Help identifying $2 note (scrip?)
cmerlo1
Posts: 7,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
Despite working for ANACS coin grading and attending shows on their behalf, I'm actually an ephemera collector. There's a dealer who attends Texas shows that always has an interesting hodgepodge of paper items, and if something looks interesting to me I buy it. I acquired this from him at the Houston Coin Show yesterday. It measures 4.75" X 1.75" and is printed on only one side. The paper is very thin, almost like tissue paper. I showed it to a couple of dealer friends there who handle currency and it was suggested this is scrip of some kind. Looking in eBay, it looks like there were a lot of Marine Banks, and I couldn't find anything similar there or via an internet search. Does anyone know what this is, where it came from, and when it was made? Thanks in advance for your help!
Comments
That’s pretty cool. Maybe @lettow will see your post and have some ideas.
Actually, this one is kind of right up my alley as I like oddball obsolete stuff.
Yes, I have seen this note and several other similar ones and have spoken with others and developed various theories over the years. I own perhaps 5 or 6 different types, using several bank names. I'm pretty sure that they were not scrip nor legitimate issues of any bank.
Play money or practice currency are my leading theories, with play money being the most likely. Circa 1850s-60s.
This makes sense. It seemed too fragile to have been intended for circulation. Thanks for the info!!