The coin shortages of the mid-1960s led to some interesting suggestions on how to solve the problem. It’s hard to believe that one of those was to return to a time of fractional currency that grew up from the Civil War. A nonbylined article, “When Paper Pinch-Hit in a Coinless Economy” in the May 1965 issue of Coins magazine told of what it was like back when fractionals ruled.
“No coins, just paper money. Can you imagine such a situation? Can you picture our plight if specie money just plain vanished?
“It happened back in the Civil war era, bringing on a rash of makeshift exchange media and, eventually, the issuance of fractional currency which today can vary in value from $5 to $1,000, depending on series and … condition.
“Minor coins had been issued
