Sunday, February 12, 2012

.25 Paper Money from the Past Called Shinplaster

Has anyone heard of .25 cents paper money used in the past called "shinplaster". Here is an explanation from the Bank of Canada. Can anyone comme up with a photo of this "Shinplaster".

Mister Billard, 

In response to your inquiry, much has been written about Canadian paper 25 cent notes, familiarly called shinplasters. The term “shinplaster” refers to any notes with a face value below a dollar. It was a term coined during the Revolutionary War in the United States, in which soldiers would use the worthless fractional notes to stuff their boots to keep their feet warm during the winter.  If you do a search on the Internet for “shinplaster” you will find loads of information on these quaint little notes. There were three issues of 25-cent notes in Canada: 1870, 1900 and 1923. They were printed when there was a shortage of silver 25-cent coins, and were quite popular and well-received. I hope you have some luck finding more information about shinplasters. Thank you for considering the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada. 

Regards, 

David Bergeron

Curator/ Conservateur

National Currency Collection - Bank of Canada/

Collection nationale de monnaies - Banque du Canada