Before the Department of the Treasury took over the printing of currency in 1861 banks were left with the task of designing and printing their own money. There were thousands of different bills printed by the various banks and one of the most popular themes was Santa Claus. Christmas had just become an official holiday,plus the 1823 printing of the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (aka "The Night Before Christmas") made Santa an obvious choice. Far from being sentimental the banks hoped to make the bills more collectible instead of being redeemed for their value in gold. The Santa bills are now obsolete for face value,but one sold for $40,000 at auction in 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment