|
|
|
|
 |
Confederate
Currency, $10, 1861
A slave picking cotton is depicted. Backed by cotton and printed in excess,
Confederate Currency quickly depreciated in value, becoming worthless. |
|
Fractional
Currency, 5 cents, 1864-1869
Without authorization, Spencer M. Clark, an employee of the Treasury Department
under President Lincoln, placed his portrait on this Fractional Currency
note. This insubordinate act led Congress to pass legislation banning the
portrait of living persons on all bank notes. |
|
|
 |
Demand
Note, $10, 1861
Demand notes were considered to be the first "greenbacks." In an attempt
to create confidence in paper money, government officials were paid in
these early greenbacks, which were named after the color of their reverse
side. |
|
Postage
Stamp, 1 cent, 1862-1863
Postage stamps, which served as a substitute for coins during the Civil
War, were privately encased in brass with a mica shield to protect them
from moisture. This stamp's front features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin,
while the reverse side shows the commercial endorsement of Drake's Plantation. |
Compound Interest
Note, $10, 1864
A portrait of Salmon Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury under President
Lincoln, is featured. Although Compound Interest notes were considered
to be government bonds, offering as much as six percent interest annually,
they also functioned as American currency. |
|
|
   
|
