 DARE File cAL, Bo dollar. . . Silver dollar. 1995 (2004) Huntley–Montgomery Black Workers’ Struggle 111 cnAL [Black], So he had a meeting with the black folks and said that he had a big tub sitting over there with a bunch of bow dollars in it. 2002 DARE File seWI, Beau dollar. . . I first ran into the term in 1975 in Milwaukee while I had my coin store. . . I heard it repeatedly but only by blacks.
This is my favorite explanation: "The word “Beau” is a slang expression in Louisiana Cajun French, meaning “real,” as opposed to the paper dollars that have been mistrusted thruout the world’s history."
It also supports the suggestions that the term is linked to a specific region and possibly ethnicity.
What I have been preaching for years!
The earlier post probably had the correct answer. It is the most reasonable explanation I have heard so far.
I've only used it heard for a 25 cent piece rather than 2 dimes and a nickel.
I heard the term case quarter often in the south. I always thought it meant a clad quarter because the copper was in a case.
I thought it stood for "Best Offer" and I've been waiting to hear how much you paid for them!
There used to be a late night (Video Catalog Channel) local cable channel when I was in Ft Walton Beach & Pensacola Florida that used to use an acronym BRIO (pronounced bree-o)...Best Reasonable Intelligent Offer on their wares (knives, coins, pocket watches, etc...) for sale.
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore...
Southern Illinois only, Cap'n.
...when and where I’m from “Bo Knows” and that dollar better fold or you won’t be shooting the dice
That does seem odd, as it is right on the Great Migration route, but then again while you were there would you ever have had occasion to speak with a Black Person specifically about silver dollars? I never heard the term until I worked in coin shops and Black people came in to sell them. It just never came up anywhere else.
Neat post. I've never heard the term before, and I've lived in every state on the Gulf Coast except Alabama.
You must hang out with the wrong people.
The first time I heard the term "case quarter" was years ago in Boston. Three of us (two suburban white males and an African Amer female from Georgia) were walking down the street and a young black guy (who was obviously an out-of-towner) held out a few coins and asked us if we had a case quarter for the parking meter. The other guy and I both stood there clueless and our Southern friend was very embarrassed and pulled out a quarter for him. To her it was second nature but to us he might as well have been speaking Chinese.