Company Scrip

A History & Catalog of Minnesota Obsolete Bank Notes & Scrip has detailed articles about this and other major categories of obsolete bank notes.  Order your copy from the books section of R. M. Smythe & Co. today.

There were a variety of non-bank and non-municipal entities that issued their own paper money in Minnesota.  These notes are the rarest kind of Minnesota obsolete notes.  Most were issued during the small-change crisis in late 1862, and are more often found from rural areas of the state.  Matthew Donohue was a merchant in Faxon, a town that no longer exists as a village.  He issued this 15 cent note.

John R. Cook of Rochester was a respected merchant.  He issued this note in late 1862.

The Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad opened 10 miles of track between St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1862.  The one-way fare was sixty cents.  This 10 cent note was likely issued as partial change for a dollar when a ticket was purchased.