Confederate $100 Dollar BillPaper Money Civil War Note CSA Facsimile

State of Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana

1863

HISTORY OF CONFEDERATE CURRENCY

After South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860, ten other states soon followed: these \"rebel\" states formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederate government issued a small amount of money from the first capital in Montgomery, Alabama in April 1861.

By May, 1861, with the Confederate capital permanently established in Richmond, Virginia, the Confederacy started to issued large quantities of money. By the end of 1864, these issues totaled nearly two billion dollars. In addition to this currency individual Southern states, banks, municipalities, and associations all printed their own money.

The first Confederate currency demonstrated engraving and printing of the highest quality, and many of the notes were beautifully designed. However, the need for speed and the shortage of proper paper stock soon resulted in lowered quality of the currency. The South\'s impending defeat along with excessive printing of the currency resulted in its rapid depreciation.

HISTORY OF \"PAPER COINS\"

In any time of war or emergency, hard money--gold, silver and even copper coin---is hoarded. With the Civil Warbrewing many Southerners started to hoard coins in early 1861. In order to make change, banks and states issued small denominations of paper currency. These \"Paper Coins\" (or \"Fractional Currency\") were usually small and irregularly sized. Some of this currency was even more unusual than the coins it replaced.