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Spencer M. Clark (June 3, 1811  – December 10, 1890) was the first Superintendent of the National Currency Bureau, today known as the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the Federal Government of the United States, United States governm ...
, from 1862 to 1868.


Public service

Spencer Morton Clark was born in Vermont and was involved in a variety of business activities until 1856 when he became a clerk in the Bureau of Construction of the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. According to a history of the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the Federal Government of the United States, United States governm ...
, Clark became interested in the work of finishing new currency notes at the Treasury and gradually assumed increasingly greater responsibilities in the engraving, printing, and processing of U.S. Government currency and securities. He was a strong advocate for a distinct bureau within the Treasury Department for the production of currency and securities, and took over as the first Superintendent of the National Currency Bureau in 1862.


Bureau of Engraving and Printing

On August 29, 1862, Clark commenced work with one male assistant and four female operatives, according to a 1977 ''Washington Post'' article. Clark is said to have developed the original "Treasury Seal," a variation of which still appears on U.S. notes, according to a 1979 ''Washington Post'' article. Clark is also credited with proposing that facsimile signatures for the Treasurer of the United States and the Register of the Treasury be imprinted on U.S. notes using a "peculiar process and with peculiar ink." Prior to that, the signatures were penned by an army of clerks "For the" appropriate official, the ''Post'' article added.


Fractional faux pas

In 1864, Congress authorized the issuance of a series of
fractional currency __NOTOC__ Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Civil War. These low-Denomination ...
notes in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents, with Clark’s office being given responsibility for production of the notes. A controversy ensued when it was discovered that Clark's image had been put on the 5-cent note. There are different historical accounts of how this occurred. In one, the 5-cent note was supposed to bear a portrait of "Clark," as in explorer
William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
of
Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...
fame. But because no one had distinctly specified exactly which Clark, the currency superintendent took it upon himself to put his own portrait on the bills. In another version, Clark ordered that the portrait of Francis E. Spinner, treasurer of the United States, be placed on the 50-cent note without consulting him. Spinner was pleased with it, and as he had authority to select portraits on new notes, approved it. Other designs were selected at random and when it came to issuing the 5-cent note, Spinner was asked whose portrait was to be selected. Clark is said to have replied, "How would the likeness of Clark do?" "Excellent," said Spinner, thinking that reference was made to Freeman Clarke, the
Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to corporate charter, charter, bank regulation ...
. The matter escaped further notice until the notes had been printed in enormous quantities. Whatever the story, Congress was outraged when the notes, which had already been mass-produced, came out. According to numismatic historian
Walter Breen Walter Henry Breen Jr. (September 5, 1928 – April 27, 1993) was an American numismatist, writer, and convicted child sex offender. He was known among coin collectors for writing ''Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial ...
, Congress’s "immediate infuriated response was to pass a law retiring the 5¢ denomination, and another to forbid portrayal of any living person on federal coins or currency." Clark only kept his job because of the personal intervention of Treasury Secretary
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...
.


Departure

Clark resigned from the National Currency Bureau in 1868 amidst a congressional investigation into record-keeping and security within the agency.Bureau of Printing and Engraving History, Historical Resource Center, 2004
He went on to work at the Department of Agriculture in the Statistical Division. He later headed the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the Agriculture Department until his death in 1890. He is buried in Hartford, Connecticut.


References


Sources

*Style; Stamps and Coins, The Washington Post, August 28, 1977 *Style; Stamps and Coins, The Washington Post, November 18, 1979
Bureau of Printing and Engraving History, Historical Resource Center, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Spencer M. 1811 births 1890 deaths United States Department of the Treasury officials Lincoln administration personnel Andrew Johnson administration personnel