
Cherrypicks | Hawaiian Short-snorter Note
Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Now in this blog I wanted to talk about one of my first real cherry picks. At the age of fourteen I bought the pictured Series 1935 A Silver Certificate, Hawaiian emergency note issue. I had heard about this WWII-related banknote beforehand and since had wanted to own a specimen. So I looked around in my local coin store and finally found a small pile of them for sale. They are fairly pricey compared to normal issue silver certificates and so I just wanted to purchase the cheapest one I could find.
Now before I go any further, a Hawaii note was a series of paper money issued by the US government during the second world war. These were issued after the US response to the recent attacks on Pearl harbor. The idea was that if the US issued notes with "HAWAII" stamped all over them, and have the color Orange instead of the usual blue-sealed silver certificates, that if the Japanese Empire was to capture the state of Hawaii then those notes would become void of value, and therefore useless to the Japanese. Sort of like a scorched earth policy.
The note that I specifically bought at the price of fourteen dollars had some sort of signatures all over it. At the time I didn't understand it completely and just believed that someone just wrote names all over it. I could make out an "A.H. Valerie, Gail G. Selles, Andy L., Chase Peters" and several other signatures. Even with the note being "damaged" I still found satisfaction in the fact that I finally owned one.
A few months later, I came across an Instagram post where someone had a note very similar to mine. Somewhere in the caption they had described it as a short-snorter. Somewhat entertained by its name, I searched online for the name and there it was. Many images of notes with signatures on them. After more research, it turns out that what I had purchased was most likely signed by stationed soldiers of the US military.
As it turns out, a short snorter is a piece of paper currency (doesn't even have to be US issued!) that was signed by soldiers as something of a souvenir, something like a baseball signed by members of a baseball team. This tradition is believed to have been started by Alaskan pilots in the 1920's. Short snorters are a remarkable piece of history that makes it even easier to see how numismatics plays to history. I am very happy to call one of these pieces my own.
I used my general knowledge for this blog, but if you really want to see more for yourself then please visit http://shortsnorter.org/ to see more for yourself!
Comments
TheNumisMaster
Level 5
Loved this! I am thinking about getting one of these myself... Thanks for the info, it will definitely come in handy later. Cheers man, NM
Kepi
Level 6
That's a great find! Nice addition to your collection ; )
LNCS
Level 5
Interesting time in history. Each note has a story to tell.
Longstrider
Level 6
Very nice blog. Interesting how your knowledge progressed researching these notes. Glad you found all this out. Nice note. I have a North Africa one myself.. Thanks
JudeA
Level 4
Hm, I would like to own one of these notes. #1, they have an orange seal, #2, I have yet to own any currency, and I would like to get some soon.
YoloBagels
Level 4
Hawaii notes are neat. definitely worth it even in lower grades.
"SUN"
Level 6
Short Snorters can be very rewarding, searching the history hehnd them.
YoloBagels
Level 4
There's so much that we can only assume about the history of any note or numismatic piece. If only they could talk....
coinsbygary
Level 5
This is interesting, I have a couple of these notes but they are not the Short-Snorters. I also have one of the North African war notes with the yellow seal. Congratulations on your very interesting find.
YoloBagels
Level 4
Thanks! The north Africa notes are also pretty cool. Though I don't have any I like the differing colors of the seals.
It's Mokie
Level 6
Short Snorters are highly collectible with their tie to our military, you got yourself a nice Hawaii note when you picked yours.
YoloBagels
Level 4
Thanks, I will always treasure it for its unique history. Crazy to think what they may have been through.
Mike
Level 7
There very collectable. I have not come across any . You basically can get them at dealer stores or in everyday currency. Lots of luck enjoy it.