Treasure Hunt by Peter Rexford

When I was growing up, I knew Christmas was close when TV ads for Norelco shavers showed Santa sledding down a hill on a razor. Those days seem to be gone. Now, the Yuletide is near when I go into a Walgreen's or supermarket and see displays of candy canes, garland and wrapping paper. That happened the day after Halloween. Time to start thinking about holiday gifts for collectors.

Given today's economic climate, most might wish for a stocking filled with cash. Functional as that may be, it would fly in the face of the "reason for the season." Of course, historically, everyone has been attracted to money. And, because Christmas and Hanukkah are steeped in history, what about a gift that combines the two?

Just published this month is an outstanding book chronicling America's history as reflected through money. "America's Money, America's Story," by Richard Doty, is arguably one of the best books recounting the story of the country as related by money.

Understand, in our infancy "money" wasn't what's in your pocket right now. To that point, what do two yards of cotton, two pints of gunpowder, 10 pounds of pork, six knives, one hat or two small axes have in common? Answer: In 1703, any of those could be purchased with one beaver pelt. Sound archaic? That was a quantum leap over the trade of beads, shells or cacao beans that had previously been the standard of trade.

Doty's book nicely transitions to pre-Revolutionary times, when crude coinage and early paper money were the specie of the American colonies. Many of the latter were actually printed by Ben Franklin, who created the concept of imprinting leaves on the back of paper money. Franklin realized that, like fingerprints, every leaf is unique. By using that image on currency it helped thwart counterfeiting.

So did the printed admonition "To Counterfeit Is Death." Not much gray area there.

"America's Money, America's Story" goes on to chronicle counterfeit notes printed by Britain during the Revolution to destroy the economy of the colonies, which, incidentally, was quite effective. Possibly the most interesting aspect of our early currency is that each piece of paper money was actually hand-signed by two or three individuals — some of them also signers of the Declaration of Independence. Today, most of those are worth a small fortune.

Naturally, the discovery of gold in the United States and subsequent gold rushes (as is again happening today) take front and center. So do the coins, currency and shortages during the Civil War.

Fast forward to the coins and elegantly engraved paper money of the 20th century, how we fared money-wise during the Cold War and the commemorative coins of the past 100 years, and "America's Money, America's Story" profiles the story of the nation better than most any history book I was subjected to throughout my school years.

In 224 pages replete with detailed color photos, Doty brings U.S. history to life in a fun, compelling and non-technical way. Best of all, considering that some rare coins and currency are still hiding and waiting to be found, you can't flip through the pages and wonder, "What if ... ?"

"America's Money, America's Story" is available for $26.95 from online booksellers, bookstores and hobby shops nationwide. It can also be obtained directly from the publisher at: www.whitmanbooks.com. As a gift that lets people dream as well as learn, it's one of the better options I can recommend for the 2008 holidays.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the cover of the book "America's Money, America's Story" has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.