Object Details
- Restwell Cabins
- Description
- Seashells have many characteristics that make them ideal monetary objects. They are durable, portable, and difficult to imitate. Shells circulated as a medium of exchange in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and North America. Seashells are no longer an official form of money, but they remain an alternative to notes and coins during periods of scarcity. This clamshell briefly functioned as money in Pismo Beach, California, during the Great Depression. It has characteristics that imitate federal money, including the phrase “In God We Trust” written on the side.
- Credit Line
- Chase Manhattan Bank
- 1933
- date on object
- 1933-03-08
- ID Number
- 1979.1263.00468
- accession number
- 1979.1263
- catalog number
- 79.112.OC102B
- collector/donor number
- OC102
- Object Name
- nontraditional money
- alternative currency
- Physical Description
- shell, clam (overall material)
- ink (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 9.9 cm x 13.6 cm x 2.8 cm; 3 29/32 in x 5 11/32 in x 1 3/32 in
- place made
- United States: California, Pismo Beach
- Related Publication
- Zoomable Image and Details
- Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
- Related Web Publication
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
- Coins
- Numismatics
- Coins, Currency and Medals
- Legendary Coins
- Exhibition
- Value of Money
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1003768
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-9fd8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
