What is Confederate Currency?

Confederate currency, short for the Confederate States of America dollar, was the currency circulated by the Confederate States of America. Used to finance the war, the circulation of these currency notes began before the start of the American Civil War.

Informally, these notes were referred to as “Grayback” in reference to the typical grey color of the Confederate soldiers uniforms. The Confederate notes were issued into circulation in April of 1861, when the Confederacy was only two months old.

Confederate Currency Denominations

Confederate treasury notes, were issued in denominations of 50c, $1, $2, $5, $10, $50, $100, $500,, and $1000, with a variety of designs, issuers and redeemable obligations. The currency issued under the various acts of the Confederate Congress, were released in 72 “types” in seven “series” from 1861 through 1964.

The Promise Behind

Confederate notes were not official tender, but due to the fact that copper, silver and gold were herded, Southerners traded the Confederate notes as a medium of exchange. These notes, beautiful and exciting, with designs portraying many different scenes of daily Confederate life, (from classic portraits and structures, to military personal and slaves at work) were all hand signed.

Unlike the United States dollar, the Confederate currency did not have any underlying backing and was not tied to and other tangible asset such as gold, instead, the money was a promissory note of credit, which promised that bearer compensation six months after the end of the war. Breaking it down to a simple form, the Confederate dollars were loan documents for capital that the bearers were loaning to the Confederate States of America, and they received a promise of repayment after a Southern victory and independance.

Engraving & Printing

The initial four Confederate note printings were issued in Montgomery, Alabama, the original capital of the Confederacy, and featured the highest quality printing and engraving. The Confederacy capital was moved to Richmond, Virginia, where skilled engravers and printers were harder to find, resulting in a lower Confederate Currency quality. However, the notes produced in Richmond featured a wider imagery range which included slaves, naval ships, animals, railroads, Confederate politicians as well as mythological Greek gods and goddesses.

Value

As the war started to tilt against the Confederates, assurance in the Confederate currency started to diminish, and the government inflated the currency further by continuing to print the flimsy banknotes. By the close of 1863, the Confederate dollar was valued at merely six cents in gold, and continued to fall further. By the time the war drew to an end, the Confederate notes were inconsequential with no value.

Collecting

In modern day, Confederate currency has gained a large collector following and is seen as an essential part of the history of the United States. Some Confederate notes have achieved values in the tens of thousands of dollars in today collecting community.