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I have a nominal numismatic interest and I compiled some information on the coinage that would have appeared in Maddock in 1870. I know that we don't RP the coins we are handing over to Al, ur, Jason. I had intended to gather some info on economics at the time. (You know, how far does a penny get you?) I fear I am easily distracted and diverged into another direction. I also failed to find any good info on 19th century costs of living in my references. Perhaps somebody else has better access to that data?
    This isn't of sufficient value to plague people reading +news, so I concluded I'd send it out on the mailing list.
    Oh, and in order to provide philately equal time:
    STAMPS: None. The postmaster/mistress would only accept cash, not pretty pre-paid stamps for a few more years and not in Maddock for a while after that.

Maddock Coinage
US currency underwent significant changes during the US Civil War due to hoarding of coins for their bullion value combined with a distrust for paper money. Another major set of changes would occur in 1892. The coins to be found in circulation in Maddock in 1870 had some lingering traces of the disappearing older varieties plus coins foreshadowing events to come. Here are the descriptions of the major denominations:
    ONE CENT: The Indian Head Penny was first issued in 1859 and looks just like that as issued in 1908 (before the Lincoln Cent). The only difference was that those from 1859-1864 were of a different copper-nickel alloy while 1864 started the common bronze which was used until 1982. (You didn't know it changed then, did ya?)
    There might be an occasional "Buzzard Cent", as the One Cent coins as 1856-1858 were called. The flying eagle on the obverse was damned as an ugly bird and it wasn't popular. However, it was the first "small cent" using about the same size as our penny today. In the half century before this, One Cent coins were about the size of a Half Dollar!
    FIVE CENT: 1866 saw the first issue of a five cent coin made of nickel, about the same dimension as our nickel today, and they were quickly popular. The reverse had a large 5 surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars and the legend "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". The obverse had an ornate shield, reminding me of some kind of policeman's badge, with vertical stripes (OK, "Barry" for the heralds) and a solid chief (Did you expect colors on coins?). This shield with the US Crest recurs on US coins. "IN GOD WE TRUST" curves on the top while the date is centered below. This coin was redesigned in 1883, 1913 (The Buffalo Nickel), and 1938 (Jefferson Nickel).
    The half-dime, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and silver dollar all shared a similar obverse starting in 1837. This was a seated liberty figure, holding a staff with a tiny pennant and propping up a shield (shaped like an Interstate sign ;). Thirtee n six-pointed starts arc over her while the date in centered below. These denominations varied in size and their reverse. All were of the same size as their counterparts today (except the half-dime ;).
    ONE DIME: Reverse has "ONE DIME" centered inside a wreath inside the legend "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA".
    QUARTER: Reverse has one of those eagles, wings spread and arching its head to look behind it. It clutches arrows and an olive branch and wears a shield on its chest. An almost legible scroll, supposedly reading "IN GOD WE TRUST", curls above the eagle while "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" arches over all. "QUAR. DOL." appears at the bottom.
    HALF DOLLAR: The same reverse as the Quarter, except the bottom legend reads "HALF DOL."
    SILVER DOLLAR: The same reverse as the Quarter and Half, except the bottom legend reads "ONE DOL."
    Yes, I had said "half-dime". Until 1873, there were two small silver coins; the other being a Three Cent. From 1865 to 1873, the three cent and five cent coins had both a silver and a nickel representation. Of course, in 1870 only 4000 silver three cent coins were issued compared to 1.3 million nickel three cent coins.
    HALF DIME: It looked the same as the Dime, but a little smaller. (yes, smaller than today's dime and just as thin!) The reverse legend said "HALF DIME" instead.
    SILVER THREE CENT: The tiniest coin the US ever issued. The obverse was a large six-pointed star surrounding a shield. The reverse had a roman 3 with a fancy scroll thing surrounding it like the letter "C". For practical purposes, they disappeared during the Civil War, but they were supposedly still being made. Few would have made it to Montana.
    NICKEL THREE CENT: The size of a dime, but possible with a thicker and heavier feel. The obverse had Liberty's head with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" surrounding it and the date at the bottom. The reverse was a large roman 3 inside a nice wreath.
    GOLD EAGLES: The US has maintained the almost fictional denomination of an "Eagle" which theoretically equals $10. The Quarter Eagle would be $2.50 and so on, but these coins are clearly marked "2 1/2D." and such. There were $2.5, $5, $10 and $20 (Double Eagle) gold coins issued and available in Maddock. All had some kind of Liberty head on the Obverse and an eagle like most silver coins. There were also $1 and $3 gold coins with a female head crowned with feathers on the obverse and the value in side a wreath on the reverse.
    GOLD TOKENS: For a while, demand for coins in the west, combined with surplus of precious metal, meant that silver and gold coins were produced that weren't official US tender. None reached much circulation, but they'd show up!
    SPANISH REAL: Spanish dollars were legal tender in the US until just before the Civil War. A Spanish Dollar was equal to 8 reals. To meet demand for small denomination, the large 8 Real coin could be chopped into 8 equal wedges or "bits" worth 1 2.5 cents (The proverbial pieces of eight). A Quarter Dollar was equal to 2 reals or "2 bits". If the quarter coin was cut differently, you'd get a "long bit" worth 15 cents and a "short bit" worth 10 cents. Coin dealers in the west were known as "Chop Houses".
    PAPER: There was paper currency available in most every denomination (and many were issued by banks, not the US government). For various reasons, westerners distrusted paper money and would prefer dealing in Mexican Peso just to avoid it! (Well, Mexican hard currency would still have bullion value, even if they suffered from governmental instability ;) This stayed true even as far north as Maddock, which was just as far from Ciudad Juarez than Kansas City or Saint Paul, Minnesota and those two cities were only half of the way to New York or Washington!

These ramblings are the product of incomplete research on this subject and copyleft 1995 Andrew Clark.