Pismo Beach, California, 1 Dollar, 1933 (clamshell)
date: label: date made
content: 1933
label: date on object
content: 1933-03-08
name: label: maker
content: Restwell Cabins
notes: label: Description
content: Seashells have many characteristics that make them ideal monetary objects. They are durable, portable, and difficult to imitate. Shells circulated as a medium of exchange in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and North America. Seashells are no longer an official form of money, but they remain an alternative to notes and coins during periods of scarcity. This clamshell briefly functioned as money in Pismo Beach, California, during the Great Depression. It has characteristics that imitate federal money, including the phrase “In God We Trust” written on the side.
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Pismo Beach
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Coins
label: See more items in
content: Numismatics
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content: Coins, Currency and Medals
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content: Legendary Coins
label: Exhibition
content: Value of Money
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Zoomable Image and Details
label: Related Publication
content: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Chase Manhattan Bank
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.1263.00468
label: accession number
content: 1979.1263
label: catalog number
content: 79.112.OC102B
label: collector/donor number
content: OC102
objectType: label: Object Name
content: nontraditional money
label: Object Name
content: alternative currency
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: shell, clam (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9.9 cm x 13.6 cm x 2.8 cm; 3 29/32 in x 5 11/32 in x 1 3/32 in