1863 *CIVIL WAR ERA* ~UNITED STATES FRACTIONAL CURRENCY~ 25c (#1309) BANKNOTE!

Description: 1874 **SCARCE** ~UNITED STATES~ 25 CENT (FRACTIONAL CURRENCY) UNGRADED BANKNOTE ... WITH GRAPHIC "ROBERT JAMES WALKER" {{18TH UNITED STATE SECRETARY OF TREASURY}} VIGNETTE! (Approximate dimensions: 3 1/2" x 2 1/16").___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fifty-cent fractional currency depicting Francis E. Spinner, with autograph signature.Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal governmentfollowing the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the United States dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876, and issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 cents across five issuing periods.[1][2][3] The complete type set below is part of the National Numismatic Collection, housed at the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution.[nb 1]HistoryEncased postage designed by John Gault.The Civil War economy catalyzed a shortage of United States coinage[4]—gold and silver coins were hoarded given their intrinsic bullion value relative to irredeemable paper currency at the time.[5][6] In late 1861, to help finance the Civil War, the U.S. government borrowed gold coin from New York City banks in exchange for Seven-thirties treasury notes[7] and the New York banks sold them to the public for gold to repay the loan.[7] In December 1861, the Trent Affair shook public confidence with the threat of war on a second front. The United States Department of the Treasury suspended specie payments[8] and banks in New York City stopped redeeming paper money for gold and silver.[9] In the absence of gold and silver coin, the premium for speciebegan to devalue paper currency.[10] After the New York banks suspended specie payments (quickly followed by Boston and Philadelphia)[11] the premium on gold rose from 1–3% over paper in early January 1862 to 9% over paper in June 1862,[10] by which time one paper dollar was worth 91.69 cents in gold.[10] This fueled currency speculation (e.g., redeeming banknotes for silver coin which was then sold at a premium as bullion),[12] and created significant disruption across businesses and trade.[13] Alternate methods of providing small change included the reintroduction of Spanish quarter dollars in Philadelphia,[13] cutting dollar bills in quarters or halves,[14] refusing to provide change (without charging a premium for providing silver coins),[14] or the issuance of locally issued shinplasters(i.e., those issued by businesses or local municipalities), which was forbidden by law in many states.[14]Treasurer of the United States Francis E. Spinner has been credited with finding the solution to the shortage of coinage: he created postage currency (which led into the use of fractional currency).[15] Postage (or postal) currency was the first of five issues of US Post Office fractional paper money printed in 5-cent, 10-cent, 25-cent, and 50-cent denominations and issued from 21 August 1862 through 27 May 1863.[16] Spinner proposed using postage stamps, affixed to Treasury paper,[17] with his signature on the bottom (see illustration below). Based on this initiative, Congress supported a temporary solution involving fractional currency and on 17 July 1862 President Lincoln signed the Postage Currency Bill into law.[3] The intent, however, was not that stamps should be a circulating currency.[18]The design of the first issue (postage currency) was directly based on Spinner's original handmade examples. Some varieties even had a perforated stamp-like edge. While not considered a legal tender, postage currency could be exchanged for United States Notes in $5 lots[19] and were receivable in payment of all dues to the United States, up to $5.[nb 2] Subsequent issues would no longer include images of stamps and were referred to as Fractional Currency. Despite the July 1862 legislation, postage stamps remained a form of currency until postage currency gained momentum in the spring of 1863.[20] In 1863, Secretary Chase asked for a new fractional currency that was harder to counterfeit than the postage currency. The new fractional currency notes were different from the 1862 postage currency issues.[nb 3] They were more colorful with printing on the reverse, and several anti-counterfeiting measures were employed: experimental paper, adding surcharges, overprints, blue endpaper, silk fibers, and watermarks to name a few. Fractional currency shields which had single-sided specimens were sold to banks to provide a standard for comparison for detecting counterfeits.