Rare Money Found In Abandoned House?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/09/2006 01:25:55 PM · #1

a few months ago me and a friend went to an abandoned house he found to take pictures. we do this kind of stuff all the time and it seems like every abandoned place we find has far more questions than answers.

in this particular house we found stuff dating back to the early 1900's and the latest date of significance was an old drivers license that expired in 1965. it was for an old lady that i researched and found that she died 2 years earlier.

anyway, while kicking around old receipts and tax documents i found an old dollar, i thought it was monopoly money at first. the more i look at it the more i think it is real. i've searched every rare money website i could find and the only thing that came up for "piece of eight" was spanish coins and some old US coins.

researching more i found that before the uniform currency that we know in the US today they did use piece's of eight and the first dollar bills may have used it as well. the only drawback is that banks issued their own banknotes and their were thousands of different kinds.

the back side is blank. also, notice that there arent any American symbols(eagles/gov't buildings/presidents).

if anyone has any ideas i'd be glad to hear them.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

03/09/2006 01:33:30 PM · #2

It looks like maybe a promotional piece for some old business rather than real currency.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

03/09/2006 01:35:37 PM · #3

Not to open a can of worms, but basically wasn't that trespassing and theft?

I'd be pretty upset if people were poking around and taking things from property I owned.

Message edited by author 2006-03-09 13:35:46.

03/09/2006 01:49:02 PM · #4

Originally posted by LoudDog:

Not to open a can of worms, but basically wasn't that trespassing and theft?

I'd be pretty upset if people were poking around and taking things from property I owned.

well, even though it doesnt change the fact that it was probably trespassing and theft...it was clear the place hadn't been touched in over 30 years.

my morals do have a limit though. i never considered backing a truck up to the place and taking the antique grand piano or old furniture.

i do see your point....thank you

Message edited by author 2006-03-09 13:50:19.

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/09/2006 01:53:59 PM · #5

blank on one side? it probably was part of a board game. Maybe Piratopoly... heehee

Ennil

Nikon D200

03/09/2006 01:59:30 PM · #6

Originally posted by LoudDog:

Not to open a can of worms, but basically wasn't that trespassing and theft?

I'd be pretty upset if people were poking around and taking things from property I owned.

Yeah, I'd also think you'd be pretty dissapointed you were dead.

Anyway great find!

03/09/2006 02:00:24 PM · #7

i've gone into abandoned houses. i usually scout it out a couple of times, and then carefully go in. if the door is locked, i don't force my way in.

i did a presentation for a class in college about an abandoned house visit. people asked 'umm.. didn't you just break in?' my group was like... ya... the assignment said to explore. so we did.

didn't take anything, but got some photos. think they're on film.

kind of freaky, there was lawn furniture in there and a fidora on a bed that looked like someone just had put there.

AzCKelly

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G ED

03/09/2006 02:02:09 PM · #8

If I were you, I'd hold onto it. I believe currency had originally been based on an 8th system. Remember the old nursery rhyme: 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits a dollar? That is where it came from.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

03/09/2006 02:11:36 PM · #9

I'm not saying I haven't or wouldn't do the same thing, I just wouldn't post it... :)

I'd bet it's a certificate for a resturant or something like that.

03/09/2006 02:16:55 PM · #10

Originally posted by posthumous:

blank on one side? it probably was part of a board game. Maybe Piratopoly... heehee

haha, that was my first guess...

i believe most of the early banknotes were one-sided. the back side has something hand-written, but it is not legible(just numbers, possibly a date).

03/09/2006 02:17:42 PM · #11

Virginia Currency

In 1645 the legislature of Virginia prohibited dealing by barter, and abolished tobacco as currency. They established the Spanish dollar, or "piece of eight," at six shillings, as the standard of currency for that colony. In 1655 the "piece of eight" was changed from six shillings to five shillings sterling as the standard of currency.

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/09/2006 02:21:11 PM · #12

Your best bet is Antiques Roadshow!

03/09/2006 02:30:08 PM · #13

Originally posted by saintaugust:

thank you!

how did you find that?....its somewhat stressful to search for months and find nothing, then start a thread here and have some legit information within an hour. haha

i have studied the family of the person whos drivers license i found. they have had ancestry in Virginia near that time. i forgot to mention this was found in North Carolina(30 minute drive from Virginia border).

could you tell me where you found the info?

03/09/2006 02:32:49 PM · #14

piece of eight (sounds almost obscene)

God bless Google (C)

03/09/2006 02:33:56 PM · #15

ps - if the info is true, you have a helluva find there, buddy.

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

03/09/2006 02:37:21 PM · #16

I don't want to rain on your parade, but your note looks nothing like the samples on saint august's link. It looks a lot more like something printed by Milton Bradley in the 70's that has been through a fire.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

03/09/2006 02:39:50 PM · #17

Originally posted by saintaugust:

piece of eight (sounds almost obscene)

God bless Google (C)

Haha

i swear i googled it a million times...

thank you

amjlt

Canon EOS-10D

03/09/2006 02:49:23 PM · #18

That is a neat find. However, if currency value is based on condition, like all other paper products, books, comics, and sports trading cards, it's more cool than valuable.

rox_rox

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

03/09/2006 02:51:46 PM · #19

I love exploring old houses. Out in Colorado I used to ask the farmers if I could go in and take pictures on their abandonded homesteads. They almost always obliged.

If you want to find something really cool, get permission to dig up the privvy and find some old bottles.

DjFenzl

03/09/2006 02:58:54 PM · #20

I believe it is from the board game Treasure Hunt made by Cadaco-Ellis in 1951.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

03/09/2006 02:59:34 PM · #21

Originally posted by posthumous:

yeah...maybe you're right

Message edited by author 2006-03-09 15:13:06.

rox_rox

Canon EOS-20D

03/09/2006 03:01:03 PM · #22

That font is Art Deco.

DjFenzl

03/09/2006 03:03:27 PM · #23

Yep it's from Treasure Hunt :)
Treasure Hunt on Ebay

jaxter

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Tamron AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD for Canon

03/09/2006 03:03:27 PM · #24

I don't believe what you have found to be an issued piece of currency. Collecting US Coinage is another hobby of mine, and while I don't generally dabble with paper currency I have a general knowledge of the subject. For one, a bank note wouldn't be blank on one side. Secondly a bank note, even a colonial one, would have the issuing bank clearly represented. i.e. Bank of Virginia. That being said I haven't the foggiest what it might be. It could be anything from a piece from a game to a print blank from someone trying to do some note forgery. It is certainly untrigueing... worth hanging on to and investigating.
Jack