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Norton I, Emperor of the United States .
Few characters in North American history were more colourful than Norton I, self-styled Emperor of the United States . Born Joshua A. Norton in England in 1819, he spent his young adulthood in southwest Africa , apparently prospering since he was able to buy passage to the California goldfields in December, 1849 and arrived in San Francisco with some $40,000 in capital. For a few years, he successfully engaged in real estate dealings and general brokerage so that by 1853, he was worth an estimated quarter-million dollars. So far as San Franciscans were concerned, Josh Norton had one major idiocyncracy: his whole-hearted support for the "divine right of kings". This found little sympathy in democratic America and he was nicknamed "King Norton" and "the Emperor". His whole world came crashing down in 1853 when Norton, in partnership with one Thorne and several smaller firms, attempted to corner the rice market but failed. In the ensuing litigation, Norton was financially ruined and his mental balance seemed to waver as well. Until 1857, he dropped almost completely from sight. In that year, he emerged from obscurity and announced to one and all that by virtue of legislation of 1853, he had been proclaimed Emperor of the United States . He even issued his own proclamation to that effect in September, 1859. For the next three decades, he was a fixture around San Francisco , forever about his regal business on foot, his shoes notable for their large size and state of dilapitation. His regal uniform was a worn and faded set of blue regimentals, trimmed with tarnished goldleaf while on his head set a small blue cap, later exchanged for a beaver hat by an admirer in Oregon , decorated with a rosette and topped by a large feather. His staff of office was a cane carved in the likeness of entwined sepents, with the addition, in inclement weather, of a tri-coloured umbrella. Emperor Norton became the pet of San Francisco, on intimate speaking terms with all the high and mighty and, as befit his station, granted free admission to practically all theatrical production, public gatherings and the like. As well, he was frequently able to travel considerable distances on his official business free of charge.
Some time in the 1870s, the above bonds of Emperor Norton began to appear and continued for the next twenty years or so. Norton was sometimes given to entering one or another of the major San Francisco banks and attempting to negotiate a loan of some tens of millions of dollars for some worthy cause of his "Empire". Although accorded full attention and courtesy, he was invariably "regrettably" turned down, and was usually satisfied when the royal coffers were enriched by 50-cents (cash) The coin he received was never considered a handout but rather the purchase price of a bearer-bond on "The Imperial Government of Norton I". Upon receipt of the fifty cents, he dutifully filled out and signed one of these bonds, habitually carrying a handful of blank ones in his coat pocket. These were interest-bearing bonds as well, that shown above maturing in 1880 bearing interest at 7% per annum and redeemable in yet more bonds or gold coin at the holder's option. Naturally, none were ever redeemed and, as the coffers remained empty and 1880 neared, he simply made them due in 1890. There were two similar but different designs for the Norton bonds, all of them printed by "Cuddy & Hughes, Printers to His Majesty Norton I, 511 Sansome Street , S.F." There seems little doubt the bonds were printed free of charge as well. On January 8, 1890 , during one of his usual regal walks, Norton died of heart attack at the corner of California and Dupont Streets. At his death, the Emperor's total effects were one $2.50 gold piece, $3 in silver and a French franc of 1828.
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May 2007Norton I, Emperor of the United States Mackenzie River Bicentennial Dollar, 1989 The 'Ancient Coiner' Plaquette
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