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Auction: 324 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1005

New Mexico. Spiegelberg Hermanos. 12 ½ Cents. Enero 1, 1863. Santa Fe, NM. Unlisted private issue. Dark royal blue on buff. Hunter standing with rifle in field. No imprint. Lithographic style reminiscent of Eastern scrip notes. Unissued, no serial number. One of the few Spanish-language scrip notes. In 1846, Prussian-born Solomon Jacob Spiegelberg became the first Jewish merchant on the Santa Fe Trail and arrived in Santa Fe. There he acted as sutler with the forces of Colonel Sterling Price during the US occupation of New Mexico. He soon set himself up on his own with a small mercantile business. In 1848, he brought his brother Levi over to the New World, and the two formed Spiegelberg Hermanos. Levi was followed by brothers Elias, Emanuel, Lehman and Willi, who after landing made the arduous two- to three-month trip to Santa Fe by train, steamboat and mule (Elias was killed in New Mexico when the ceiling of his adobe home collapsed). The Spiegelberg store across from the Governor's Palace sold groceries and dry goods. By 1850, they were trading outside New Mexico and a had a thriving wholesale business. Selling everything from a pin to a piano, the Spiegelbergs were also very progressive members of Santa Fe's business community. They offered liberal credit in a Territory where hard currency was often lacking, especially to Hispanic workers who were paid half of what their Anglo counterparts got. Meanwhile, under their sympathetic purchasing system, Hispanic customers from agricultural areas were allowed to barter fresh produce in exchange for scrip; the produce then being sold to Anglos for cash. With the scarcity of silver coins during the Civil War, Spiegelberg Hermanos were one of the first businesses in the West to be granted the privilege of issuing their own money in the form of 10, 20 and 50 Cents. ICG Very Fine 30. All New Mexico Territorial scrip is very rare, while this piece has the added cachet of being an important Civil War era issuer and being Old West Judaica.

Estimate
$6,750 to $7,500