Bigelow and Morse Company
"Scrip" Note
They were issued during the
Civil War because people were hoarding coins for
the gold and silver. As
a result, no small change was available at banks, so
private companies issued
"scrip" -- notes for less than a dollar - mostly to
pay employees, redeemable
at the company's bank, but it became a kind of
circulating currency, depending
on the solvency of the company. It happened
during he depression, too.
It became illegal later.
Contributed by Mike Tremblay - collector of Marlborough Memorobilia
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