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5 Dollar - Berkshire County Clearing House Scrip Berkshire County, Massachusetts
| Issuer | Berkshire County Clearing House Association |
|---|---|
| Year | 1933 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 148 x 73 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BERKSHIRE COUNTY CLEARING HOUSE CERTIFICATE MASSACHUSETTS, March 10th, 1933 FIVE DOLLAR Securities having been deposited with the Clearing House Committee of The Berkshire County Clearing House Association this Certificate will be accepted by the member banks of said Association for the sum named. Treasurer__________ Chairman________ American Bank Note Company |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in black, dominated by a large, intricately engraved central guilloche panel of symmetrical floral and lathe-work motifs enclosed within a fine engine-turned border. Ornate acanthus scroll cornerpieces flank the central design, with two cancellation punch holes visible at lower left and center. |
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| Comments |
Berkshire County's clearing house scrip was issued in early 1933 during the wave of emergency currency that swept the United States ahead of Roosevelt's national bank holiday in March of that year. The Berkshire County Clearing House Association, like dozens of similar bodies across New England and the Midwest, issued scrip to keep local commerce moving when member banks were unable or unwilling to release deposited funds. It was a stopgap — explicitly temporary — and most participating businesses treated it as such.
American Bank Note Company's involvement gave the issue a legitimacy that mimeographed county scrip from the same period conspicuously lacked. Many 1933 clearing house issues were returned and destroyed once normal banking resumed, making surviving examples disproportionately scarce relative to original print runs.