One newfound joy is Colonial and Continental currency. Most Colonial collectors seek notes from each of the 13 colonies (plus Vermont) or from a specific Colony or perhaps Continental issues made by the Continental Congress.

However, I prowl auctions and dealers' stock for notes that are not pristine examples but rather have survived - barely - in battered and tattered form. Specifically, notes that have been pinned or sewn together.

These notes often circulated until they were literally falling apart.

At that point, emergency restorations were made to keep the notes circulating a bit longer. Two commonly seen approaches are two pieces of a note sewn back together or onto a backing with needle and thread, and notes that were pinned together with straight pins. These notes are typically quite inexpensive because condition conscious collectors tend to shun them as being in "deplorable" condition.

My take on them is somewhat different. They represent wonderful artifacts of our nation's history, illustrating the extremes to which people would go in order to have some means of conducting trade. The fact that someone took the time some 250 years ago to conserve these notes is the only reason many of them are still with us today.

To read the complete article, see:On pins and needles(www.coinworld.com/articles/on-pins-and-needles)