Managing Your Collections

 

QUESTION: I’ve been collecting antiques and collectibles for the past 30 years. Now that I’m getting older, I’m looking to sell off some of my items but I have little information on items in my collections. What is the best way to document my collections?

ANSWER: Failing to document their collections is more common than you may think. Many people enjoy the fun of collecting antiques and collectibles but don’t take the time to manage their collections. And many seniors, seeking to downsize, all of a sudden want to sell some of their items. They often try in vain to get valuations for their items online. But without previously documenting their collections, this can be a challenge.

Those who are just starting collections should record a description and history of each item, as well as the date purchased and the price paid. Those managing their collections years after purchase may have a harder time of gathering information, but with today’s technology, it’s easier than ever. One thing they may not have is the date of purchase and price paid—two very important facts when determining current value.

Collecting is a personal thing and most people do it for sheer enjoyment. They choose some objects carefully to build or enhance their collections, acquire others to use everyday, and inherit still others. While collectors treasure each item in their collections, many don’t understand the appeal or the value of it. 

Over the last couple of decades, the value of some antiques has fallen while that of some collectibles has risen. What many collectors lack is a comprehensive record, with supporting documents, of objects they own. As antiques increase in value, it’s important to know their provenance. While most people don’t think of their prized objects as part of their tangible financial assets, the IRS, insurance companies, banks, and courts do.

"To document" means to create a record that thoroughly describes an object and which also contains related documents about it, and keep together this record and supporting information on each object. 

A collector may already have some types of documents or can easily acquire them, such as a bill of sale, a note accompanying a gift, a snapshot, a printed description, a program from an exhibit, biographical information on the artist or maker, a description and picture of a similar object perhaps from a newspaper, magazine, or the Internet, a copy of a mark on the object, and others.

The objects in specialized  collections— furniture, dolls, quilts, kitchen utensils, guns, tools, even sports and music memorabilia—are prime candidates for documentation. Museums document each object in their collections. So it’s only natural that collectors do the same for insurance purposes, family heritage, preparing for appraisal, tax benefits, and connoisseurship.

At the very least, a collector should know what he or she paid for each object in their collections. Some insurance companies require that jewelry and fine art be placed on a special schedule. Often they also require an appraisal for the most valuable pieces. 

In case of theft, loss or damage by fire, flood or national disasters, a collector needs to prove ownership of any object claimed and provide descriptions with supporting information in order to be compensated or to help the police identify and recover the stolen valuables. If a collector cannot do this, there’s a risk of losing compensation in addition to being permanently separated from the treasured object. The more adequate the proof is, the greater the chances that will be satisfying. It’s more difficult to document after a loss occurs, and perhaps it cannot be done at all.

Every home has objects of value—whether monetary, sentimental or family-related. Documenting can help people decide which objects they wish to give to certain heirs. Recording the provenance and capturing the family history associated with a particular object provides a more complete picture for both the collector and the heirs. 

If certain pieces have been handed down through the family, they may have family stories associated with them. It’s important not to depend on those stories being passed down verbally. They should be written down. Additionally, heirs often carelessly sell off family pieces or give them away because succeeding generations are unaware of their actual or sentimental value. This is often done in the haste to clear a house after a loved one’s death. Documenting can assure that certain pieces  remain in the family, or at least that someone will make an educated decision before selling or giving away a special object.

Insurance companies usually require that a collector or an heir provide them with a professional appraisal. However, not every object in your household needs to be appraised. Documenting can help decide which objects need to be appraised, plus it can also provide the appraiser with valuable information, thus saving time and reducing the cost of the appraisal. The appraisal then becomes part of the object’s documentation.

And If an object is sold or given to a museum or other institution, its documentation can provide detailed information from acquisition to sale or gift, providing a factual basis for tax benefits. Museums look upon documentation as a benefit, as it provides valuable family and cultural history about an object for its visitors. 

If not documentation exists, it’s important to begin with a simple search for it on the Internet. While it’s possible to get results using a simple keyword search, that may not reveal anything. An alternative would be to conduct an image search. Using the same keyword(s), click on the Images tab in the search page. This will result in photos of objects related to search words. Clicking on one or more that look like or similar to the object being researched will bring up the Web site associated with it. 

Patience is required when searching. It may take several different keywords to obtain any useful information. 

