Until 1933, there was no standard American currency. Even though there were American coins in the Lower 48, they few and far between during the Alaska Gold Rush. So Alaskans coined their own money. Called bingles or script, they were accepted as a substitute for ‘real money.’ But the practice stopped on January 2, 1959. Why? Because on January 3, 1959, Alaska became a state and then bingles and script were known by another term: counterfeit. As a side note, the federal government was opposed to bingles and script because many Alaskans ‘considered’ payment in bingles and script not to be income because it was not in dollars.
THE HUMAN FACE OF THE ALASKA GOLD RUSH