I'm replying belatedly to the claim made in the February 21 issue:

There is at least one earlier instance of paper money issued during a siege, almost a century before the Leyden example.

The town of Alhama de Granada, in southern Spain, was taken by the Christians in 1482; sometime between 1483 and1485 the Muslims besieged it, and the commander, the count of Tendilla, issued paper money in different denominations with a promise to redeem the notes after the siege, a promise he apparently kept. The story is told by a contemporary, Fernando del Pulgar who was secretary of the Catholic King Ferdinand.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:QUERY: TERM FOR PAPER PRESSED INTO COIN FORM SOUGHT(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n08a14.html)