During times of economic or political stress, "hard money"—gold, silver, and even copper coins of intrinsic value—tended to be hoarded and become scarce. Prior to the Civil War, most paper money was issued by banks or private enterprises. This was an often-unreliable source of circulating currency, subject to bank or other failure, counterfeiting, or other fraud.
During the Civil War, the Confederacy issued paper money and so did many of the Southern states. North Carolina issued more varieties than any other Southern state, in denominations of five cents through 100 dollars. Paper money issued by the State, by the Confederate government, and by a few local governments and private institutions, all circulated together during the Civil War, causing much confusion.
Images on North Carolina money during the Civil War were meant to promote the State and the South. They include portraits of Southern leaders as well as images related to industry, prosperity, and war.
It was during the Civil War that the federal government began to issue a sufficient quantity of paper money that was reliably backed by gold or silver, not subject to discounting when spent, and not easily counterfeited. This change in the money supply also benefitted the South when the Civil War ended.
Steel plate engraving vs. lithography
Issuer: Bank of Lexington, Lexington, North Carolina
Printer: American Bank Note Company (ten-dollar note)
Printer: None (five-dollar note)
These notes illustrate the difference between steel-plate engraving and lithography. The ten-dollar note (top) was engraved using a steel plate and exhibits a fineness of line and overall crispness not attainable from the lithograph stone. By the latter part of 1861, the South no longer had access to the northern security printers, and resorted to the simpler lithographic technique shown in the green 1861 five-dollar note (bottom).
Gift of Neil Fulghum; North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
Recycled twenty-five cent note, 1863
Issuer: State of North Carolina
Printer: J. T. Paterson & Co, Augusta, Georgia
This note is a good example of early recycling. Since most paper money was printed only on one side, new notes were sometimes printed on the backs of old, unissued money. The front of this note depicts Proserpina, the Roman queen of the Underworld and goddess of the seasons and vegetation. The recycled back features North Carolina’s Civil War governor Zebulon Vance on a twenty-dollar note.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Fifty-cent note, 1863
Issuer: State of North Carolina
Printer: J. T. Paterson & Co., Augusta, Georgia
In the absence of local printing companies, North Carolina hired firms such as
J.T. Paterson & Co. in Augusta, Georgia to print the state's notes. The complex floral design at right may have been used as an anti-counterfeiting device or possibly served only as a decoration. The sailing ship adds to the attractiveness of this 1863 issue.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Two-dollar State Capitol note, 1863
Issuer: State of North Carolina
Printer: J. T. Paterson & Co., Augusta, Georgia
This two-dollar note features the North Carolina State Capitol with people enjoying the grounds. The Capitol is one of the finest examples of a major civic building in the Greek Revival style style and was a point of pride for the state. Many examples of North Carolina's Civil War money survived with few signs of use, such as this example.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Five-dollar Wilmington waterfront note, 1863
Issuer: State of North Carolina
Printer: Engd. & Lithd. by J. T. Paterson & Co., Augusta, Georgia
The goddess Liberty with pole and cap appear at left, with Civil War treasurer Jonathan Worth at right. The central image is labeled "Wilmington, N.C." The image, however, may be a generic stock illustration since it does not resemble known views of the Wilmington waterfront. The same vignette appeared on a Mississippi 100-dollar note from the same period.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Twenty-dollar Zebulon Vance note, 1863
Issuer: State of North Carolina
Printer: Engd. & Lithd. by J. T. Paterson & Co., Augusta, Georgia
Zebulon Vance served as governor of North Carolina from 1862 to 1865, then again from 1876 to 1879, after which he served as a U.S. senator. The hornet’s nest may symbolize defiance against the North.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Ten-cent notes, 1862
Issuer: Corporation of Elizabeth City, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Printer: Unknown
In addition to the State, a few entities, public and private, produced paper money during the Civil War. The Corporation of Elizabeth City produced several designs, including two different ten-cent notes, which, despite being simply made, offer a certain charm. Both notes include images related to transportation and technology. The note at top depicts what appears to be a fire pump, while the image on the second note shows a passenger wagon with horses.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Scrip from an insurance company
Issuer: Greensboro Mutual, Greensboro, North Carolina
Printer: Sterling, Campbell & Albright, Printers (twenty-five cent note)
Printer: Sterling, Campbell & Albright, Greensboro (fifty-cent note)
Greensboro Mutual, a fire insurer, issued small change notes during the Civil War. The fifty-cent note is commonly called the "Wallpaper Note" because of its green background design. However, the paper was not wallpaper. The twenty-five cent note makes the best of an inexpensive letterpress design, using two colors, red and green, in addition to black. Sterling, Campbell, & Albright also printed schoolbooks.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
500-dollar note, 1864
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: Keatinge & Ball, Columbia, South Carolina
Perhaps one of the most attractive Confederate notes, this high-denomination note speaks to the inflation that mounted toward the end of the war. A variant of the Confederate national flag is at left, and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is portrayed at right.
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100-dollar note, 1862
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: Keatinge & Ball, Columbia, South Carolina
The central vignette of this note shows Black men, likely enslaved, hoeing cotton. At right is an allegorical representation of the Confederacy as embodied by Columbia, a female figure representative of the United States. At left is John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina politician and political theorist whose views on slavery and states’ rights inspired Southern secessionists.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
100-dollar Lucy Pickens note, 1863
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: Keatinge & Ball, Columbia, South Carolina
Lucy Pickens, wife of South Carolina Civil War governor Francis W. Pickens, is depicted at center of this note. Pickens was known as the "Queen of the Confederacy" and described as "beautiful, brilliant, and captivating" by her male contemporaries. George W. Randolph, lower right, was a lawyer, planter, and Confederate general. He served for eight months in 1862 as the Confederate States Secretary of War. He was President Thomas Jefferson’s youngest grandson by his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph. The note was printed by lithography, as were most Confederate notes.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Fifty-dollar note, 1863
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: Keatinge & Ball, Columbia, South Carolina
President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis is featured on this note. The quality is high for lithography. The red machine-made serial number was intended to thwart counterfeiting. The elaborate back design also helped with that goal.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Ten-dollar sweet potato dinner note, 1861
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: B Duncan Columbia S. C.
The central vignette depicts a legendary sweet potato dinner. About 1781, American Revolutionary War hero and South Carolinian Francis Marion was said to have invited a visiting British officer for a meal. The officer was surprised by the modest fare of sweet potatoes and water and the austere surroundings that he found in the American camp. He was so moved by the Americans' dedication that soon thereafter he switched allegiances. Confederate Secretary of State and Senator R.M.T. Hunter is also pictured to the left of this lithographed note.
Andrews-Rankin Collection
Two-dollar "the South striking down the North" note
Issuer: Confederate States of America
Printer: B. Duncan, Columbia, South Carolina
The main vignette depicts a figure representing the South striking down another figure representing the North. Judah P. Benjamin, a noted Jewish lawyer and statesman from South Carolina, is depicted at left. He served the Confederacy as Secretary of War and later Secretary of State.
Most of the Confederacy's paper money was lithographed because the South did not have access to steelplate engraving, an industry developed in the North. Lithography could not produce the fine line characteristic produced using engraved steel plates. Consequently, Confederate issues were widely counterfeited. This genuine note is a typical lithographic example.
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