1 wooden nickel 150th anniversary of the Northwest Territory, 1787-8 to 1937-8

Wooden nickels issued for sesquicentennial celebrations were common Depression-era novelties, but Portsmouth had a genuine claim to the occasion — the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 organized the territory that would eventually become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and Scioto County sits squarely in that original grant. These pieces circulated locally as promotional scrip during the commemoration events, redeemable at participating merchants rather than at any bank.

The wood substrate was deliberate and thematic, not a materials shortage workaround. Fletcher and Strickland signed as committee officers, giving the piece nominal fiduciary backing from the organizing body rather than any governmental authority.