By Alan Herbert, Bank Note Reporter December 30, 2009

Where did the nicknames “Sawbuck” and “Double Sawbuck” come from on U.S. notes?

Modern heating plants that operate on gas or fuel oil leave this reference in obscurity, although there are plenty of rural residents who still have one of these around. A sawbuck is an X-shaped frame, attached to a second X by short planks or boards. The frame was used to hold a log or stick while it was being sawed into lengths of firewood.

Because the early $10 and $20 notes carried the Roman X for 10 and XX for 20, the rural community likened them to their familiar sawbucks and called them by that name.



I heard there was a “Russian” connection with the lack of the religious motto on my old $1 note?

Why not, when they get blamed for bad weather and everything else that happens. But, in this case, there’s no foundation for calling them Russian notes, because the law putting the motto on the notes wasn’t passed until 1955 and the first notes weren’t printed with the “In God We Trust” motto until 1957.



How many of the state-chartered banks issued $10,000 notes?

I listed the Girard Bank of Philadelphia as being the one such bank to issue that large a note. Chuck added the Philadelphia Bank, which issued both $5,000 and $10,000 notes. He reported that he purchased the two proof notes in the 2005 Smyth auction.



Was there once a mint on Catalina Island?

There was a thriving private mint that turned out “coins” and “paper money.” The facility was established in the 1930s to make items that could be used to represent coins or paper money in the various movies produced in that era.

Fred Reed tells me that there is a lot of movie money in the hands of collectors, covered in his 800-page book, which he autographs for $125 plus $12.50 postage at freed3@airmail.net The book is selling for up to $340 on Amazon.com.



I have a note from the Oranienburg Concentration Camp. Where can I find out what it’s worth?

Oranienburg was near Berlin, and originally a lumber yard. It was opened in 1933 and closed in 1934. You might try a newer reference book by Feller and Feller: Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of World War II, which illustrates the notes in color.



Address questions to Bank Note Reporter, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Due to space limitations, we are unable to publish all questions. Include a loose, 44-cent stamp for reply. Write first for specific mailing instructions before submitting numismatic material. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited items. Send e-mail inquiries to Answerman2@aol.com.



More Resources:

• 2010 U.S. Coin Digest, The Complete Guide to Current Market Values, 8th ed.

• State Quarters Deluxe Folder By Warmans

• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 to Date

• Strike It Rich with Pocket Change, 2nd Edition