[21] Postage and fractional currency remained in use until 1876, when Congress authorized the minting of fractional silver coins to redeem the outstanding fractional currency.[15][22]Issuing periods and varietiesIssuing periods of United States fractional currencyIssuing periodPeriod datesDenominations issuedFeatures/varieties[23]First issue21 Aug 1862 27 May 1863$0.05 $0.10 $0.25 $0.50Issued as postage currency with two main varieties: 1) edges (straight versus perforated), and 2) monogram (presence or absence of the American Bank Note Co. monogram (ABCo) on the reverse).[nb 4] All four denominations bear the stamp motif on the obverse.Second issue10 Oct 1863 23 Feb 1867$0.05 $0.10 $0.25 $0.50Introduction of numerous anti-counterfeiting measures: bronze oval (obverse), bronze ink surcharge (reverse), use of fiber paper.[nb 5]Third issue5 Dec 1864 16 Aug 1869$0.03 $0.05 $0.10 $0.25 $0.50Sporadic use of surcharges, signatures introduced (except 3-cent) both printed (PS) and autographed (AS), design features (or position indicators) – either the letter "a", the number "1", or both, on the extreme left obverse.[25]Fourth issue14 Jul 1869 16 Feb 1875$0.10 $0.15 $0.25 $0.50Additional anti-counterfeiting measures: watermarked paper ("US"), embedding of large silk fibers, blue tinted end paper.[26]Fifth issue26 Feb 1874 15 Feb 1876$0.10 $0.25 $0.50Color tinting in paper, silk fibers.[27]Inspiration, model, and proof for the first issue (postage currency)Spinner's initial signed design (photo) Original model artworkWorking proof with pencil notationsComplete type set of United States fractional currencyValueSeriesSize[nb 6]Fr. no.[nb 7]ImagePortraitVarieties[nb 8]$0.05First issue65 × 43.5 mmFr.1231Thomas Jefferson1228 – Perforated; monogram 1229 – Perforated; no monogram 1230 – Straight; monogram 1231 – Straight; no monogram$0.10First issue65 × 43.5 mmFr.1240George Washington1240 – Perforated; monogram 1241 – Perforated; no monogram 1242 – Straight; monogram 1243 – Straight; no monogram$0.25First issue65.5 × 45 mmFr.1280Thomas Jefferson1279 – Perforated; monogram 1280 – Perforated; no monogram 1281 – Straight; monogram 1282 – Straight; no monogram$0.50First issue65.5 × 45 mmFr.1312George Washington1310 – Perforated; monogram 1311 – Perforated; no monogram 1311a – Same, except 14 versus 12 perf/20 mm 1312 – Straight; monogram 1314 – Straight; no monogram$0.05Second issue65.5 × 47 mmFr.1232George Washington1232 – No surcharge 1233 – Surcharge "18-63" 1234 – Surcharge "18-63" and "S" 1235 – Surcharge "18-63" and "R-1"; Fiber paper$0.10Second issue65.5 × 47 mmFr.1246George Washington1244 – No surcharge 1245 – Surcharge "18-63” 1246 – Surcharge "18-63" and "S” 1247 – Surcharge "18-63" and "I” 1248 – Surcharge "0-63" 1249 – Surcharge "18-63” and "T-1"$0.25Second issue65.5 × 47 mmFr.1284George Washington1283 – No surcharge. 1284 – Surcharge "18-63" 1285 – Surcharge "18-63" and "A" 1286 – Surcharge "18-63" and "S" 1287 – Unissued Friedberg number 1288 – Surcharge "18-63" and "2" 1289 – Surcharge "18-63" and "T-1"; fiber paper 1290 – Surcharge "18-63" and "T-2"; fiber paper$0.50Second issue65.5 × 47 mmFr.1322George Washington1314 – No surcharge 1315 – Unissued Friedberg number 1316 – Surcharge "18-63" 1317 – Surcharge "18-63" and "A" 1318 – Surcharge "18-63" and "1" 1319 – Unissued Friedberg number 1320 – Surcharge "18-63" and "0-1"; fiber paper 1321 – Surcharge "18-63" and "R-2"; fiber paper 1322 – Surcharge "18-63" and "T-1"; fiber paper$0.03Third issue66 × 40.5 mmFr.1226George Washington1226 – Portrait light background 1227 – Portrait dark background$0.05Third issue64 × 46 mmFr.1238Spencer Clark1236 – Red reverse 1237 – Red reverse; design letter "a" 1238 – Green reverse 1239 – Green reverse; design letter "a"$0.10Third issue81 × 47 mmFr.1254George Washington1251 – 1254 Red reverse 1255 – 1256 Green reverse$0.25Third issue95.5 × 47 mmFr.1294William Fessenden1291 – 1293 Red reverse 1294 – 1300 Green reverse$0.50Third issue114 × 48 mmFr.1328Francis Spinner1324 – 1330 Red reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5" 1331 – 1334 Green reverse; no surcharge 1335 – 1338 Green reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5" $0.50Third issue114 × 48 mmFr.1339Francis Spinner1339 – Green reverse; no surcharge or design figures 1340 – Green reverse; design figures "1” and "a" 1341 – Green