Confederate Currency: The Money of a Nation That Vanished
Between 1861 and 1864 the Confederate Treasury issued seven series of paper promises. Four years after the first notes appeared, every one of them was worthless, and today they survive as some of the most studied artifacts in American numismatics.
Last updated: July 2026
Confederate currency is the paper money issued by the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1864, in seven series and 72 major designs, all of which lost their monetary value when the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865. The notes were never backed by gold or silver. Each was a promise to pay the bearer after a peace treaty that never came, which makes the series both a paper record of the Civil War and one of history's clearest case studies in how unbacked money fails.
What was Confederate currency?
The Confederate Treasury issued paper notes in seven series between March 1861 and 1864, in 72 major designs that collectors catalog as types T-1 through T-72.
The Confederate Congress authorized its first treasury notes in March 1861, and further acts followed through the seventh and final issue, authorized on February 17, 1864. Denominations eventually ran from 50 cents to $1,000. None of the notes were redeemable in coin during the war. Instead, each carried a deferred promise, with the 1864 issue reading that the Confederate States would pay the bearer six months after the ratification of a treaty of peace between the Confederate States and the United States. The money's entire value rested on a Confederate victory.
After the earliest notes, printing moved to Southern contractors, including Hoyer & Ludwig of Richmond, Keatinge & Ball of Richmond and later Columbia, South Carolina, and the Southern Bank Note Company of New Orleans. Wartime shortages of skilled engravers, quality paper, and ink meant that much Confederate currency was crudely produced by the standards of the day, a weakness that counterfeiters would exploit.
Why are the 1861 Montgomery notes the great rarities?
The first Confederate notes were issued at Montgomery, Alabama in 1861 in very small recorded quantities, and the four Montgomery denominations are the flagship rarities of the entire series.
Before the Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Treasury Secretary Christopher Memminger arranged a discreet printing contract, brokered by Georgia businessman Gazaway Lamar, with the National Bank Note Company of New York. The firm engraved a single plate carrying one note of each denomination: $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. The notes bore interest at 3.65 percent a year, and nearly all were hand-signed by Register Alex B. Clitherall and Treasurer E.C. Elmore. The $1,000, cataloged as type T-1, pairs portraits of John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson.
| Denomination | Criswell type | Recorded quantity issued |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | T-1 | 607 |
| $500 | T-2 | 607 |
| $100 | T-3 | 1,606 |
| $50 | T-4 | 1,606 |
Only a fraction of those small issues survives, and known examples are closely tracked in auction and census records. Even heavily circulated Montgomery notes rank among the most valuable pieces of Confederate paper money.
How badly did Confederate money depreciate?
Prices in the eastern Confederacy rose more than ninety-fold in four years, according to the commodity price index built by economic historian Eugene Lerner.
The Confederacy financed its war largely with the printing press. Douglas Ball's 1991 study of Confederate finance, cited by the EH.net Encyclopedia, estimated that money printing supplied roughly 60 percent of the government's real wartime revenue, with borrowing covering about another third. Lerner's research found the Confederate money supply increased 11.5 times between January 1861 and October 1864, while commodity prices rose 28 times over the same period. By April 1865 his price index for cities in the eastern Confederacy had climbed from a base of 100 to more than 9,000. Depreciation tracked the war news, and each major defeat pushed the notes' purchasing power lower.
What happened to Confederate notes when the war ended?
They became worthless. With the Confederate government gone, there was no issuer left to honor the promise printed on the notes.
When the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, its treasury notes lost all monetary value at once. Any lingering hope of redemption ended in 1868, when Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment declared that all debts and obligations incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States were illegal and void. Many Southern families simply kept the notes as keepsakes of a hard period, which is one reason so much Confederate currency survives for collectors today.
What are the Upham facsimiles?
Samuel C. Upham was a Philadelphia shopkeeper who printed cheap facsimiles of Confederate notes as novelties beginning in 1862, and many were trimmed and passed in the South as counterfeits.
Upham's reproductions carried an advertising line along the bottom margin identifying them as facsimiles sold from his Chestnut Street shop, and he sold them for pennies as souvenirs. Buyers, including cotton smugglers, discovered that trimming off the margin left a passable Confederate note, often better printed than the genuine article. Upham himself claimed to have printed 1,564,000 facsimiles between March 1862 and August 1863, with a face value of about fifteen million dollars. The Confederate Congress responded to the counterfeit flood by making the offense punishable by death, and Upham later boasted that the Confederacy had offered $10,000 for his capture, a claim that comes from Upham alone and has never been documented. Today, surviving Upham facsimiles are collectible in their own right. Modern souvenir reproductions on artificially aged paper are a separate and common hazard, so review our guide on how to spot counterfeit banknotes before buying.
How do collectors approach Confederate currency today?
Collectors organize the series by Criswell type, T-1 through T-72, and rely on condition and third-party grading to establish value.
The 72-type framework originated by dealer and researcher Grover Criswell remains the backbone of the field, and Pierre Fricke's reference Collecting Confederate Paper Money refines it further with cataloged varieties. Both PMG and PCGS Banknote authenticate and grade Confederate notes on the standard 70-point scale, and our banknote grading guide explains how those grades translate into value. Notes from the large 1864 issue are the usual starting point because they survive in quantity, while scarcer early types and the Montgomery rarities anchor advanced collections. Collected carefully, these notes are studied as primary documents of the Civil War era and of monetary history, not as memorabilia to celebrate.
Frequently asked questions
Is Confederate money worth anything today?
Confederate notes have no monetary value as currency, but they are widely collected as historical artifacts. Common notes from the large 1864 issue can be acquired affordably in circulated condition, while scarce types in high grade bring strong auction prices, and the 1861 Montgomery notes are the celebrated rarities of the series. Type, condition, and eye appeal drive value, so third-party grading matters for any significant note.
Is it legal to own Confederate currency?
Yes. Genuine Confederate currency is a historical collectible, and owning, buying, and selling it is legal in the United States. The notes are not legal tender and cannot be redeemed. Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, declared all debts incurred in aid of the rebellion illegal and void, which permanently closed the door on redemption.
What are the Montgomery notes?
The Montgomery notes are the Confederacy's first paper money, issued at Montgomery, Alabama in 1861 in four denominations: $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. They were printed by the National Bank Note Company of New York, and recorded issue figures are tiny, 607 each of the $500 and $1,000 and 1,606 each of the $50 and $100. They are the flagship rarities of Confederate collecting.
How can I tell if a Confederate note is genuine?
Start with the catalog. Every genuine design matches a Criswell type, T-1 through T-72, with documented paper, printer, and signature characteristics. Be wary of modern souvenir reproductions on artificially aged, brittle paper, which are extremely common. Wartime counterfeits, including the Upham facsimiles, also exist and are collectible in their own right. For any valuable note, third-party grading by PMG or PCGS Banknote settles authenticity.
Why did Confederate money become worthless?
Confederate notes were never backed by gold or silver. Each was a promise to pay the bearer after a future treaty of peace between the Confederate States and the United States. When the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, no government remained to pay, so the notes lost all monetary value. Heavy wartime printing had already destroyed most of their purchasing power before the surrender.
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