Money of the Good Old Days

        To use the language of one of the pioneers, "Money was purty scace (pretty scarce) in them days." And they had such a variety of standards that they seldom knew what their money was worth or how it would fluctuate in value. If a person proposed a trade the answer often came back in an inquiry, "What kind of money have you got?" The answer may have been, "Government money," but it was more likely to be "State money," or "Kentucky money," or some other kind of money, or still more likely it was a general statement of what he had to trade. Various hides and other things had a value placed on them and they passed as currency. Debts were made and they were paid with them. In some localities notes were given promising to pay so many saddles of venison at a certain time. In other localities cattle were made the standard of value. They were rated as "first-rate," "second-rate" and "third-rate". A first-rate cow and calf was worth ten dollars in State money. A second-rate one was worth eight dollars and a third-rate was worth six dollars.

       Thus all property was rated and if a man willfully rated his property wrongly he was considered what we would call a "crook" and it was hard to get people to trade with him. Neighbors were sometimes called in to rate their goods. The judgment of these neighbors was law and from their decision there was no appeal. Milk, butter, eggs, beef, pork, venison, etc., were all given away among the neighbors for their own use, but for the market they had a value - pork, beef and venison at about half a cent per pound, eggs about three cents per dozen, and butter, if at all, three cents per pound. This is the kind of money they had to pay "the butcher, the baker and the candle-stick maker", and the preacher, too, but they were their own butchers, their own bakers and candle-stock-makers and some one of their own number was the preacher. Waller

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