slang term for U. S. continental currency notes issued during the American Revolution. Because of their nearly worthless status at the time, the notes were said to be good only to stuff in your boots to fill the holes and keep your legs and feet warm. This term also has been applied to small fractional notes from the U. S. and Canada.
Shinplaster was a common name for paper money of low denomination circulating widely in the frontier economies of the 19th century. These notes were in various places issued by Banks, merchants, wealthy individuals and associations, either as banknotes, or circulating IOUs. They were often a variety of token intended to alleviate a shortage of small change in growing frontier regions.