reverse; design figure "1" 1342 – Green reverse; design figure "a"$0.50Third issue114 × 48 mmFr.1355Justice holding scales1343 – 1346 Red reverse; no surcharge 1347 – 1350 Red reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5" 1351 – 1354 Red reverse; surcharge "S-2-6-4"; (PS) 1355 – 1357 Red reverse; (AS) Colby and Spinner 1358 – 1361 Green reverse; no surcharge 1362 – 1365 Green reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5" (narrow) 1366 – 1369 Green reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5" (wide) 1370 – 1373a Green reverse; surcharge "A-2-6-5"; fiber paper $0.10Fourth issue79 × 46 mmFr.1259Bust of Liberty1257 – Large red seal; watermarked; silk fibers (pink) 1258 – Large red seal; silk fibers (pink) 1259 – Large red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper 1260 – Does not exist 1261 – Smaller red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper$0.15Fourth issue89 × 46 mmFr.1269Bust of Columbia1267 – Large red seal; watermarked; silk fibers (pink) 1268 – Large red seal; silk fibers (pink) 1269 – Large red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper 1270 – Does not exist 1271 – Smaller red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper$0.25Fourth issue96.5 × 46 mmFr.1303George Washington1301 – Large red seal; watermarked; silk fibers (pink) 1302 – Large red seal; silk fibers (pink) 1303 – Large red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper 1307 – Smaller red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper[nb 9]$0.50Fourth issue106 × 47 mmFr.1374Abraham Lincoln1374 – Large seal; watermarked; silk fibers (pink) 1375 – Delisted Friedberg number$0.50Fourth issue103 × 46 mmFr.1376Edwin Stanton1376 – Small red seal; silk fibers (violet); blue end paper$0.50Fourth issue95 × 52 mmFr.1379Samuel Dexter1379 - Green seal; silk fibers (light violet); blue end paper$0.10Fifth issue81 × 51 mmFr.1265William Meredith1264 – Green seal 1265 – Red seal; long, thin key (in Treasury seal) 1266 – Red seal; short, thick key (in Treasury seal)$0.25Fifth issue88.5 × 51.5 mmFr.1308Robert Walker1308 – Long, thin key (in Treasury seal) 1309 – Short, thick key (in Treasury seal)$0.50Fifth issue109.5 × 53.5 mmFr.1381William Crawford1380 – Red seal; light pink paper on obverse; silk fibers 1381 – Red seal; blue end paper; silk fibersPortraits of living individualsThe Sherman–Grant 15-cent third issue exists only as an unissued specimen.Three people were depicted on fractional currency during their lifetime: Francis E. Spinner (Treasurer of the United States), William P. Fessenden (U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Treasury), and Spencer M. Clark(Superintendent of the National Currency Bureau).[32]Both Spinner and Clark decided to have their portrait depicted on currency, which created controversy.[33]Republican Representative Martin R. Thayer of Pennsylvania was an outspoken critic, suggesting that the Treasury's privilege of portrait selection for currency[34]was being abused.[nb 10] On 7 April 1866, led by Thayer,[36] Congress enacted legislation specifically stating "that no portrait or likeness of any living person hereafter engraved, shall be placed upon any of the bonds, securities, notes, fractional or postal currency of the United States."[37] On the date of passage, a number of plates for the new 15-cent note depicting William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant had been completed, as the plate proofs for these exist in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History. However, the plates were never used to produce notes for circulation. The only Sherman-Grant examples produced were single sided specimens that were placed on Fractional Currency Shields.[38] _______________________________________________________________________________________________ We strive to find rare and unusual vintage pieces to match up with your special collection. Returns are readily accepted if the item(s) is the same as described. Item(s) must be in the exact condition as delivered. Buyer pays return shipping. Items $30.00 or more will be shipped with tracking. Items $200.00 or more will be shipped with insurance. Combined shipping discount for multiple purchases (Please wait for us to send invoice for 2 or more items). Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. 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End Time: 2024-10-27T03:45:47.000Z

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