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Featured Item
Confederate Currency $125.00 |
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acquired from a private estate. They were wrapped in a child’s writing lesson from 1872 and labeled “100 mutilated notes”. This particular note was printed on a very delicate paper that was available to the printer and did not hold up well. Winchester continued to issue currency throughout the war in a variety of styles and on different types of paper. There are still many groups like this hidden away in closets and attics. After the Civil War, many people in the South held on to their currency with the hope of having it redeemed. As this
hope faded, the notes were put away and forgotten. The history
of these different currencies would be a book in itself. Going back to the Revolutionary War, the Federal Banking
system never had enough paper currency and coins in circulation to keep the economy stable. During the 1830’s and into the Civil War, banks in both the North and South were issuing their own currency. The Banking Act of 1863 prohibited any
northern state institution from issuing currency. The Confederate Government and the states that succeeded continued to
issue currency until 1864-65.
Currencies both North and South were hand signed and numbered. The printers of the day didn't allow for consecutive
numbering and people were wary of engraved signatures. The notes were generally printed on one side prior to the War.
During the Civil War, the Confederate States never issued coins.
 They instead relied on “fractional” currencies like those pictured.
In the North, people hoarded coins in the event they needed “hard”
cash. Between the need for copper in the war effort and hoarding, coinage was in short supply. This led to “emergency” scrip in the North, issued by towns and businesses. Northern state banks were prohibited from issuing currency after 1863. The Confederacy also issued government bonds during the war. The bond coupons at far right in the picture came from a larger bond; they were cut off and redeemed monthly. During the mid 1950’s, when I first started hunting relics with my father, the general rule for bullets was two rings were Confederate and three rings were Union. Since then the research has shown that bullets from the Civil War follow no pattern. For example, the U.S. Sharps carbine has two rings while the Nose Cast Confederate rifle has three.
 The Confederate bullets above were excavated from the Wilderness battlefield. They show the variety of arms being
used at the time, from the outdated musket to the newer Enfield rifle. Side arms such as the Colt revolver came with their
own bullet mold for field casting. Unless you know where these bullets were found it’s impossible to tell which side used it.
Many of the Confederate arms and ammunition were imported from England using blockade runners.
The Union bullets below were found on the Chancellorsville battlefield fought in 1863. In one section of the U.S. Fifth
Corp line there, I found six different types of ammunition. Soldiers during the Civil War referred to any bullet fired at them
as a “minie” ball, but in fact not all of them were. Captain Minie of the French army designed a bullet in the late 1840’s
with a conical base that allowed it to expand upon firing. It proved to be much more accurate. By the end of the war the
standard arm of the Union army was the .58 Springfield.
 While some of the Carbines and revolvers used a metallic cartridge, most of the Civil War ammunition used a paper
cartridge. The paper has long since disintegrated by the time they are found. They are all made of lead which has
developed a white patina due to oxidation. If the bullet has been in a swampy area or creek it will still retain some of the
lead color. As a final note, the relics being offered for sale have all been found on private land with the owner’s permission.
While the National Park Service owns most of the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania, most battlefield land in Virginia is
still in private hands. |
