In 1933, when banks closed, Detroit printed its own money – By Paul Vachon (Detroit Free Press) / December 26, 2021
Images of the era are searing.
In one, a gaunt man holds a hand-lettered placard that reads, “WORK IS WHAT I WANT — NOT CHARITY. WHO WILL HELP ME GET A JOB?”
The stock market crash of 1929 hit the nation like a sucker punch. Shocked by the unexpected calamity, both ordinary wage earners and businesspeople braced themselves for the worst. The following years proved so draconian that by 1933 Detroit’s city government was forced to meet its payroll with scrip — a substitute for real money.
Detroit essentially printed its own greenbacks, authentic-looking bills that still circulate today — among collectors.
