He was granted a patent No, 1627 on August 2, 1862. Gault returned to New York to enter the market for this new form of currency. After a stint in the gold rushes of California and developing a successful business in Boston, Mr. Due to the fragility of postage stamps, a method of protection had to be developed to prolong their useful life, thus came about the encasing of the stamps.Īmong the many entrepreneurs with a vision to capitalize and profit from this new form of commerce was one John Gault of New York City. Other actions by the federal government eventually led to the Act of Jwhich provided for the use of postage stamps as monetary vehicles and entered the foray as Encased Postage. Originally distributed to Army paymasters, it was not until later, September 1862, that these notes were distributed to the general public. The latter showed current issues of stamps with their values, thus representing an exchangeable and accepted piece of currency. It was during this period that Fractional or Postage Currency notes were developed in the form of small pieces of paper. Copper coins were being hoarded, which made it increasingly difficult to pay for daily needs such as haircuts, milk and the like.Īt this time some enterprising merchants issued scrip with values up to a dollar advertising their wares, and later tokens also came to the market place. If one was fortunate or wealthy enough to own ‘’greenbacks,” there was a premium to buy federal coins. In early July 1862, shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, there was virtually no gold or silver coins available for use of trade or to give change. ![]() ![]() Not strictly stamps, coins or paper money Encased Postage became, for a brief period, a medium with which to buy and trade goods and services.
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