Quote Originally Posted by David Merrill View Post
Whenever somebody is handing you cash, postage stamps or money orders - lawful money of the US - and they want you to sign for it, assume they are asking you for endorsement of private credit. Sign your demand for lawful money rather than an endorsement.
This caught my reading the real news today. Why it was in the NY time today is bewildering.

THE NEW POSTAGE STAMP CURRENCY. - NYTimes.com Published: July 20, 1862 http://www.nytimes.com/1862/07/20/ne...-currency.html

THE POSTAGE STAMP CURRENCY; Statement of City Postmaster Wakeman in Reference to Defaced Postage Stamps. Published: October 11, 1862 http://www.nytimes.com/1862/10/11/ne...e-defaced.html

In 1862, paper money was not backed by gold or silver and, therefore, it was only a very tenuous faith in the Government that gave people any assurance that paper money had true value. Most people didn’t want to embrace that faith. Combine that feeling with the uncertainty associated with the ultimate outcome of the civil war and, hence, the hoarding of common gold, silver and copper coinage, the time-tested, universally accepted exchange medium. But people still needed to purchase a 3¢ loaf of bread, a 1¢ newspaper, a 5¢ quart of milk and countless other goods that required coins. And vendors had to make change when an item’s price was less than a nickel, a dime or a quarter. How was this to be done? http://www.ephemerasociety.org/blog/?p=883