To get an idea about value, it’s possible to search for online antique auction sites and there search for an object using the same keyword(s). By searching several auctions for the sold prices, then averaging them, it’s possible to get an approximate current value for the object.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "In the Good Ole Summertime" in the 2024 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

You Can Go Home Again

 

QUESTION: As with many people today, my husband and I have moved several times since graduating from college and now live over 1,000 miles from my parents. At times, I do get a bit homesick for my hometown, even though I try to visit when I can. Recently, while searching for some old postcards on the Internet, I came across several from my hometown. On a subsequent phone call, I mentioned my finds to my mother. She said she had several items, including a souvenir history booklet sold during our town’s sesquicentennial celebration. I’m interested in starting a collection of memorabilia from my hometown. How do I go about it, being that I live so far away?

ANSWER: Collecting hometown memorabilia is not only fun but can be very enlightening. Most people really don’t know all that much about where they were born. And in today’s mobile society, a lot of them move on to several other places during their lifetimes. So just where do you begin?

The first thing to do is investigate the history of your city, town, or village. This will give you clues to your community’s identity. Many places changed their names more than once during their lifetime.

Just as if you were compiling your family’s social history, so should you begin at your town’s county library and historical society. Both offer knowledgeable resources of information that will help you in your search. If you live a good distance away, you may find links to both on the Internet, but a direct phone call is your best method of making contact. Once you have your foot in the door, you can use Email or messaging to exchange questions and answers. 

As people move farther and farther away from home, there seems to be a need to possess artifacts of that place. Historical societies publish newsletters, plus you may even find someone in your town has published a local history. And knowing the history of your town is the key to finding its memorabilia.

As cities, towns, and villages celebrate their founding anniversaries, they often publish a history booklet that they sell to help pay for the celebration. Sometimes, it’s just a small booklet, but at other times, the town’s newspaper will comb through it’s archives for interesting stories and publish a book of them. This was very popular during the early to mid-20th century. 

If you haven't moved away from home yet, start saving items now that have significance to you. It’s possible that you may already have some items. The old screwdriver packed in an old toolbox sports a Bakelite handle and the telephone number and advertising logo of a local lumber yard. Decorative paper fans from the county fair grace a hall mirror. Search through old housewares, sewing boxes and tool chests. Advertising collectibles evolve from items that eventually become more sentimental than utilitarian. 

Rescuing an item that’s headed for the dump is one of the most exciting and economical ways to collect hometown memorabilia. Perhaps a grandparent or older relative has died and you volunteer to help sort out their belongings or the contents of their house. As you do so, keep a watchful eye out for memorabilia of your town. 

Souvenir glassware can often be found in cupboards, especially ruby-flashed little cups, glasses, and pitchers with the town’s name and date etched into the red coating. If your town is a tourist destination, you’ll find all sorts of items available with the its name imprinted on them. 

And don’t forget to spread the word to older relatives and friends. Both can be an excellent source of hometown collectibles. When people have to move to smaller quarters, they often look for a home for possessions that might have largely sentimental value. 

When all else fails, you can always buy that special hometown collectible. If your community ever contained any type of commercial, civic or church structure, there’s bound to be some advertising memorabilia or paper items connected to it. As you search, you may want to broaden your collection.

Another readily available item is postcards. They’re one of the most popular and plentiful hometown collectibles. Photography flourished in the first quarter of the 20th century and there was a big business in printing inexpensive postcards that would put tiny towns on the map—at least locally. Hometown pride was high and if its claim to fame was a grain elevator near the railroad tracks or a post office with the flag unfurled, some enterprising artist sketched or photographed it.

Most postcards of this type range from $1 to $20 with real photo postcards being at the high end. Where you buy the card also affects the price. Flea market and garage sale dealers often have a box of assorted old postcards on their tables. Since they don’t catalog them, they’ll most likely sell for less. Postcard and mid-range antique shows are another good source. And don’t forget eBay and other online auction sites.

And just with antiques, if you frequent a postcard dealer at a general, regularly scheduled antique show, let him know what town you’re interested in, and he or she may start putting cards back for you.

Churches and schools, the cornerstones of many small communities, also produced many mementos, including programs of special functions, graduation invitations, awards, meeting minutes and photographs of school groups and church confirmation classes. Granges and civic associations brought neighbors together for community improvement and fellowship and also left a rich reserve of paper items.

