Civil War Document Sutler Scrip Joseph Grimm 188th Ohio Wm. Pittser 4/13/65

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Civil War Document Sutler Scrip Joseph Grimm 188th Ohio Wm. Pittser 4/13/65:
$95.00

Civil War sutler scrip, 188th Ohio Vol. Infantry, paid to Joseph Grimm, April 13, 1865, from the salary of Pvt William Pittser before John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Ours has 3 margins with the one at the right reduced a tiny bit. Signed by (Capt) Josephus Cunningham commanding Co D.
William R. Pittser
Residence was not listed; 26 years old.Enlisted on 2/3/1865 as a Private.On 3/3/1865 he mustered into \"D\" Co. OH 188th Infantry Josephus Cunningham
Residence was not listed; 24 years old.Enlisted on 3/3/1865 as a Captain.On 3/3/1865 he was commissioned into \"D\" Co. OH 188th Infantry He was Mustered Out on 9/21/1865 at Nashville, TN
The other image shows is for another scrip dated May 17, 1865 around the same time as ours paid to Joseph Grimm from William Boyer for $2.50 also (might be the standard amount taken from soldiers by Grimm). This one sold for $170.38. It has more patina or toning than ours but with 4 margins. It is from an sale by Stack\'s and Bowers Galleries, don\'t know when sold. This gallery feature coins and currency. The one that sold for $170 probably was in a recent currency sale.
LOT DESCRIPTIONOhio. Camp 188th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Pay to Joseph Grimm, Sutler. May 17, 1865. $2.50 Written. Extremely Fine.
(OH-PF-C) Lightly handled Sutler piece. The 188th was mustered at Columbus, Ohio for one year of service on March 4, 1865. The unit spent the majority of its service in Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tullahoma and Nashville.
Estimate: $150 - $250.

The Sutler (sometimes spelled suttler, subtler, shuttler, or sutleler) was a civilian, who carried no rank, who had goods available to purchase that the quartermaster did not already provide the troops. These goods were often food, writing supplies, candies, soda, and other luxuries such as dominoes, playing cards and cologne. In the United States the Sulter was used from the Revolutionary War throughout the Civil War. However, they have been around since at least 1590 which was the first recorded instance of the term. There are brief references to sutler’s as far back to the Roman Empire. William Shakespeare even mentions a sutler in his playHenry V.

The Confederate Sutler wasn’t as successful as his Union counterpart due to inflation and supplies being more scarce in the south than in the north.

In 1866 Congress abolished the office of Sutler and started the Post Trader. The Post Trader sold everything that the Sutler sold. However, Congress forgot to appropriate any funds to purchase the supplies needed to run the store.

The Sutler had complete control of the design, size, and type of paper used for their scrip. The printers used two styles of printing scrip: typeset or engraved – usually on light porous paper. Often times the printer would reuse the same vignette and/or design for several denominations and for different Sutler’s just changing names and divisions. For the most part the scrip looked plain in comparison to other circulating merchant scrip of that era with a few exceptions. It should be noted that one was only allowed to redeem the scrip at the Sutler’s store, and they were not redeemable at other stores.

According to Sutler Paper Money,the majority of all Sutler Scrip has a rarity value of 7 (with 5 or less known). This will change over time as more scrip is found and/or comes out of the woodwork. It is seldom seen in sales currently, but once it does it always peaks interest among notaphilists, numismatics, and Civil War enthusiasts alike. As of right now there are 26 states with known Sutler scrip along with the US Army, and the CS Army. While the interest level of collecting Sutler scrip did increase right around the time of the hundred year anniversary of the Civil War it can be assumed that that interest level will resurface again, in time.

We now offer domesticFREE SHIPPINGfor all Civil War and paper items. Please inquire for any international shipping charges . It depends on to what country. Shipping for these items is our actual cost.

The following link will show all our listings.

To see my listings go to advanced search on and type in antebellumcovers

We suggest you bookmark it so you can easily come back to our listings at any time. If you questions send a question through the system. We have been collecting, doing some part time selling and providing free research and consulting on Civil War memorabilia and Paper Americana for more than 45 years. We are a member of the Manuscript Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and life member of the American Philatelic Society. Good luck offerding!