Shinplaster

Shinplaster

Shinplaster was a common name for paper money of low denomination circulating widely in the frontier economies of the 19th century. These notes were in various places issued by Banks, merchants, wealthy individuals and associations, either as banknotes, or circulating IOUs. They were often a variety of token intended to alleviate a shortage of small change in growing frontier regions. They were sometimes used in company shop economies or peonages in place of legal tender.Fact|date=December 2007

According to the "Oxford English Dictionary," the name comes from the quality of the paper, which was so cheap that with a bit of starch it could be used to make paper-mâché-like plasters to go under socks and warm shins.

A book roughly contemporary with the term, John Russell Bartlett's "The Dictionary of Americanisms" (New York, 1849), defines a shinplaster as "A cant term for a bank-note, or any paper money. It probably came into use in 1837, when the banks suspended specie payment, and when paper money became depreciated in value." Then the book quotes the New York Tribune of December 3, 1845: "The people may whistle for protection, and put up with what shinplaster rags they can get."Fact|date=December 2007

United States

Shinplasters circulated in the United States from 1837 to 1863, during the period known as the "."

Canada

In Canada, the term shinplaster was widely used for 25-cent paper monetary notes which circulated in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Australia

Shinplasters or Calabashes (as they were known in southern Queensland), were a feature of the vast Squatters' pastoral enterprises, and often circulated in the towns of the bush alongside and in place of legal tender. These private IOUs circulated widely, at times making up the bulk of cash in circulation, especially in the 1840s and 50s. (Dansie p63)

In some places they formed the core of a company shop economy (Truck system), circulating as private currencies. They were often of such low quality that they could not be hoarded, and shopkeepers off the property would not take them, as they would deteriorate into illegibility before they could be redeemed.

There are tales of unscrupulous shopkeepers and others baking or otherwise artificially aging their Calabashes given as change to travelers so that they crumbled to uselessness before they could be redeemed. (Dansie p63)

:"As commerce and trade grew in centres such as Toowoomba, more and more Calabashes were issued, and more and more merchants, squatters and others engaged in transactions were forced to give their 'paper' in change or as payment for goods and services." (Dansie p64)

Sources

*Rolnick, Arthur J. & Warren E. Weber, "Free Banking, Wildcat Banking and Shinplasters," "Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review," Vol. 6, No. 3, Fall 1982. http://minneapolisfed.org/research/qr/qr632.html

* Dansie, Robert, "Morass to Municipality", Darling Downs Institute Press, Toowoomba, 1985


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shinplaster — Shin plas ter, n. Formerly, a jocose term for a bank note greatly depreciated in value; also, for paper money of a denomination less than a dollar. [U. S.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shinplaster — ☆ shinplaster [shin′plas΄tər, shin′pläs΄tər ] n. 1. a plaster or poultice for use on sore shins 2. Informal a piece of paper money made almost worthless, as by inflation or inadequate security 3. Informal a piece of paper money of small face… …   English World dictionary

  • shinplaster — noun Date: 1824 1. a piece of privately issued paper currency; especially one poorly secured and depreciated in value 2. a piece of fractional currency …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • shinplaster — /shin plas teuhr, plah steuhr/, n. 1. a plaster for the shin or leg. 2. Informal. (formerly) a. a piece of paper money of a denomination lower than one dollar. b. money of little value, as that issued on insufficient security. [1815 25, Amer.;… …   Universalium

  • shinplaster — noun a) An essentially worthless note of paper money.<ref name= COED etym defs /> b) A 25¢ banknote.<ref name= COED etym defs /> …   Wiktionary

  • shinplaster — noun historical, informal 1》 US & Austral./NZ a banknote or promissory note of little or no value. 2》 Canadian a twenty five cent bill. Origin so named because of the resemblance to a square piece of paper used to bandage the shin …   English new terms dictionary

  • shinplaster — shin•plas•ter [[t]ˈʃɪnˌplæs tər, ˌplɑ stər[/t]] n. 1) a plaster for the shin or leg 2) inf Informal. (formerly) a) a piece of paper money of a denomination lower than one dollar b) money of little value, as that issued on insufficient security •… …   From formal English to slang

  • shinplaster — /ˈʃɪnplastə/ (say shinplahstuh) noun Obsolete 1. US a square piece of paper saturated with vinegar, etc., used as a plaster for sore legs. 2. US similar paper on which promissory notes were written, used as currency. 3. a promissory note issued… …  

  • shinplaster — noun paper money of little value issued on insufficient security • Hypernyms: ↑money …   Useful english dictionary

  • Withdrawn Canadian banknotes — Among Canadian currency, only five different banknotes are currently printed. Smaller denominations have been replaced by coins, and larger ones are felt to be no longer required in an era of electronic transmission of most large transactions.… …   Wikipedia

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