Like paper items, commonly referred to as ephemera, advertising collectibles can often be found at specialty shows as well as at general shows. With some brand name advertising collectibles, the addition of a small-town name on the item may actually make it more expensive because it is specialized and rarer Advertising collectibles are a hot field and the casual collector should do some homework before entering the market.

You may not be able to go home again, but you can certainly bring home some great hometown collectibles.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about militaria in the 2022 Fall Edition, with the theme "After-Battle Antiques," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Finding the Way Around the World

QUESTION: I’ve always liked maps. When I was a teen, I read the road maps when my family went on road trips. Then later, while taking a world geography class in college, I had to color in large maps of the different continents. I soon learned where all the countries were, even many I never knew existed. As an adult I still love maps, but now I like the really old ones. I’d like to start collecting maps but I’m not sure where to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER:  Maps teach people about geography and history, as well as politics, religion, and culture. But most collectors love maps for their beauty and relevance to history.  

Collectors seek out maps for many reasons. Some appreciate the beautiful artwork and intricate etchings on early maps and purchase them for decorative purposes. Others seek all maps depicting a specific geographic area and want representative examples of all time periods showing changes resulting from exploration, wars, or just an increase in population.

Others use maps to trace their ancestry or showcase where they’ve traveled. Above all, it’s important to focus on a particular time period or geographical location rather than just collect maps from anywhere. 

Antique maps, like other antiques, are those printed over 100 years ago. Beginning in 1550, cartographers depicted the exploration and discoveries made throughout the world during the next 350 years. During the 17th and 18th centuries, cartography became one of the highest forms of fine art.

Some collectors look for accuracy while others look for inaccuracy–towns incorrectly sited, coastlines incorrectly charted, and rivers incorrectly routed.

Printers produced the majority of antique maps using woodcuts from the 16th to the early 19th centuries. Later, they used copper and steel engraving to create the majority of antique maps found today. By the early 19th century, the lithographic process allowed the artist or cartographer to draw directly onto a specially prepared stones—often using multiple stones for several colors. This was cheaper and faster since lithography required no engraver, but most lithographic maps have a fuzzy quality. By the late 1880's modern machine lithography and printing took over and maps lost their decorative quality.

While some maps were never meant to be colored, most antique maps look better with appropriate hand coloring. Ideally, collectors like to find maps with original hand coloring that’s applied at the time of printing. 

Elaborate cartouches giving the title, the cartographer, the dedication and perhaps details of scale, as well as compass roses, ships, sea monsters and human figures gave the map painter ample opportunity to be creative. Those on engraved maps became more elaborate through the 16th and 17th  centuries. 

When the fragility of maps is considered, it’s remarkable that so many survived over 300-400 years. Collectors will likely find early maps printed on strong, thick hand-made paper from France, Germany and Switzerland and the finest of all from the Ancona area of Northern Italy.

Antique maps can be divided into four main groups, depending on how a single sheet of paper can be folded. Double folio refers to maps printed on a complete sheet measuring 20 by 25 inches. Quarto refers to maps printed on one quarter of a sheet. Octavo refers to maps printed on one eighth of a sheet. Miniature maps of 3½ x 4½ inches appeared during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. 

As with most other antiques, quality and condition are important in map collecting. Since antique maps are paper items, they’re subject to wear and tear similar to any item which was intended to be used. However, with antique maps this isn’t always true. Most maps were printed on paper, and while modern paper is cheap, thin, and tears easily, antique paper is typically much more robust. This is due to the fact that paper used to be made by hand using cotton or linen rags. The paper-making process resulted in long, sturdy fibers within the paper that made it thick and durable. 

It’s not uncommon to find a 400-year old map that appears in perfect condition while a  100-year old map will often suffer from tears and other condition issues. Collectors are more forgiving about condition when it comes to newer maps printed on wood-pulp paper.

Some flaws, such as tears, worm holes, and toning, can be professionally repaired by a paper conservator, making the flaws nearly invisible and therefore minimizing any impact to the map's value.

And while color doesn’t always increase a map’s desirability, it can highly interesting geographical and decorative details.  Some maps were not meant to be colored; in particular maps from the late 15th through early 16th centuries were published in black ink without any color added. With these early maps, most collectors prefer that they remain in their original uncolored state. 

