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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 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette within a circular frame presents an artist's rendition of a riverboat on the Ohio River valley, flanked on each side by the numeral 5 within ornamental cartouches. The overall layout is enclosed within a decorative border with foliate and architectural motifs typical of engraved commemorative scrip. Lettering above and below the central vignette identifies the issuing event, location, and face value. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a central oval text panel containing the full redemption clause, surrounded by vignettes of a riverboat scene to the left and a fortified riverside settlement to the right, with the numeral 5 in ornamental frames at each corner. Two facsimile signatures appear below the oval panel, identified by printed titles. A bold serif banner along the lower edge reads ONE WOODEN NICKEL, and a serial number is printed in the lower centre of the oval. |
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| Comments |
Wooden nickels issued for Northwest Territory sesquicentennial celebrations in 1937–38 were a minor craze across Ohio and the wider Old Northwest — dozens of towns minted their own commemorative scrip, most in very limited runs, exchangeable at local merchants during the celebration period. Portsmouth's version, overseen by a General Committee rather than any banking authority, carried no legal tender status whatsoever. The Fletcher and Strickland signatures are committee officer credentials, not financial endorsements.
Wood tokens of this type warp, split, and delaminate readily in humid storage. Flat, unwarped examples are genuinely harder to find than the issue numbers suggest.