I was visiting the Titanic exhibit with my friend Cindy Smith, when we came
upon a display of currency. It is amazing to me that any artifacts are around
100 years later much less “paper” money.
The array of bills was unbelievable. In
1912, any state chartered bank could issue paper money and Titanic carried a
wide assortment.
Some of the items predated the civil war. I guess it was
Yankee money, since Confederate
funds were then defunct.
Cindy is a true cowgirl, and the one that caught her eye was
a five dollar Silver
certificate with an Indian head on the front. I was intrigued as well and
decided to look it up.
These certificates were issued in 1899, to replace silver
coins. I guess they were a bit lighter to carry around. The central figure is
Tatokainyanka who was a Sioux Chief. Since Chief Tatokainyanka is kinda hard to
say, he was called Chief Onepapa.
 |
| Original Photo |
He is famous for signing the “Treaty of
Fort Laramie” in 1868. He traveled to Washington, DC to meet President
Andrew Johnson where his picture was taken.
 |
| Redesigned Head Dress |
The engraver for the bill drew in a Pawnee head dress
instead, to better fit the space. Unfortunately, this is the only US paper
money where an Indian is the focal point. The Bills today can go for hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the condition. Of course the ones from Titanic, are priceless.
If you have a buck, you can pick up one of the new Native
American Coins from the US
Mint.