Choices in color ranged from simple outline color, which means that only the borderlines were highlighted, to elaborate full color examples that only the wealthiest could afford.

If color was added soon after the map was printed around the time of its publication, it is referred to as original or contemporary color. Maps that feature original color are a big draw for collectors, especially when the color is well-preserved.

Older, rare, highly sought after maps can be very expensive, sometimes reaching five figures. Collectors can find originals from the 16th century for less than $100, and many from 19th-century atlases are available from  $20 to under $100.  Rarity, age, historical importance, decorative value, coloring, and overall condition of the map and the paper it’s printed on also affect price. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about art glass in the 2022 Summer Edition, with the theme "Splendor in the Glass," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

At Sea in a Bottle

 

QUESTION: My grandfather was a merchant seaman for most of his life. From his work, he developed a passion for historic ships and out of that for models of historic ships in bottles. Sadly, he’s recently passed on but before he died, he gave me the ships in bottles, about a dozen of them, that he had collected. I’m curious to learn how long people have been building models of historic ships in bottles. And exactly how did they do that?

ANSWER: Historically, the first mention of objects placed in bottles dates back to 1719. A German artist, musician and magician, Matthias Buchinger, built models, although not necessarily of ships, inside bottles. This was remarkable since he was born without arms or legs.

The oldest surviving ship in a bottle, a Turkish or a Portuguese three-masted warship, dates to 1784. Instead of laying on its side as most do, the maker placed it in an egg--shaped bottle, which hes placed upside down over a wooden stand. 

The idea of putting a model of a ship in a bottle became very popular after the fast sailing ships like the clipper came into service. So most of the antique ships in bottles found today appeared after 1840.

Ships in bottles became more popular as folk art in the second half of the 19th century, after the introduction of cheap, mass-produced bottles made with clear glass. They also became a very popular nautical gift during the late 18th and the early and mid-19th centuries in both Europe and the Americas.

Historians believe that monks living in monasteries spent tireless hours working on the earliest examples of these intricately carved models. The emergence of putting ships inside bottles can be followed back to the mid to late 19th century.

Ships in bottles were a unique way for anyone to connect with maritime history even if they weren't a sailor. By the 20th century, with the creation of new, faster ships on the seas, so ships in bottles became more diverse in design. 

Antiques experts classify a ship in a bottle as an impossible bottle—a bottle containing an object that does not appear as if it would fit through the bottle's mouth. It’s the most iconic type of impossible bottle. Other common objects often inserted into bottles include fruits, matchboxes, decks of cards, tennis balls, racketballs, Rubik's Cubes, padlocks, knots, and scissors. These may be placed inside the bottle using various mechanisms, including constructing an object inside the bottle from smaller parts, using a small object that expands or grows inside the bottle, or molding the glass around the object.

Over the centuries, many people probably asked themselves just how the model ships got into the bottles. There are two ways to place a model ship inside a bottle. The simpler way is to rig the masts of the ship and raise it up when the ship is inside the bottle. The maker built the masts, spars, and sails separately and then attached them to the hull of the ship with strings and hinges so the masts could lay flat against the deck of the ship. He then placed the ship inside the bottle and pulled the masts up using the strings attached to the masts. However, the hull of the ship must have still been able to fit through the neck of the bottle. Ships bottle makers often chose bottles with minor distortions and soft tints to hide the small details of erecting the ship inside the bottle, such as hinges on the masts. Some used specialized long-handled tools to build the entire ship inside the bottle.

Since ships of the past came in different shapes and sizes, the size of the bottle and the extent of its flat-base shape when placed horizontally mattered immensely to the makers. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "Pottery Through the Ages" in the 2022 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

So You Think You Need an Appraisal

 

QUESTION:  I have inherited a bronze statue called “The Bronco Buster” by Frederic Remington, along with several other bronzes from my uncle. I know nothing about them but admired them on visits to his house. I’d like to find out what they’re worth and the best way seems to be getting them appraised but I have no idea where to start. Can you help me?

ANSWER: Bronzes are interesting pieces of sculptural art. Unlike paintings and other forms of sculpture, bronzes have been cast from a clay original. Does that make them less valuable? Certainly not. In fact, depending on the number cast from the original mold, they can be quite valuable. When it comes to art, most antique dealers don’t know where to start to valuate a bronze sculpture. For this, you’ll need an expert’s opinion. 

