Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1898-09-02
CHICKEN FEED MONEY.
The Days OF Flppeny Bits York
Shillings Picayunes. Coppers. !.
The Origin in Various Parts OF the
Country Of the ColloQuial
Names OF Small Coins
Uncle SANS Money.

Names Of Small Coins
Uncle sam's Money.
Referring to the word '.picayune," it
may not be uninteresting to give
sketch Of subsidiary coinage and cur
rency. us used in the past, and the vari.
aus names under which it was known.
In Ohio in 1914 and previously there
was q good deal of foreign coin in circu-
lation, mostly Spanish, with some OF
the old state coinage OF different states
occasionally making it's appearance.
Cne of the most plentiful OF these for
eign coins was a piece which passed
current for 81 cents. In Ohio this was
known as fppeny bit, contraction
{ probably of fvepenny bit The half
dimes of American coinage were also
becoming frequently at that time, and
as q distinction between the half dime
and the fippeny bit the former was con-
tracted to the word ''fip." The dime
! went under its lawful name, while the
old Spanish double of the fppeny bit
was known as the "bit, and the Span
ish and Mexican quarter dollars were
nearly always referred toas two bits
The latter term, think, still obtains
in reference to quarter-dolla American
pieces in some sections. There was
also New York state ''two Bit coin,
as well as a 'bit" of the same coinage,
which was sometimes called the York
shilling" The Pine Tree state shilling,
coming from Maine, was sometimes
seen, but not much used. Its value was
supposed to be 16 2-3 cents. The old
fashioned big copper cent of American
coinage was plentiful, while OCCASION
ally an English halfpenny of copper
was found floating around, generally
passing on the same basis as the Ameri-
can copper cent. Queen Victoria's
head was then shown on the English
halfpennies.
Later, when, as boy, l removed with
my mother to Illinois, ! met my first
stumbling block in money names.
There the fppenny bit was the plea
yane, while the ftp had its proper name
of half dime or five cents. But the
larger coins retained the old names, as
did the copper coins. AS near as can
learn, the term picayune originated
with the French, who had settled St.
Louis and had settlements at points all
the way from New Orleans to St. Louis
and the further northwest, and their
names for money predominated in that
region
Still later, when had strayed away
to New York state, I again encountered
new names for money. There every
thing was based on the shilling"
which represented 1914 cents. a quar-
ter of a dollar was always 1.-TWO shil-
1ings,- and all sums under 500 were
calculated ON the same basis. When I
asked the price OF board was told it
ranged from 16 to 80 shillings week.
The price OF a shit of clothes was gen
erally stntcd in shilEngs. That was
all right for the natives, but confess
had frequently to brush up my arith-
metic to get at what 80 shillings, %
Khillings, II shil1ings, or some other
high number, amounted to. twas all
clear enough when it was two, four or
six shillings, but when it got above the
dollar it required some "ciphering" on
the part of a stranger TO get correct re-
suits.
The three-cent piece, originally coined
in silver, came into general circulation
in the north about 1850, and was later
made in nickel, being coined in that
metal at about the same time az the
present nickel fve-cent piece.
Some time before the civil war the
cld-fashioned copper cent was replaced
at the mint with the present small cop
per cents and the two-cent pieces.
Later the first nickels were made, but
almost went out of circulation during
the war, and were succeeded by the
fractional currency of that day, issued
in $, 10, rs and 50-cent bills. These
were never very popular with the
masses, and were looked upon by the
government as a temporary expedient.
The most popular designation for them
was ''shinplasters," though in Memphis
and some other parts of the country
they were referred to as @chicken feed"
During the war there were many
other substitutes for money, mostly in
the form of cardboard promises to pay
everything from a drink of whisky or
ride on the cars to a. suit of clothes;
from quart of milk or a pound Of beef
steak to a weeks salary. They have
dropped out of use in most sections, and
in their place Uncle Sans coppers,
niclsels dimes unarters half dollars
and dollar of the daddies'' now reign
supreme.-John Spangler, in Galveston
News.
The Queen OF spaIn's Busy Life.