Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 10 › Conversation 010-046

Nixon phone call with Connally on Novelty currency

Tuesday, October 5, 1971 · 5:18 PM–5:19 PM ET · White House Telephone · 31 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.Conversation010-046 on Tape 10 (tape position 01:31:50–01:32:21)StartTuesday, October 5, 1971 at 5:18 PMEndTuesday, October 5, 1971 at 5:19 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 010-046 ↗

President Nixon and Treasury Secretary John B. Connally share a brief, informal exchange regarding a piece of novelty currency presented to Connally by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The two discuss the visual design and cleverness of the item, which appears to be a split or modified dollar bill designed to look like a much larger denomination. No policy decisions were made during this social call.

  • Novelty currency
  • John B. Connally
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars
  • White House informal communications

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Yeah.
Secretary.
Yes, sir.
I just wondered if you saw your money yet.
Yes, sir.
Isn't that cute?
It really is.
I'm leaving it on my desk, John.
I'm going to, you know, it just got frozen money.
I think it's great.
I think it's wonderful.
These guys thought it up.
It looks like.
I really believe it's only $2, though.
It is.
Oh, it is.
Split dollar.
Maybe they even chiseled it some further.
Maybe they split a dollar.
They may have.
Whatever they did, they've got it on either side, and it looks like 500 bucks.
Yeah, it really does.
It's very clever.
It's really cute.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
Bye.

On October 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-046 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 10-46

Date: October 5, 1971
Time: 5:18 pm - 5:19 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John B. Connally.

[See Conversation No. 585-14]

     Connally's novelty "money" from the Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW]
         -Novelty
  • 585-010 5:15 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-011 5:15 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-012 5:15 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-013 5:15 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-014 5:18 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
  • 585-015 5:19 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Richard H. Poff met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:19 pm to 5:39 pm.
  • 010-047 5:20 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:20 pm to 5:21 pm.
  • 010-048 5:21 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:21 pm and 5:29 pm.

Conversation 010-046, October 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-046 (accessed September 28, 2026).