Newman Portal Adds Research Paper on California Clam Shell Money

Recently added to Newman Paper is a paper by Joshua Smith, "The California Clam Shell Scrip Currency of 1933: Crescent City and Pismo Beach's anomaly in an era ofBanknote Scrip." Supported by a Newman Grant from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society, Smith conducted primary research on this curious scrip that arose in Californiaduring the Great Depression.

Smith explores the origins of the use of clam shells as money and describes modern reproductions in order to aid authentication of genuine examples. Certain questions innumismatics are eternal - how was an object made, who made it, how was it used - and Smith provides an end-to-end treatment of the subject.

Image: Example of clam shell money issued by Leiter's Pharmacy in 1933 (Pismo Beach City Hall collection).

Link to "The California Clam Shell Scrip Currency of 1933" on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/573710