Clamshell Scrip from the Great Depression



This specimen comes from the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.
When the Depression and resulting banking crisis hit their community, the residents of the coastal town of Pismo Beach, California picked an unusual but logical medium of exchange... The Chamber of Commerce and no fewer than eleven merchants issued clamshell scrip.

Each piece was numbered, and each piece was signed on the front and on the back. As with the stamp notes of the Midwest, it was necessary to sign each clamshell on the back in order to keep it in circulation. No formal requirements may have existed, but informal pressure certainly would have endorsed the practice.

Restwell Cabins issued "notes" in three denominations: twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar. The larger the amount, the larger the shell. The issue may have been partly intended as a spoof, or for sale to tourists, in the manner of German notgeld around 1920. Redemption would never be a problem because collectors would want to keep these pieces in their cabinets or trade them with their friends.

Link.

Comments (4)

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This is a ches' pont nimbler used in pastry and cake decorating. Oddly enough its use was banned in the Duchy of Moldavia because of a dream the Baroness had and related to her 2nd hairdresser, who fortold the Dukes demise at the hands of a Pastrey Cheof' armed with this instrument.

Oddly enough he was run over by a tank during military exercises, the corparal-chef who was in comand of the tank was named:....Chespont.
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Hmm, handling something, but no idea what.....
Would've said for cutting branches if the edges weren't dull...... uhm.. so I'll guess....

Tool for handling hot metal pipes? :P
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and elastrator...used to castrate horses...at least that's what the tool looked like on that tv show "dirty jobs" a while back...it was soo gross!
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A tool for handling molten metal... should have a cup that holds the metal, then that clamps around the cup and you can pour it into a mold (or something).

Lew
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I think it is a set of metalsmithing tongs. We use something similar to transfer and quench our beakers during the casting process.

Lew may also be correct, they could be used to hold the crucible as well.

Can't wait to find out if I'm right!
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Maybe it's for handling logs in a fire place?
It just looks like tongs you can use for anything you need tongs for: hold something hot, remove a big bullet, deliver a baby, cut of a ball or two, stripping some leaves, pour some acid, pick your nose or a pocket. Great invention, tongs.
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I do believe that it's an old tool primarily used on the Irish holiday of St. Patrick's Day. When a person forgets or refuses to wear green, this tool is used for an extra-painful pinch.
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