CURIOSITIES FROM THE MUSEUM’S VAULTS Knickknackery
(Noun) Miscellaneous curios
By Robert Hancock
People save items for a variety of reasons: they may want to own something that is unique or peculiar, significant in their own life, or associated with a famous person or event. When the owner no longer knows what to do with these “knickknacks” or wishes to offer them to the public at large, they donate them to a museum.
Bulldog’s head made from macerated Greenbacks 0985.15.1
gold, some not. Instead of borrowing from the banks in order to pay for the war, the government printed their own money. This led to heated debates around inflation, public trust, and government overreach.
Eventually, the government realized that old bills taken out of circulation needed to be destroyed. First, they tried burning them. Then they decided The Museum’s collection is rich with U.S. “greenback” to put them through a shredding objects that are visually interesting, have The reverse side of the paper money was green machine with water creating a pulp unique stories associated with them, or because of the use of chromium oxide. Its green which was then discarded. Someone are just plain quirky. Ranging from the color was intended to prevent counterfeiting via came up with the idea of turning this sublime to the ridiculous, all of these photography. pulp into souvenirs and selling them items are rare or one-of-a-kind and have to tourists at the nation’s capital. All seldom been seen by Museum visitors. Photos: ACWM Collections manner of macerated sculptures were created: busts of famous presidents, the With the ever more ubiquitous use Washington Monument, the Capitol of credit cards and crypto-currency, building, cats, and this five-inch bulldog’s head complete with the term greenback will soon be relegated—if it hasn’t been already—to the dark recesses of the cabinet of archaic words glass eyes. The label on the bottom states: “Made of U.S. greenbacks, redeemed and macerated by the U.S. Government alongside zozzled (inebriated) and groovy (cool in a hip way). at Washington D.C. estimated at $100,000.” END Government-issued paper currency, popularly known as “Greenbacks,” didn’t exist before the Civil War. Before that, Robert Hancock is the ACWM Senior it was….um, complicated. Hundreds of different banks printed Curator and Director of Collections. the money that was in general circulation, some backed by
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