The morning call., 1893-08-22
MONEY TOKENS.

The scarcity of currency in New York
has led 10 the use of checks as money
Just thirty years ago. when gold began
TO rise in price, people boarded silver as
they are doing now. and small change
grew scarce; il became necessary for the
Government TO issue fractional paper cur
rency, embracing tokens as small as 10
cents, % cents and 50cents. Until this cur
rency was printed and floated people used
postage stamps as money, and, as they
were adhesive, they soon became mere
rolls OF dirty paper. which were so disa-
greeable to handle that large proportion
OF them were thrown away. During the
revolutionary period in France, when the
assignats began 10 drop out OF sight, re-
tail dealers issued 'bons." or tokens,
which were good for so much beef or po-
tatoes. or sugar OF -four; these boDs
passed current, and, as they were printed
or written on stout cardboard, they
answered every purpose of money and
circulated pretty well until people got
over their scare and emptied their old
stockings.
Twice in this country, before the civil
war. the exigencies of the retail trade
compelled a resort 10 tokens. When Il
linois, Kentucky and Tennessee were
peOpled after the second war with Eng
land, their inhabitants soon became rich in
everything but money. They had beef.
pork, lard, corn. tobacco. flour, whisky and
furS, but they had no coin. system of
barter first arose, after the fashion adopted
in Maryland; but as, after time, 1t be-
came difficult for buyer and seller to agree
on the value of ham in leaf tobacco the
10 n of I viI Ia c.
and New Orleans issued paper tokens
which were good at their stores for so
much merchandise. Again, at a later
period. when the wildcat banks went to
smash in 1887, dstrust led 10 the boarding
of the small amount OF coin which was in
the hands Of the public. and it became alb
sOlutely necessary 10 use tokens to effect
the necessary exchanges of domestic life.
Many years elapsed before these tokens
altogether disappeared from circulation;
samples Of them may yet be seen in
museums.
The volume of currency now afloat in
this country-S26 per head-is quite enough
for the transaction CT business under oTdi-
nary conditions; but when a period Of
distrust arrives. and half or more of this
currency is Withdrawn from circulation,
the remainder is insufficient to effect the
necessary exchanges, and what is called
monetary stringency supervenes, which
lasts until people get over their distrust
and restore the contents of their boards to
circulation. On such occasions people are
compelled to accept any arbitrary tokens
for their goods, whether they be paper, or
cowrie shells or wampum; but those VINO
accept these tokens are all the time con-
scious that they are trading on an artificial
basis, and that it behOoves them to steer
very close to shore. No one is willing TO
embark in new adventures every one seeks
to contract the ventures he has; and in
the paralysis thus involved. weak concerns
fail, and many which do not fail are so
crippled that they languish.
Perhaps the most curious chapter in the
history Of money tokens is that which re-
lates the experience of Ireland in I724
There was no small change in the island,
and small retail trade was greatly embar-
rassed. The Duchess of Kendall, the
mistress Of George /, made an arrangement
with Robert Walpole 10 supply Ireland
with copper halfpennies, On such terms
that the profit ON the issue was about 40
per cent. The contract was taken in the
name of William Wood. II went into
effect, and Ireland was flooded with a de-
based coinage, until Swift exploded the
scheme in the Drapier's letters. The half
pennies were called in, and ceased to cir
culate. The fraud was defeated. But
base as the coinage was, il served a useful
purpose, and Irish trade would have been
better off if the Dean of St. Patrick's had
kept his Indignation to himself