Funny Money

Recently I bought an appealing item on eBay that included something unexpected.

What I bought was an executed mortgage gold bond offered to those who were hoping that New Paltz, New York’s electric trolley would bring the future to Ulster County. That was in 1893 and the future would have to wait. The bond I purchased was almost entirely intact, save for the first four payments clipped for their semi-annual $15.00 payments. After the April, 1895 payment, the other 76 coupons remained unredeemed with the original debenture to remind us (of a certain age) that not all dreams work out.

But sometimes they do.

In the package, when I took the debenture out, a mint (in my opinion) Bank of Washtenaw (Michigan) 1854 $5.00 bill fell out. It was loose, unwrapped and unmentioned in the paperwork or in the description.

So, I felt it necessary to ask the seller, was this intentional or an error? If asked to, I would send it back.

Of course I called eBay, because I bought it on their platform, but telephone numbers for this purpose eluded me. Finally, I found a form that would let me complain and demand my money back. Of course I had nothing to complain about. I filled it out and soon heard I could return the debenture I liked. No thank you.

I waited another day or two and tried to find other ways to find the seller. No luck.

I then searched for ABAA dealers in Michigan. I did find a helpful chap who suggested it might not be worth a king’s ransom.

I then contacted Garret Scott, a dealer and gifted writer, wondering, if my ship has come in? Not yet! I explained that, after being rebuffed by eBay's automated questions/contact software I next needed to know what to do with it.

Here’s Garret’s note.

Bruce! Thanks for the note.

I tend to leave numismatic paper alone, so I am not entirely up to speed
on Bank of Washtenaw notes and whether they pull any kind of premium.
That they were printed back east would be a strike against them for most
of my Michigan imprint collectors.

The bank president Elijah W. Morgan was one of the early settlers of Ann
Arbor (I think he gave some of the land that became the campus of the
University of Michigan) and he was also I believe involved in the Toledo
Ann Arbor railroad.

(The current incarnation of the Ann Arbor Railroad primarily runs auto
parts up and down from Toledo and through Monroe County with a
turnaround in Ann Arbor. The number of grade crossings in downtown Ann
Arbor means it often comes through at night and must blow its horn
incessantly for crossings.)

But I wander from the point:

I assume the Bentley Library here at the University of Michigan has
examples --

https://search.lib.umich.edu/catalog/record/990027410090106381

This version of the Bank of Washtenaw was not (I believe) one of the
banks that crashed ca. the 1837 Panic -- but cf. what "Philander
Doesticks" (Mortimer Thompson, an Ann Arbor boy) has written in passing
of the bank failure elsewhere by way of "humorous" remark.

https://lostmuseum.cuny.edu/archive/doesticks-visits-the-museum

It would appear the bank failed again in 1855 (cf. Joshua Greenberg's
"Bank Notes and Shinplasters" U. Penn 2020).

The Ann Arbor District Library has a very good local history page, and
they include an article about the "shin-plasters" of the early Michigan era:

https://aadl.org/taxonomy/term/37430

The Old Chapin house -- one time home of the bank -- was later home to
the Wooden Spoon book shop (of lamented memory) so there is a book
connection there at least. If you wanted to approach the local AADL
archive to donate your note, they might be open to it! --

https://aadl.org/archives

I do not have access to a copy of Haxby's guide to obsolete bank notes
but imagine your note may be included there.

All of which suggests the digressive tendencies of dealing in paper.

-------------------------------------------------------

So, now I’m mentioning this (what I am now calling a GEM quality $5.- bill), in hope someone who might know the seller. The seller’s notes on its clear frame are in a distinctive handwriting that may be identifiable to folks in the field.

If so, this $5.- is getting home sick.

Hoping to hear soon.

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