Question for the older members regarding 1969C and 1969D FRNs

luckybucks

Does anybody know about the suspension of currency production in January and February of 1974 ?



Did either of these months have no currency production ?



From what I can tell, currency production was at a trickle by December 1973, but resumed in March of 1974.



Any info / insight would be a great help.

Jim61

Bill, I don't remember for sure. But the time period you are questioning was a couple of months after the start of the oil embargo of around Oct. 1973 This event ended Mar. 1974. I remember those days very well in New England and Eastern New York. This might have something to do with your question. Maybe the paper deliveries were greatly affected by the lack of gas and diesel available at the time to make the required timely deliveries.

Obviously this is a little bit of an educated guess on my part.

luckybucks

Thanks Jim.



uspapermoney.info has extended the serial numbers back to January 1974, but the tables are blocky.



Some of data for January and February 1974 are lumped together.

xxJOExx

Yes, for a brief time in early 1974, the BEP ceased currency production in order to produce gas ration coupons that were anticipated to have been needed starting March 1 of that year. Ultimately the gas ration coupons were never used.

SaorAlba

Originally posted by: xxJOExx

Yes, for a brief time in early 1974, the BEP ceased currency production in order to produce gas ration coupons that were anticipated to have been needed starting March 1 of that year. Ultimately the gas ration coupons were never used.

Occasionally I see those coupons for auction on HA.com.



I vaguely remember the embargo, I was a young kid - I do remember gas lines and my mother griping about filling up the car - a 1964 Ford Galaxy - it was a boat.

STLNATS

I do remember gas lines and my mother griping about filling up the car - a 1964 Ford Galaxy - it was a boat.



My first car while in college was a baby blue 1964 Galaxy 500 with a big V8 and 4 barrel carburetor that I wish I still had. Just before the embargo I remember pulling into a Texaco station and the attendant (this was before the days of pump your own) came out and asked "fill 'er up?" Being a student of fairly limited means (altho I was buying coins when I could of course) I replied, no just $3 worth. The attendant looked puzzled and asked "what's the difference?" thinking the that was close to the cost to fill the tank. Prices have increased a tad since then...

2ndCharter

The winter of '73-'74 was also the time that President Nixon made Daylight Savings Time all year round (supposedly to save energy) so, in January, the sun wasn't coming up until after 8:30 in upstate New York. Yeah, it was fun sitting in long gas lines in the dark.....

luckybucks

Originally posted by: xxJOExx

Yes, for a brief time in early 1974, the BEP ceased currency production in order to produce gas ration coupons that were anticipated to have been needed starting March 1 of that year. Ultimately the gas ration coupons were never used.

So there was no currency production at all ?

xxJOExx

Originally posted by: luckybucks
So there was no currency production at all ?

Right. At a senate hearing in May 1974, BEP director James Conlon reported on the bureau's recent activities and explained how the BEP had made arrangements with the Federal Reserve to stop currency production in order to produce the estimated quantity of gas ration coupons needed by March 1. Interestingly, the BEP at that time also unexpectedly had to increase production of postage stamps due to an unanticipated delay in the implementation of a postal rate increase. Conlon didn't cite a precise amount of time that currency production was on hiatus, only that production was laid aside for "an interim period of time."

luckybucks

Thanks Joe



I was looking on uspapermoney.info, and for most of the denominations, there was no production in January 1974. For the series 1969D $1 BD and LD blocks, he has those listed as January / February 1974. It looks like those ranges properly belong to February 1974, and there was no production in January.



It appears so far that the production for February 1974 consisted of $1's (BD and LD) and POSSIBLY some $10's.

xxJOExx

Could be, although we need more information to be able to say with certainty. If currency production was stopped for six weeks starting Jan 1 and resumed Feb 12, then all of the production at that time would properly belong to February. On the other hand, if currency production was stopped for six weeks starting ten days later (Jan 11) and resumed Feb 22, then a small portion of the production would belong to both January and February.

synchr

Please, only older members!
LOL

goodpaper

By the early 1970s, American oil consumption was rising even as domestic oil production was declining, leading to an increasing dependence on oil imported from abroad, i.e. "Foreign Oil". Despite this, Americans didn't worry much about a dwindling supply or a spike in prices, and were encouraged in this attitude by policymakers in Washington who believed that Arab oil exporters couldn’t afford to lose the huge revenue flow from the U.S. market. These assumptions were, however, demolished in 1973 when an oil embargo imposed by members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) led to fuel shortages and sky-high prices throughout much of the decade. For a while there were long lines at the gas pumps and a great deal of uncertainty as to how this would play out, with eventual government rationing being one of the possible scenarios. I wasn't aware of the gas ration ticket effect on the production of U.S. currency, but I'm not surprised.