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CA - Crescent City/County,1933 - Alakchick Clam Shell Good For 10c

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
CA - Crescent City/County,1933 - Alakchick Clam Shell Good For 10c
Invoicing and lot pick up will NOT be available at the live auction.All items will be shipped or may be picked up at the Reno office the first Monday following

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2.5" X 3." Clamshell. Hand painted on underside of shell, 10c / Alakchik / Paid by / Ray Adsit-C.W.Nohl / Crescent City, Calif. / 3/10/33 / H.R. Adsit C. W. Nohl Top of shell is textured and brown with no writing. Both Crescent City and Pismo Beach used these clamshells as circulating currency when the Great Depression hit coastal California communities. Please see the Pismo Beach clamshell for more information. The U.S. Federal Census for Crescent City for 1930 lists Ray Adsit as a garage proprietor and Charles Nohl as an automotive repair clerk. Alakchick must have been the name of their garage. Nohl was a German immigrant born at sea when his parents came to the U.S. and both Nohl and Adsit, although from different parts of the country, have WWII draft registration cards, which is perhaps where these business partners met. In 2009, Stephanie Simon wrote an article titled Cash-Strapped California's IOUs: Just the Latest Sub for Dollars; In the 1930s, Some Used Shells and Wood As Scrip; the Minneapolis Sauerkraut Note which was published on the Wall Street Journal website (wsj.com). The article mentions the Crescent City Chamber of Commerce clamshells and values them at around $500 each. - Weber Collection