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Friday, December 10, 2004 Posted: 1852 GMT (0252 HKT)

Florida Investor Trumps Presidential Campaign

Christina Stewart

Arlington, VA – Just outside of Washington, D.C., the weather is overcast as a nation gets back to normal after a harsh campaign for the Presidential Election. Campaign money – not votes – is now the currency of our democracy, determining who runs for office, who wins, and who has the ear of elected officials. The candidate who raises the most campaign cash, more often than not, goes to win the election.

Where does that money come from? The great amounts of cash come from neighborhoods where wealthy populations dominate. However, John A. Palumbo, of Jacksonville, Florida, made one of the most controversial contributions ever to any Presidential campaign.

According to a Washington official, Palumbo, 42, decided to contribute over a quarter of a million dollars to one of the Presidential candidates (Bush campaign). What made Palumbo's contribution so shocking was that he sent, by courier, antiquated currency from the Colonial and Revolutionary periods in American History.

Palumbo, who is now in possession of these rare and unusual artifacts, recently acquired the Colonial Notes by way of a large estate liquidation. The antique currency was a bonus which Palumbo was not expecting and his contribution has totally caught officials off guard.

History Repeats Itself

A reporter had discovered that Palumbo had acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars of these currency notes. And according to an official from the U.S. Treasury, the first settlers in Colonial America used Wampum Beads, Beaver Skins, and tobacco as a means of exchange. The shortage of “hard money” (coins) severely hindered the conduct of business. Few British coins reached the colonies, but shipmasters did bring in foreign currency. The most common coin in circulation was the Spanish Milled Dollar; it’s value varied from colony to colony.

According to Richard Swagner, assistant director with the U.S. Treasury, “It’s so rare to see some of these small notes, which were almost considered IOU’s from the colonies. The problem we are having is that these notes, in many ways, are still considered legal currency, so Palumbo, in his contributions to the Bush campaign, has created a true debacle.”

Swagner said that the notes were created to overcome the handicap of businesses, so the colonies began to issue paper currency. Many of the colony notes were issued in terms of shillings because even though most transactions were in Spanish Dollars, the official count of exchange was British units – pounds, shillings and pence.

According to Washington Historian, William G. Bender, "Odd denominations of the currency were often printed because of the lack of small change. To lower cost, many bills were not printed on the reverse side. Each bill was usually numbered and signed individually by hand to discourage counterfeiting."

The Revolutionary War brought new money difficulties. The Continental Congress, powerless to impose taxes was forced to print massive amounts of currency to finance the war. This flood of paper money caused the Continental Currency to rapidly depreciate; by 1781, the paper was exchangeable for coins at the ratio of ($225.00 in paper for one $1.00 coin.)

"This Palumbo guy has created a real headache for us in Washington, as our campaign committee is reeling with what to do with the quarter of a million dollar denotation he recently made.", according to a White House insider and "Palumbo has probably earned himself a visit to the White House with President George W. Bush."

Whether officials want to admit it or not, Palumbo’s contribution ranks him as one of the top contributors for the Presidential elections this year. “I have to give it to him, Palumbo has probably pulled off one of the biggest coups of the 2004 campaign with this quarter of a million dollar donation,” according to Swagner.

The Midas Touch

The Colonial Currency Acquisition is just one of hundreds of Palumbo’s unique investments. Tagged by the Press as the, “Donald Trump of the South,” Palumbo has built a reputation as “America’s Investment Gambler.” Other unusual investments include the recent acquisition of the writings and royalty rights of Alex Haley, whose novels, “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” became all time best sellers.

Palumbo’s collection also includes copyrights from several major performers, including the late Johnny Cash, country-western signer Tammy Wynette, and Dwight Yokum.

As one of America’s leading authorities on unique investing strategies, Palumbo provides television viewers with strategies and thought provoking insights on alternative means of getting the most out of their money. In addition, he hosts the popular website, www.InvestmentGambler.com.

Palumbo’s investment savvy also reaches into the television world, in which he recently acquired the hit television show, “America’s Dumbest Criminals,” which is now in syndication worldwide.