A short snorter is a banknote which circulated during World War II and the
Korean War upon which signatures were exchanged between those travelling
together or meeting up at different events. Short snorters are frequently found
on one dollar U. S. Silver Certificates and foreign banknotes of lower
denominations. Specific information about the individuals signing these
notes add to the interest of the artifact (i.e., bomber group, fighter squadron, etc.).
The Short Snorter Project
What is a "Short Snorter?"
Many veterans did not write their own names on short snorters so it may be hard
for a surviving family member to appreciate what the short snorter meant to the
original owner and to understand it's intrinsic value as a family heirloom.

Short snorters come to light at coins shops and coin shows where most dealers
pay very little for them as they are heavily worn and "not very collectible". A short
snorter signed by a famous person will add value to the bank note.

Short snorters frequently sell on eBay and other auction venues.
Click here to check current eBay listings...

Depending upon your perspective, short snorters are next to
worthless or simply priceless. Whatever you decide, short
snorters are truly "history in your hand."
NEWS:

4.15.08
Short Snorter website
featured in The
Australasian Coin &
Banknote Magazine
April 2008 issue











12.23.07
Short Snorter website
featured in The
Australasian Coin &
Banknote Magazine
October 2007 issue.











12.24.07
The Australasian Coin &
Banknote Magazine
November 2007 issue
features Dr. K.A. Rodgers
article about the Harry
Hopkins short snorter.











8.14.07
The Everett Coin Club
hosted WWII pilot George
Grimm as a special
guest speaker at the
August 14, 2007, club
meeting. George  talked
about his wartime
experience and brought
his artifact..."The
Ultimate Short Snorter."

8.8.07
England 10 shillings
"Harry Hopkins short
snorter"  featured on
PBS's "History
Detectives"

7.31.07
Signatures of America's
Greatest Comedian
Red Skelton and actor
George Raft found on a
USA 1 dollar short
snorter

7.4.07
The Short Snorter
Project publishes to the
Internet for the first time.
Short snorter signed by WWII Marine Corps fighter ace and
Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Joe Foss.
Series 1935A Silver Certificate with HAWAII overprint
known as "invasion currency".
(Courtesy of George Grimm)
The short snorter phenomenon had broad participation in all of the Allied
countries during WWII. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister
Winston Churchill both signed short snorters but we know that "Mr. Bullfinch"
had his own short snorters and relished the game.

Examining a set of short snorters brought together on this web site from various
sources, we can actually follow some of the major meetings conducted during
the height of the war where Allied heads of state and their military staffs met and
planned their strategies to defeat the Axis powers. The individual web pages
arranged here have links to other web sites containing information and historical
documentation relating to short snorters.

1. Hoyt Vandenberg Snorter - Signatures collected by General Vandenberg in
June 1942 over the mid-Atlantic.

2. Harry Hopkins Snorter - Signatures collected by the Presidential Aide at the
July 25, 1942, London Conference where the decision was made to launch
Operation Torch, the Invasion of North Africa. Also contains signatures collected
during F.D.R.'s 1943 trip to the Casablanca Conference.

3. D. Ray Comish Snorter - Signatures collected by the Pan American Flight
Engineer aboard the Dixie Clipper flight carrying F.D.R. and his staff  to the
Casablanca Conference in January 1943.

4. Averell Harriman Snorter - Signatures collected at the January 1943
Casablanca Conference where the decision was made to demand unconditional
surrender from Germany, Italy and Japan.

5. Snorter signed by FDR and several key advisors and aides en route to the
Tehran Conference of Allied powers via Cairo, Egypt November 22, 1943.

6. Yalta Snorter from the conference held February 4 - 11, 1945, attended by the
Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) and convened near Yalta, on the Crimean
Peninsula.
Presidents to Privates and Prime Ministers to Pilots.....
Join the Short Snorter Club!
(click here for more information)
What better way to start a conversation with a friend
or family member...
Click here to access the Club Registry.
Many people have asked, "What is a short snorter worth?"
... and a president's wife could play the game very well!
The Eleanor Roosevelt Short Snorter
Eleanor Roosevelt carried this short snorter on her trips during World War II.  
These bills were in the wallet she used during the last years of her life.
(Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum)
Visit them at www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu