Greenbacks Earn Trust in Olympia
Citizens freely exchange Treasury notes for gold at par, signaling local faith in the Union cause.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It is within our personal knowledge that during the past week, Legal Tender notes have been freely exchanged for gold, at par. We exchanged a small amount for gold at par. Our old friend John Scott exchanged $140 of legal tender notes for $140 in gold, and we understand that other sums were thus exchanged. This is as it should be. Treasury notes are for many purposes better than gold. This speaks louder than words for the patriotism of our citizens. It shows they have an unbounded confidence in the ability of the Government to put down the rebellion, and to ultimately pay gold for every farthing of indebtedness.
“This speaks louder than words for the patriotism of our citizens. It shows they have an unbounded confidence in the ability of the Government to put down the rebellion.”
In an era of intense economic uncertainty during the Civil War, citizens of Olympia demonstrated their political loyalty through their wallets. Today, local currency experiments and debates over fiat versus hard assets still reflect deep-seated concerns about the stability of the state and the national economy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.