Vintage Cash Found in Basement

Basement work uncovers vintage cash

SJ-R.COM
By DANIEL PIKE
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

“In January last year, Springfield architect Chuck Pell decided to replace an old gas-powered water heater with a newer electric model at his office in a century-old house on East Lawrence Avenue.

…In the process, Pell spied something through a small opening in a corner, where the walls meet the ceiling.”

The find, with an appraised value of more than $9,500, included bills such as:

• A series 1899 $5 silver certificate bearing the face of Chief Running Antelope
• A series 1929 $5 National Bank note with a picture of Abraham Lincoln
• A series 1901 $10 U.S. note showing a bison flanked by the faces of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
• A batch of series 1902 “third charter” National Bank notes bearing the likeness of President William McKinley, issued from banks such as First National Bank of Springfield, First National Bank of Logansport, Ind., and City National Bank of Shawneetown.
• A $10 gold certificate showing Michael Hillegas, who the note explains was the first treasurer of the United States.
• A $20 National Bank note from the First National Bank of Blue Mound, dated Aug. 19, 1909, and bearing the face of Hugh McCullough, secretary of the treasury under Lincoln.

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