(Courtesy of John Vidosh)

This is an excellent specimen of personal scrip, a financial currency similar to a personal check. This 10 cent note was issued in Beavertown by Henry Houser in 1862. His signature is on the note, and the co- signer is none other than Moses Specht, an influential businessman of the time. (You can read much more about Moses in our history archives.) It is interesting to note that the bearer had to accrue one dollar's worth of this scrip before "cashing" it for U.S. currency.