A simple, psychological trick maximizes church giving:
The ushers, with contribution plates, started on their rounds. The evangelist said she had instructed them to say "Amen" whenever 25 cents was dropped into the plate; when 50 cents the usher was to say "Hallelujah!" and when $1 the usher was to say "Glory hallelujah!" in a loud tone. The collection amounted to $1,100...
the evangelist knew that no person with money to give would be content with an "Amen" when a neighbor, sitting in the next pew, was acclaimed with a "Glory hallelujah!"
New York Times - May 18, 1919
In 1960, the late Mrs. W.L. Clayton reportedly left $25 million in her will to the U.S. government to help pay down the national debt.
The amount she left for this purpose may have been unusually large, but it turns out that leaving behind money to help pay off the national debt isn't unusual.
The Associated Press reports that, every year, the U.S. government receives about $1 million in bequests to help with the national debt. And since 1961, it's received $100 million.
However, the AP also notes that all these bequests, though well-intentioned, are "pointless" and "essentially, useless". This isn't just because the amounts are like a drop in the ocean compared to the size of the national debt. It's because: "The donations are recorded on the receipts ledger of the federal government’s general fund. So, rather than actually paying down the national debt, these donations just reduce the amount of money our government will borrow."
Los Angeles Times - Jan 30, 1960
1935: The U.S. Treasury considered introducing a "midget coin" that would be worth one-tenth of a cent. It would have been called the "mill". The idea was that people could use it to pay the sales tax on small purchases.
As we've seen in a previous post, the sales tax often came out to fractions of a cent. However, Congress nixed the idea.
The only businesses that continue to charge tenths of a cent are gas stations. And apparently
they began doing that back in the '30s because of the fractional sales tax.
More info:
Wikipedia
Baltimore Evening Sun - Aug 7, 1935
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Aug 2, 1935
An unusual list of what a country doctor in 1924 was willing to accept as payment. I wonder if my doctor would accept some goose feathers and soft-shell turtles as a co-pay?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Mar 13, 1924
Letter sent out by a doctor at Paige, Tex.:
I expect a prompt settlement of all accounts due me. If not possible to settle in cash, any of the following named articles will be acceptable, viz.:
Cotton seed, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, billygoats, live catfish over 1 lb. each, bulldogs, registered bird dogs, skunk hides (dry), deer hides, shotguns, cedar posts, watches, gold teeth, diamonds, cream checks, pine trees (2 ft. in diameter, 30 ft. long), automobiles, new or secondhand; peanuts, black-eyed peas, Liberty Bonds, land notes, bacon, lard, country hams, clean goose feathers, soft-shell turtles over 5 lbs. each. Anything that can be sold for cash legally.
I need the money.
I have no idea what "cream checks" are. Google doesn't provide an answer.
Fractional or postage currency has a rich history. At the beginning of the Civil War people starting hoarding coins for their precious metal content. Coins became difficult to find because of the hoarding. People started to try to use stamps instead of coins as a means of commerce. The government decided to help ease the hoarding issue by issuing “paper coins” also known as postage currency or fractional currency. Fractional currency was first issued on August 21, 1862 and they were last issued on February 15, 1876. Three cents, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, and fifty cents notes were all issued. Fractional currency is physically smaller than other United States money. It also does not have a serial number.
More info here. And lots more pictorial examples.
1943 copper pennies are among the most-sought after coins by collectors. In 2010,
one of them sold for $1.7 million. Although
around $200,000 seems to be what most of them fetch.
The reason for their value is that so few of them exist. In 1943, due to the war, pennies were made out of zinc-coated steel. But somehow approximately 40 copper ones were made by accident.
For several decades the US Mint denied the existence of 1943 copper pennies (see news clipping below). It wasn't until a few showed up, and were authenticated by experts, that the mint changed its tune.
Now it states:
Approximately 40 1943 copper–alloy cents are known to remain in existence. Coin experts speculate that they were struck by accident when copper–alloy 1–cent blanks remained in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies.
Some strange rumors have circulated about the 1943 copper pennies. Such as that if you found one the Ford motor company would give you a free car. Not true, though if you find one, you could afford to buy quite a few cars. And a few of these pennies are potentially still in circulation.
More info:
definition.org
Battle Creek Enquirer - Mar 7, 1963