I was very interested to read the latest article on banknotes that have political or other messages written or stamped on them.

I was reminded of my own efforts some years ago to use currency to promote an awareness of certain historical achievements or events.

I decided that one way to guarantee at least some level of curiosity among recipients of the dollar bills was to have them autographed by notable people whose activities I felt were worthy of further study, especially by students.

My project lasted a few years and I was able to enlist the participation of over a dozen notable people from a variety of fields. I used $1 bills except for one or two occasions when I sent $2 bills. I usually sent five banknotes to each person, although I sometimes reduced that to three if I felt it was too much of an imposition for a particular celebrity. My intention, as explained to the people I wrote to, was to keep one example for myself and spend the rest. My hope was that as the banknotes circulated they would spark the curiosity of recipients and that they might research the people whose signatures appeared on the notes.

The first focus of my project was German boxer Max Schmeling. His was a remarkable story that was interwoven with the horrors of WWII.

Schmeling held the world heavyweight championship title from 1930-1932, and during his boxing career he faced American boxer Joe Louis twice, knocking him out once in a non-championship fight.

Schmeling, who refused to join the Nazi Party, was conscious of the fact that his success in the 1930s might be used for propaganda purposes by Adolf Hitler. He lost his 1938 title match to Joe Louis and years later expressed satisfaction at the outcome because his loss denied the Nazis a propaganda victory. Schmeling and Louis later became good friends and Schmeling even paid for Louis's funeral in 1981.

It was only revealed very late in Schmeling's long life that as WWII was unfolding he saved two Jewish children by hiding them in his Berlin apartment until they could be safely evacuated.

Here is one of the Max Schmeling dollar bills, signed when he was 97.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MAY 23, 2021 : Trump 2020 Graffiti Note(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n21a11.html)