American Currency Exhibit: Civil War

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table border="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2"><img src="/currency/civilwar/title.gif" width="600" height="47"></td> </tr> <tr align="LEFT" valign="TOP"> <td rowspan="4" align="left" width=100 height=78> <p><img src="/currency/civilwar/icon2.gif" width="100" height="84" border="0"></p> </td> <td align="left" height=20><a href="#text1"><img src="/currency/civilwar/label1a.gif" width=385 border="0" name="label1" height="20"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height=20><a href="#text2"><img src="/currency/civilwar/label2a.gif" width="385" height="20" border="0" name="label2"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height=20><a href="#text3"><img src="/currency/civilwar/label3a.gif" width="420" height="20" name="label3" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <hr> </td> </tr> <tr align="left" valign="top"> <td align="left" width=100 height=78><br> <img src="/currency/images/tarws.gif" width="144" height="44" align="middle" border="0" usemap="#eras"> <p><a href="/currency/civilwar/show.html" target="_top"><img src="/currency/images/tshow.gif" width="144" height="44" border="0" align="middle"></a> <p><a href="/currency/civilwar/history/index.html" target="_top"><img src="/currency/images/thist.gif" width="144" height="44" border="0" align="middle"></a> <p> <a href="/currency/iconography/index.html" target="_top"><img src="/currency/images/ticon.gif" width="144" height="44" border="0" align="middle"></a> <p> <a href="/currency/index.html" target="_top"><img src="/currency/images/thome.gif" width="144" height="44" border="0" align="middle"></a> <map name="eras"> <area shape="rect" coords="27,10,52,43" href="/currency/industrial/index.html" alt="Industrial Revolution" target="_top"> <area shape="rect" coords="1,9,25,41" href="/currency/expansion/index.html" alt="Westward Expansion" target="_top"> </map> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <h4><a name="text1"></a>Confederate Currency:<br> Financing the Confederacy</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/currency/civilwar/confederate/index.html" target="_top">Confederate Currency</a></li> </ul> <p>Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederacy issued currency to millions of Southerners, gambling that a Confederate victory would ensure the currency was redeemable. To devalue the Confederate Currency, some Northerners printed Confederate money and circulated it in the South. These factors led to one of the greatest inflationary periods in America, particularly in the South. By the War's end, Confederate notes were worthless and many people bartered or used black market Union issues as a medium of exchange.</p> <hr> <h4><a name="text2"></a>Fractional Currency:<br> Substitutes for Scarce Metal</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/currency/civilwar/fractional/index.html" target="_top">Fractional Currency</a></li> <li><a href="/currency/civilwar/stamps/index.html" target="_top">Stamps</a></li> </ul> <p>During the Civil War, widespread hoarding of gold and silver coins and the need to divert metals, created a desperate shortage of small change. Paper tickets and bills were frequently substituted, but the scarcity was so great that Congress authorized the issuance of postage stamps as a temporary "Fractional Currency."</p> <p>From 1862 to 1876, the federal government issued more than $368 million in Fractional Currency notes in three- to fifty-cent denominations. Nicknamed "shinplasters," these "paper" coins were much smaller in size than our existing currency. After the Civil War, Fractional Currency was no longer needed and by 1876, Congress stopped printing "shinplasters."</p> <hr> <h4><a name="text3"></a>Demand and Interest Bearing Notes:<br> Financing the Union</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/currency/civilwar/demand/index.html" target="_top">Demand and Interest Bearing Notes</a></li> </ul> <p>In 1861, the U.S. Treasury issued its first paper currency -- Demand notes -- to help finance the Civil War. Printed in $5, $10, and $20 denominations, Demand notes -- also known as "greenbacks" -- were redeemable in coin on demand at designated Subtreasuries around the country.</p> <p>Interest-Bearing notes, issued from 1861 through 1865 in denominations ranging from $10 to $10,000, are the most rare of all U.S. currency issues. Like Demand Notes, Interest-Bearing Notes provided financing for the final years of the Civil War.</p> <p> </p> </td> </tr> <tr align="left" valign="top"> <td align="center" width=100 height=78 colspan="2" valign="top"><table width="700" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td><a href="/index.html"><img src="/images/navigation/url.gif" width="100" height="20" align="left" alt="frbsf.org" border="0"></a> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="600"> <tr bgcolor="#000000"> <td height="2" background="/images/navigation/pixel.gif"><img src="/images/navigation/pixel.gif" width="2" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" width="600" nowrap class="toolbar"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" width="600" nowrap class="toolbar"><a href="/index.html" class="toolbar">Home</a>  |  <a href="JavaScript:remoteStart()" class="toolbar">What's New</a>  |  <a href="/federalreserve/jobs/index.html" class="toolbar">Jobs</a>  |  <a href="JavaScript:startDef()" class="toolbar">Glossary</a>  |  <a href="/tools/faq.html" class="toolbar">FAQ</a>  |  <a href="/tools/feedback.html" class="toolbar">E-Mail Us</a>  |  <a href="/tools/index.html" class="toolbar">Site Map</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" width="600" nowrap class="toolbar"></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#000000"> <td height="2" background="/images/navigation/pixel.gif"><img src="/images/navigation/pixel.gif" width="2" height="2"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top" align="right"> <td><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Please review our <a href="/tools/legal/index.html">legal notices</a>, <a href="/tools/legal/index.html#disclaimer">disclaimer</a> and <a href="/tools/legal/privacy.html">privacy policy</a>.</font> </td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> </body>