Contrary to popular opinion, not just anyone can valuate an antique or collectible. Asking someone how much an object is worth is like asking if it will rain tomorrow. The only way to know what an antique, especially a potentially valuable one such as this clock, is worth is by having it “appraised” by a professional appraiser. And only a professional appraisal is legally binding when it comes to insurance claims or inheritances.

Exactly what is an appraisal? An appraisal is the paid opinion of an expert on the value of an object based on known facts. In the case of antiques and collectibles, known facts include records from more than one sale at more than one auction, the latest published price guides, and personal experience gained from buying and selling similar items many years.

While a verbal appraisal may offer an indication of how much an item is worth, a professional written one is the only one legally recognized by insurance companies and the courts. It must be based on fact and able to stand challenges in court. However, written appraisals, even for one item, can take hours to prepare and are expensive, but are absolutely necessary to prove an item’s worth.

A written appraisal is the result of hours of research by the appraiser. First, he or she must determine the age of the object based on its appearance, materials, and craftsmanship. Decorative techniques and motifs may also play a part. Then the appraiser needs to search for a provenance if the object doesn’t yet have a written one.

A provenance is a history of ownership dating from when the object was first made and by whom and continuing through various owners to the present day. This may not be easy. Often the appraiser has to contact experts in the particular category of antiques to fins out more about the object. Lastly, the appraiser searches auction databases, not available to the public and only to subscribers for hefty fees, to find out the sales history for objects like the one being appraised. While the last sale price usually determines the market value of the object, an appraiser will often average out the most recent sale prices to determine the object’s value. All this information, written up in legal form, plus photographs of the object, constitutes the appraisal of the object. Most appraisers usually assemble the contents of the appraisal in a folder or bound form before presenting it to the current owner of the object.

Take General Sherman’s hat, for example. Did this hat actually belong to General Sherman? How many other owners did it have after him? And how did the hat get passed down to it’s present owner? While there may have been other hats like it, most likely it was one of a kind, made especially for Sherman. This is where an appraisal is best.

Formal appraisals fall into two categories—replacement and fair market value. Insurance companies require the former, while estate valuations require the latter.

Replacement value is generally defined as the price at which an object would be available on the retail market. In other words, what an antique dealer would charge for a particular item.

When you try to insure a collection, the insurance company wants to know how much it will cost to replace it. The same applies for a single piece of furniture. The insurance company won’t accept a verbal appraisal as the basis of settling a claim. Instead, they require a written appraisal with proof of replacement cost.

Fair market value, on the other hand, is best described as "the price that property would sell for on the open market between a willing buyer and willing seller, with neither being required to act, and both parties having reasonable knowledge of the reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

But whatever the appraised value, an object will bring only a percentage of its replacement value when offered for sale—generally between 40 and 60 percent below replacement cost. Items that sell extremely slow will sell for only about 30 percent of replacement value, while those that sell fast may bring 80 to 90 percent of replacement value. 

With so many auction sites online these days, it’s easy to pull one up and do a search for a particular antique or collectible to see what it may be selling for. Most people use eBay. Unfortunately, the amounts listed on eBay may not reflect an object’s true value. If the object is listed on an auction site, then, as with live auctions, the price could go way above the object’s current value due to competition between bidders. If someone really wants an antique or collectible, they may stop at no amount of money to obtain it.

Objects of antiquity are another matter altogether. Copies abound. This little ancient Egyptian sculpture of a boat and its occupants is a good example. To the untrained eye, it may look authentic, but only an expert can tell for sure. In fact, many copies of small tomb sculptures have been made and sold as souvenirs to tourists.  

Too many homeowners use this as an easy way to price items in a yard or garage sale. Flea marketers do the same. This is why so many items that are actually worth much less are selling for higher prices today at these venues. 

Prices of objects at antique shows usually sell for the amount of their value or a little less. However, some sell for what the dealer perceives to be the value of the object. High-end dealers selling objects for four to six figures do their research and know their market. Those selling at middle-market shows, sometimes do research about an item, but, more often than not, just guess at an item’s value and price it for what they think the market will bear.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Ancients" in the 2021 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Early Bank Notes Reveal a History of Our Country

QUESTION: My dad collected old currency and coins. Some of the currency is quite old and doesn’t look anything like today’s money. What can you tell me about this bill? And why is it so different from the currency we use today?

