While Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, the stores have been filled with red and green decorations since just before Halloween. For those of us don’t have holiday overload, here’s a look at some currency touched with good cheer.
Coin Update News posts:
The obsolete bank notes bearing vignettes of Santa Claus are a collectible specialty all their own. Some people collect by state or town, others by theme, and the Santa notes are no exception. Santa first appeared on bank notes in the mid-1800s, when Christmas was “declared an official holiday in many northern states . . . and some banks celebrated by creating Santa Claus currency.” In fact the growth of St. Nick’s popularity was seen through much of the 1800s: in 1823 Clement Clarke Moore wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (known more commonly today as “The Night Before Christmas”). In 1870 the poem, initially written for Moore’s children, was published with a painting of St. Nicholas by Thomas Nast.
