Paper Republic: The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas

by James P. Bevill

Offering a new take on the stirring story of the Texas Revolution, this history focuses on the financial underpinnings and monetary issues that factored into the struggle. Deftly weaving numismatics and history into an engaging and highly entertaining narrative, the story unveils a verifiable trail of many of the most significant people and events surrounding the struggle for independence in Texas. It is replete with colorful anecdotes about visionary kings, obsessive dictators, crooked politicians, and counterfeiters, and includes a detailed history of each piece of coin and currency used in the old Republic.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

JAMES P. BEVILL expert on many different aspects of money. He is an independent historian and award winning author. His previous works focused on economic, financial, political and naval history. He guest curated several educational exhibits on the Republic of Texas at major museums in his home state.

Jim has been elected as an honorary member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas for his preservation of the history of the money and the economy of the Republic of Texas.

Bevill is a Senior Vice President – Wealth Management in the River Oaks office of UBS Financial Services in Houston. His inaugural book is The Paper Republic, The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas. He lives in Houston with his wife, Jodie.

Reviews

[James Bevill · Rating 5 out of 5]

"THE PAPER REPUBLIC is first and foremost a visual feast. Jim Bevill has brought together countless high-quality images of original documents from private collections as well as government and university archives -- many of them never seen before by the public. Moreover, he has richly illustrated his fascinating story of the economic struggle in the Texas Republic with hundreds of photographs and engravings rarely seen today. These provide the historical backdrop to the incredibly complex financial history of a genuinely fragile republic that floated paper obligations for a decade on little more than faith, credit, and the heroic exertions of its officers and people."

"Everyone who reads this book will learn much from it, whether they be seasoned collectors, historical scholars, or fascinated readers from the general public. One of the book's most interesting and hitherto least-appreciated revelations is that of the intertwined monetary histories of Hispanic and Anglo America, manifested in coins and currency by such familiar icons as the dollar sign and the lone star emblem of Texas. There are surprises on almost every page -- from gleaming images of the recently unearthed Mexican silver stash dropped by Santa Anna's soldiers at San Jacinto, to the amazing fact that the debts of the Texas Republic were not settled until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. This is a book to savor. It will be a valuable resource for generations to come."

Dr. James E. Crisp, Department of History, North Carolina State University, and author of SLEUTHING THE ALAMO: DAVY CROCKETT'S LAST STAND AND OTHER MYSTERIES OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION. (From the dust jacket of The Paper Republic)