Emperor Norton Money.

In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton (ca. 1815 - 1880) of San Francisco proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico" - although he had no real power, those around him humored him and even accepted money that he printed himself to buy things!

Norton was clearly much loved and revered by the citizens of San Francisco. Although penniless, he regularly frequented the finest restaurants in San Francisco, and the proprietors of these establishments took it upon themselves to add brass plaques in their entrances that declared "By Appointment to his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton I of the United States." This vanity appears to have been tolerated without complaint by Norton. By all accounts, such "Imperial seals of approval" were much prized and a substantial boost to trade for such businesses. No play or musical performance in San Francisco would dare to open without reserving balcony seats for Norton and his two mongrel dogs, Lazarus and Bummer. …

Norton did receive some small tokens of formal recognition for his station; the census of 1870 records a Joshua Norton residing at 624 Commercial St, and lists him with the occupation of "Emperor." Norton would also issue his own money on occasion in order to pay for certain debts, and this was an effective local currency, generally accepted as legal tender by San Francisco businesses. (Typically these notes came in denominations from 50¢ to five dollars, and the few notes still extant have fetched thousands of dollars at recent auctions).

Emperor Norton’s Banknotes | Emperor Norton [wiki]