ANSWER: American banknotes have not always been green. In the mid-19th century, banknotes contained a rainbow of colors. By examining these paper artifacts, Collectors can take a tour of America circa 1800.

Prior to the Civil War. the U.S. government didn't regularly issue paper money. But people still needed to use some form of currency, so banks issued their own paper money—bank notes.



Many types of notes circulated during this era, known as the golden age of U.S. currency, which generally began in the late 18th century and lasted until the Civil War. The most common type of note, the "demand note," entitled the bearer to a certain monetary amount. Individuals would deposit something of value in the bank (usually herd current stock), and the bank would issue to the individual on-demand notes that he or she could use as a vehicle of exchange to purchase items from a merchant who could then redeem the note with the bank, that "on demand" would exchange the bank for gold or silver coins issued by the federal government.



A bank's capital, which often appears on the banknote, (capital $1,000,000), guaranteed the value of these notes, and for this reason, two officials often signed each note to ensure that a greater amount in banknotes was nut issued than the bank could cover. Private hanks and public banks, which obtained a charter to operate, and savings banks, which operated under a different set of rules, all issued the demand note. Some demand noted contained a space in which a bank official wrote a payee's name and thus allowed a bank to specify the identity of the hearer, who would endorse the note by signing its often blank reverse as one would endorse a modern cheek. Other types of notes circulated as well. Post notes worked like bonds and were redeemable only after a predetermined time noted on the bill (e.g. "redeemable after six months").



Private merchants also issued notes, sometimes referred to as scrip, which they used to pay employees. Some laborers were paid only in scrip, which was generally redeemable only at company 'stores. This often led to the economic enslavement of laborers who "owed their soul to the company store." Railroads, shipping lines and many other type, of merchants issued notes to their employees.

While the bank note system worked, poor or dubious business practices threatened the integrity of the private and state banking system that ran amok in the first half of the 19th century.

Most of the time, banks were honest. But stories of fraud were rampant. banks that issued more money than their capital guaranteed and banks with a phantom capital, or no money to guarantee their notes.

This led to the distrust of unfamiliar hanks, and as a result, the notes did not work well for inter-state banking. A merchant in one state wouldn’t honor a bank note from an unfamiliar bank in another.

With so many different bank notes circulating, the proliferation of fakes or counterfeit notes was inevitable. The sheer number of issuers and varieties of notes issued—more  than 1,600 banks in 34 states collectively issued more than 10,000 varieties—provided the hungry counterfeiter with a virtual smorgasbord.

The word counterfeit refers to an illegally replicated note. Some genuine notes had their denominations altered; consequently, the alteration raised the value of the note, hence the name "raised note." A variation on this theme, the "altered" note also appeared. An altered note was a genuine note altered to look like another bank's product. The more artistically inclined produced original designs and added a legitimate hank's name on the notes, thus creating a spurious note.

In fact, so many counterfeit notes circulated—some 55.000 varieties—that bank officials began to stamp or handwrote the word “counterfeit” across the surface of the note.

During the Civil War, the U.S.Congress took action to end private issuance of banknotes. Congress passed legislation that forbade the private issuance of currency, and the federal government began issuing its own notes. Banks could still issue currency bearing their own name, but to do so, they needed to obtain a charter from the federal government, which entitled them to issue notes, known as National Bank Notes, supplied by the federal government.



The new notes led to the modern association of money with the color green. This relative lack of variety could make the counterfeiter's job much harder, though, and the number of attempted counterfeits dwindled.



The most interesting aspect of obsolete banknotes is the detailed and often colorful vignettes they contain, which collectively offer a lithographic history of American culture. Each bank note told a story. A $1 note from The Merchants and Planters Bank f Savannah. Ga., for examplel, contained the image of a covered wagon. When the note was issued in the 1830s, the covered wagon would have been the preeminent mode of transportation taken by settlers traveling to the Western territories.



Scrip from the Delaware Mine on Michigan's Upper Peninsula features the image or a copper finer wielding a pickax. A $5 note from the. Bank of the Commonwealth in Richmond, 'a., contain, the image of planters standing next to the barrel of tobacco—one of the crops that drove Virginia's economy in the antebellum era. Moments frozen in time, dense images offer the closest thing possible to a photograph of 19th century life.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.