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1 wooden nickel 150th anniversary of the Northwest Territory, 1787-8 to 1937-8
| Issuer | General Committee for the Portsmouth, Ohio Celebration |
|---|---|
| Year | 1937-1938 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 150TH ANNIVERSARY 1787-8 NORTHWEST TERRITORY 1937-8 CELEBRATION PORTSMOUTH OHIO OCTOBER 2-6 1938 ONE WOODEN NICKEL ISSUED AT PORTSMOUTH, OHIO, 1938 IN CELEBRATION OF 150 YEARS OF PROGRESS |
| Reverse description | The reverse is engraved directly into the wooden substrate in letterpress style. A central text panel bordered by decorative rules carries the full redemption notice, flanked on the left by a vignette of a locomotive and on the right by an industrial or urban scene. Below the text panel, facsimile signatures of the General Chairman and Secretary appear at either side of the serial number, with 'ONE WOODEN NICKEL' lettered in bold across the bottom in a recessed banner. |
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| Comments |
Wooden nickels issued for sesquicentennial celebrations were a genuine regional phenomenon in Depression-era America — cheap to produce, easy to distribute, and just acceptable enough as trade tokens that local merchants would honor them during the event period. Portsmouth, Ohio had particular claim to the Northwest Territory anniversary: the town sits in Scioto County, directly within the original Territory boundaries established by the Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery north of the Ohio River decades before the Civil War made it a national issue.
Fletcher and Strickland signed as committee officers, not as officials of any banking or governmental authority. These were never legal tender by any definition.