I frequently receive e-mails from persons
wanting to know if their Confederate note that has allegedly been in the family for years is real
or not. Hopefully the following information will help you determine if your note is authentic or fake. Many reproduction or facsimile notes are printed on
paper that has been chemically treated to give it an old,
parchment-type look. The signatures at the bottom of these
reproductions are usually stamped or signed in black ink. Most all
original Confederate notes as well as most Southern State banknotes
were hand signed in an indelible ink known as iron gall ink that
originally was very dark blue-black ink but took on a brown color
with exposure and age. While the signatures were always done in gall ink, serial numbers on these notes can be found
in brown, red or blue ink. Confederate notes whose hand written
signatures appear black should not automatically be discounted as
fake notes. Sometimes examination of the black signature under good
light and magnification will reveal a brown color in the ink. In
some less common cases, the dark iron gall ink has not been
affected by exposure or age deterioration. However, if the
signatures of a Confederate note are black and of the same
identical shade as the machine printed black portions of the note,
then that is an indication that the note may be a fake. Another
common feature with the use of iron gall ink on Confederate notes
is iron gall corrosion which gives the appearance that the
signature has burned or eaten through the paper. Iron gall ink
corrosion is caused by the oxidation of the iron particles and the
acids used to make the ink. Not all Confederate currency show the
effects of this corrosion and notes without burnt signatures demand
a premium over notes whose signatures have started to "burn"
through. The 50 cent Confederate notes of 1863 and 1864 are the
only Confederate notes whose signatures were machine printed rather
than handwritten. Modern facsimile notes greatly outnumber the
originals and generally were intended to commemorate the Civil War
Centennial. These notes are available at historic battlefields or
from Sutlers at many local Civil War reenactments. Some facsimile
notes also were offered during the 1950's in boxes of Cheerios
cereal(see below) and in the 1960's and 1970's as promotional items
for Topps and A.B.C. gum companies. The following is a list of
known serial numbers that are modern reproductions of Confederate
notes. This list was compiled based on my own recording of known
fakes that are sold at re-enactments, gift shops, and flea markets,
in addition to various sources such as the American Numismatic
Association,rec.collecting.paper-money
newsgroup and others. Notes on this list are modern copies and have
no collector value.
A Note on Contemporary
Counterfeits
A contemporary counterfeit Confederate
note is a note that was produced during the War. It may have brown
or dark colored hand signatures. The best known counterfeiter of
Confederate notes during the War was Samuel Upham, a Philadelphia
businessman who started by producing stationary that showed
Jefferson Davis's head to resemble a jackass. He eventually began
producing counterfeit notes and CSA postage stamps in early 1862
which he sold for 5 cents each or $15 per 1000. Upham's earliest
notes had his name and address on the very bottom edge of the
notes. Upham soon found out that a number of people were cutting
off the name and address on his notes and were using them in the
South to buy cotton. He felt he ought to share in some of the
profits so in late 1862, Upham began printing the notes without his
name and address and raised the price of his notes. Towards the end
of the War when Confederate currency was practically worthless,
Upham was offering $20,000 in counterfeit CSA notes for only $5.
Years after the war ended Upham claimed that he had printed
1,564,000 bogus notes between 1862 and 1863. He also boasted that
Jefferson Davis had offered a reward in gold for his body, dead or
alive. Today, Confederate contemporary counterfeit notes are very
collectable and in many instances, worth as much as the authentic
note counterfeited after, and in a few instances, it is worth
more.
1954 Facsimile Confederate note set from
Cheerios cereal
Two Modern Fakes of the $500 "Stonewall" Jackson
Note The fake notes may or may not have an ornate design on the back of the note. The authentic $500 note has a plain back to it.
Two Authentic $500 "Stonewall" Jackson
notes. The authentic $500 note has a plain reverse.
CONFEDERATE STATES OF
AMERICA
If your note's serial number is listed
below, then you have a fake note. Notes on this list are modern
copies and have no collector value.
