Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-11-16
PAPER MONEY
Rare Issues That Even Trained
 Experts Seldom See.
OLD RED GOLD CERTIFICATES.
They Were the First Ones Issued and Seldom Got Into Circulation--Na- tionaI Bank Notes of 1865 That Pug zled Financial institutions.

Tt is curious fact that not one man
 out of ten can tell you the design on
 any one of the current United States
 bank notes," said collector of paper
 money. of course don't refer to the
 notes of high denomination. I mean
 everyday, common bank notes of low
 denomination, and do not bar in this
 statement many employees in banks.
 They handle money in mechanical
 way. and I'll venture that many of
 them would be stumped if you were
 to ask them to give you detailed de-
 scription of dollar bill. They would
 instantly recognize it when it came to
 hand. but each man trusts more to
 general impression of what constitutes
 the outlines of certain note than he
 realizes. There was very clear illus
 tration of the truth of my statement the other day in Indiana.
 ''In the vaults of a bank at Roches- ter, Ind, there had lain for a number of years package of five dollar na- tional bank notes just as it had come from the treasury department. These
 bills all bore the name of the bank and were of the first issue of national
 bank notes. It will be remem bered that the issue of, 1865 showed a fine engraving of historical character on the reverse of each denomination, the five dollar bills bearing on the back a representation of the landing of Co., lumbus, on the obverse being an Eng lishman presenting an Indian maiden to three women, emblematic of Eu- rope, Asia and Africa.
 "A good many of these new bills were paid out, and not long afterward telegrams, letters and even personal calls began to pour into the bank warning the officials to be on their guard-that most clever and absolute ly undetectabe counterfeit of their notes was out, and the only way the fact had been discovered was owing to the difference between this and the present designs of national bank notes. The incident went to show how little the average business man is acquaint- ed with paper money, for if there was one note that counterfeiter could not duplicate with success it was the fresh, flat national bank note of the series mentioned.
 '"rhe cashier of the bank, however. curious to see for himself whether bank employees really were suspicious of the notes, took trip to Chicago and made several attempts to pass the unfamiliar bills across the counters of some of the banks, but without sue cess. the notes being refused in every case.
 ''The same thing happened in St. Louis when some one brought into a downtown bank hundred dollar note with red back. Now, the bank en- ployees knew of the old fractional currency notes of small denominations with red backs. such as the five, ten. twenty-five and fifty cent pieces of pa per. but this bill of large denomina- tion with the glaring red reverse pug zled them.
 "Yet it was perfectly good issue, being specimen of the first gold cer- tifcates. which made their appearance some time in 1865 or 1866. The law authorizing their issue. as matter of fact, was passed March 3, 1863. at the same time the law was passed author izing the fractional notes which ap- peared with red backs. The red back ed gold certificates were of the denom- nations of S20, $10O, $500. $1.O00. $5.- GOO and s1O,OOO and had been used mostly for clearing house purposes and consequently seldom got into cir culation.
 "I lost no time in acquiring the bill and now regard 1t as one of the great est rarities in my collection and do not believe it could be duplicated.
 "I have one note that would puzzle the average business man or banker either. for that matter. It is a speci- men of the three year interest bear ing notes of July r. 1861. While this one is for only $50 still other denomi- nations were S100. $500. S1.O0O and S5.000. They were engraved only on one side. the other being mostly in vhlte, allowing a space for indorse- 1 meat.
 ".sll these notes were made payable | to order and bore interest at the rate ! Of T.3 per cent. They were known in | former days as seven-thirty notes. bearing five coupons for each six | months interest, the last six months interest being payable upon the pres entation and redemption of the note.
 These notes were but a trifle larger [ than the ordinary bank note and were | into twenty year per l cent bonds. The fifty dollar note show 1 ed the American eagle on a rock as the principal device, the S1Oo bore the 1 portrait of General Winfield Scott. the $500 that of Washington, the SI.OO0 I Salmon P. Chase. while the S5.OOO rep an Indian girl. with bow. leaning on a shield. an eagle near by and Justice at the left hand.
 "In 1884 congress authorized a new issue of T.3 per cent notes, but none was issued. In their stead came com pound interest notes at 6 per cent. com pounded semiannually, this really be- Ing less than the authorized interest Many of these bills were used as general currency, and yet not one bank employee out of a hundred would know anything about them. On the back Of the bill was a table showing he value Of the bill every six months.