Bond refunding in postbellum New Orleans: The premium bond plan

The plan put forth by the City\u27s Administrator of Finance, Mr. D.H. Adler, was known as the Premium Bond Plan and was designed to liquidate the City\u27s bonded indebtedness over a 50-year period. Under this plan, which was adopted by the City Council on May 25, 1875 (New Orleans City Ordinance 3130) and ratified by the Louisiana Legislature on March 6, 1876 (La. Laws 1876, Act 31), existing bonds, whose coupon rates averaged 7.5% (Phillips, p. 5), would be converted into 5% Premium Bonds : redeemable from one to fifty years in the future. One million bonds, of $20 denomination, would be issued in 10,000 series of 1.00 bonds each