A group of three (3) Confederate currency notes, including a contemporary counterfeit note. Items include:  

1. Repurposed War-era Confederate States of America $10 note. Richmond, Virginia, 17 February 1864. Series B, No. 84134. A military vignette to recto center, depicting multiple mounted soldiers pulling a cannon. A vignette of Robert M.T. Hunter can be seen to the lower right. Recto printed in red and black. Verso printed in blue with post-war stamp denoting the bill as a souvenir from the Pickett-Buchanan Camp, referring to a gathering for R.E. Lee's Birthday, 19 January 1892. 

2. CT-22 contemporary counterfeit Confederate States of America $10 note. Marked Richomd, Virginia, 2 September 1861. Series C. No. 3312. Vignettes showcasing the Greek goddess Thetis, a Native American family, as well as a woman with an 'X' in one hand and an ear of corn in the other. Recto printed in red and black. 

The limitations faced by the Confederate government and its printers, including a shortage of supplies and sophisticated equipment, lent a comparatively crude appearance to most banknotes, making them fertile targets for contemporary counterfeiters. This was especially true in the early war before the value of Confederate currency was significantly eroded by hyperinflation. 

3. Confederate States of America $20 note. Richmond, Virginia, 17 February 1864. Series C, No. 46410. A vignette with view of the Tennessee state capital building can be seen at center, while a bust of the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander H. Stephens. Red printing on recto is faded. Verso printed in blue. 

Shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America began printing paper currency to finance their war effort. Since the notes weren’t backed by gold or silver, they functioned essentially as loans to the government, each promising payment “six months after the ratification of a treaty of peace between the Confederate States and the United States,” though this period was later extended to two years as the war continued. With few engravers, printers, and printing facilities in the South, producing Confederate bank notes was difficult, and their designs varied widely, depicting statesmen, mythological figures, ships, trains, and occasionally enslaved people. Without specie backing, the value of Confederate currency steadily declined as the war turned against the Confederacy, and inflation worsened when Union agents circulated counterfeit notes in the South. By late 1864, one Confederate dollar was worth about three cents in gold, and by the war’s end, Confederate currency had become worthless.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Currency, Tokens, Medals, Numismia, Numismatics, Exonumia, Bonds, Coins, Banknotes]